Categories
Clinic Pregnant

Can I get an abortion if I’m under 17?

Maryland is a “Notification Only” state for minors seeking abortions.  That means that one of your parents is required to be notified about the decision to have an abortion.

However, parental notification is not required for appointments at our three pregnancy clinics in Annapolis, Bowie, and Severna Park.  We offer free and completely confidential services that include pregnancy tests and viability ultrasounds.  Our pregnancy tests are 99% accurate, laboratory grade pregnancy tests.  Even if you’ve taken one or more at home, we can do a simple test for free and go over your options and questions. 

If your test is positive and you are considering abortion, we can do a viability sonogram (most of the time the same day—especially if you make an appointment).  Our nurse sonographer will look to see if the pregnancy is viable (heading towards surviving).  That is an important first step in determining if an abortion is even needed or if the pregnancy is likely to end on its own.

Have a question or need a test?  Call or text: 443.333.8856.

Categories
Free Pregnancy Tests Pregnancy Pregnant

Why come in for a pregnancy test?

This woman is considering different abortion procedures.

If you have missed a period, you may begin to suspect that you are pregnant.  It can be an uneasy feeling—waiting and wondering.  While some people go to the drugstore for a pregnancy test, many are left with more uneasy feelings after taking the test at home: Did I do it right?  Could it be wrong?  How many should I do?  Our clients often tell us these things.

What can the Pregnancy Clinic do for you?  The Pregnancy Clinic offers a free, laboratory grade, pregnancy test, someone to run it for you, and someone to talk to about your options.  In addition, if you are taken off-guard by a possible pregnancy, you might be considering abortion.  If that is the case, a test alone may not be all you need.  A pregnancy test alone cannot determine if your pregnancy is viable, (meaning having a good chance of surviving). The test can detect whether or not the pregnancy hormone (HCG) is present in your urine, but a viability ultrasound is necessary to determine whether or not a living and growing baby is present. Some positive pregnancy tests do not result in a viable pregnancy!

If you are considering abortion, we can provide a pregnancy ultrasound after your positive test. This will help you determine if the pregnancy is heading towards survival or miscarriage.  If your pregnancy is not viable, the pregnancy may not survive on its own, sparing you from the emotional and financial burdens of an abortion.

We are here to help you in this difficult time.  All of our services are free.  Text us today for your appointment: 443.333.8856.

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Uncategorized

Communicating vs. Fearful: How would you describe your relationship?

We can discuss things, and we can disagree and be OK.

Or

I’m scared of how my partner will react when we disagree.

While people are often drawn together because they have a lot in common, no two people agree on everything all the time.  It’s part of what makes us individuals.  But the individuals that make up the couple need to know how to communicate in a way that says I’m willing to listen and hear your point of view even if I don’t agree.  When that doesn’t happen, at its best…there is a lack of joy and fun in the relationship…and its worst, there is fear.  Fear of what the other person will think, say, or even do.  If you are in a relationship and feel you have to guard what you say to your partner, it might be fear that you are feeling.  Maybe you fear the person would laugh at you.  Maybe you fear the person would leave you.  Sometimes when a relationship jumps to being physical, the couple doesn’t take the time to work on the verbal.  When the initial thrill of the physical wears off, there might not be much left.  It might not be a healthy relationship.  And if it’s fear that is left…the relationship might even be dangerous.

If you would like more information about healthy & unhealthy relationships, text us: 443.333.8856.  We offer free and confidential services including pregnancy tests, STD/STI testing, and information on abortion procedures, abortion risks, and abortion alternatives.  We also have free Life Sense classes including ones like “Sex and Your Health”, “Relationship Status: It’s Complicated”, and “Put a Ring on It: Is Marriage the Thing for Me?”.

 

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Relationships Uncategorized

Trusting vs. Jealous: How would you describe your relationship?

Which describes your relationship:

  • My partner trusts me to make good choices and be true to our relationship.
  • My partner doesn’t like me to have male friends or sometimes even say nice things about other guys. He wants to know where I am and who I am with all the time.

Jealousy is rooted in insecurity and fear of abandonment. Jealous people try to control their partners so they won’t find someone better and leave.  A jealous partner may check your phone not like your friends, want you for himself, or be suspicious.

If you would like more information about healthy & unhealthy relationships, text us: 443.333.8856.  We can offer free and confidential services including pregnancy tests, STD/STI testing, and information on abortion procedures, abortion risks, and abortion alternatives.  We also have a Life Sense class on relationships: www.lifesenseclasses.org.

 

Read other blogs in this series

 

#UnhealthyRelationships

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Relationships Uncategorized

Respectful vs. Critical: How would you describe your relationship?

Which describes your relationship:

  • When I share my opinion, my partner listens and tries to understand.
  • When I share my opinion, my partner criticizes me.

Does what you say turn into an argument unless you give in or just agree?  If you think you need to be careful what you say or if you have just given up speaking your mind, then you may be in a critical relationship.

According to Psychology Today, criticism is destructive to relationships when it is:

  • About personality or character, rather than behavior.
  • Filled with blame.
  • Not focused on improvement.
  • Based on only one “right way” to do things.
  • Belittling.

If you would like more information about healthy & unhealthy relationships, text us: 443.333.8856.  We can offer free and confidential services including pregnancy tests, STD/STI testing, and information on abortion procedures, abortion risks, and abortion alternatives.  We also have a Life Sense class on relationships: www.lifesenseclasses.org.

Reference: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/anger-in-the-age-entitlement/201212/one-thing-will-ruin-perfectly-good-relationship

 

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Relationships Uncategorized

Healthy Relationship or Unhealthy Relationship?

How would you describe yours?  Start with these questions:

  • What is your gut telling you about your partner?
  • What do your friends and family say?
  • How does how he treats you differ from when you are alone to when others see you with him?

In the next few blogs, we’ll talk about what makes it healthy vs unhealthy.  If you are concerned about your relationship, text us: 443.333.8856.  We can offer free and confidential services including pregnancy tests, STD/STI testing, and information on abortion procedures, abortion risks, and abortion alternatives.  We also have a Life Sense class on relationships: www.lifesenseclasses.org.

 

Read other blogs in this series

 

#UnhealthyRelationships

Categories
Relationships Uncategorized

Is my relationship healthy?

Sometimes it is easy to recognize.  Sometimes not.  It might be hidden from others.  You might feel ashamed to tell someone. Or scared.

If your relationship makes you feel nervous, uncomfortable or scared, you could be experiencing Intimate Partner Violence.  The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says this can include four types of behavior and it is not just being hit by another person:

  • Physical violence is when a person hurts or tries to hurt a partner by hitting, kicking, or using another type of physical force.
  • Sexual violence is forcing or attempting to force a partner to take part in a sex act, sexual touching, or a non-physical sexual event (e.g., sexting) when the partner does not or cannot consent.
  • Psychological aggression is the use of verbal and non-verbal communication with the intent to harm another person mentally or emotionally and/or exert control over another person.
  • Stalking is a pattern of repeated, unwanted attention and contact by a partner that causes fear or concern for one’s own safety or the safety of someone close to the victim.

The CDC also says:

“Dating violence can take place in person or electronically, such as repeated texting or posting sexual pictures of a partner online without consent. Unhealthy relationships can start early and last a lifetime.”

If you are concerned about an unhealthy relationship, text us at 443.333.8856.  We offer free and confidential help, such as:

  • A free pregnancy test and someone to talk to.
  • Referrals for help.
  • Free STD testing.
  • Information on abortion procedures, abortion risks, and abortion alternatives.

Reference:   https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/intimatepartnerviolence/teendatingviolence/fastfact.html

 

 

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Categories
Clinic Pregnancy

What does my emotional health have to do with abortion?

Each woman (and man) should evaluate their past and present emotional health before considering an abortion procedure.  Some questions to ask yourself:

  • What are your current struggles with depression and anxiety?  Both are at an increased risk with abortion.
  • What are your past moral convictions about abortion?  Often women say that they do not like the idea of abortion or even that they used to think abortion was wrong, but now that they are pregnant and overwhelmed, they don’t see another way.  It’s important to consider what it means emotionally to go against your convictions.
  • How will an abortion experience affect your ability to care for others?  Sometimes women or men think abortion is necessary because they have other children to care for already.  However, they may not be prepared for the emotional burden that comes with children being a reminder of the abortion of another child.

There are other things to consider as well depending on your own emotional and mental health history.  If you would like to discuss the abortion procedure, other options, or find out about viability sonograms, text us at 443.333.8856.  All of our services are free, and we often have same-day appointments.

Categories
Clinic Pregnant Uncategorized

What affect does abortion have on mental health?

A 2018 review of literature took an objective look at the abortion and mental health controversy.

“There is general agreement that (a) abortion is consistently associated with elevated rates of mental illness compared to women without a history of abortion; (b) the abortion experience directly contributes to mental health problems for at least some women; (c) there are risk factors, such as pre-existing mental illness, that identify women at greatest risk of mental health problems after an abortion; and (d) it is impossible to conduct research in this field in a manner that can definitively identify the extent to which any mental illnesses following abortion can be reliably attributed to abortion in and of itself.”

“Common ground among researchers exists regarding the very basic fact that at least some women do have significant mental health issues that are caused, triggered, aggravated, or complicated by their abortion experience. In many cases, this may be due to feeling pressured into an abortion or choosing an abortion without sufficient attention to maternal desires or moral beliefs that may make it difficult to reconcile one’s choice with one’s self-identity.”

It is clear that mental health should be considered when contemplating an abortion procedure.  We’ll explore more about emotional and psychological risks associated with abortion in future posts.

Categories
Abortion

Does the baby feel pain during an abortion?

A couple sitting outside and wondering if a baby feels pain during an abortion.

Women and men considering abortion often ask whether the baby feels pain during the abortion procedure.  The age at which a fetus begins to feel pain is debated by scientists.  Unborn babies recoil away from stimulation during the abortion procedure, which demonstrates that the nervous system is experiencing a physiological stress response.  Some states have laws designed to protect unborn babies from abortion past a certain stage because of evidence of fetal pain.

A recent NIH study noted: “The threshold for tactile stimuli is lower at earlier stages of gestation. The pain inhibition mechanisms are not sufficiently developed during intrauterine development, which is another factor leading to increased intensity of pain in the fetus. All this points to the fact that the fetus is extremely sensitive to painful stimuli, and that this fact should be taken into account when performing invasive medical procedures on the fetus.”

If you are concerned about the effects of abortion for your baby, you are welcome to visit our clinic for a free ultrasound to determine if your pregnancy is viable (living) and to discuss the abortion procedure and your questions regarding it.  Text: 443-333-8856.