Pro-Life Corner

Pat Gaummer
March 2005

Happy spring and Happy Easter! I would like to take care of some business before I add my 2 cents to the feature article about Stephanie and Brian’s pregnancy that caused such reactions.

Our annual Walk for Life is coming up on Saturday, April 2, 2005, at Northland Mall, Sterling, and we’re looking for more walkers. The Walk is important because one time each year, supporters of Hope Pregnancy Center ask friends to join them in publicly making a stand for life.

The Walk is effective because many of those who sponsor friends in the Walk would never think of writing a check to this ministry otherwise. Because of this, Walkers are actually multiplying support of the center and reaching out to people we would never find. And because the Walk brings in needed funds, lives are changed-one at a time.

Registration begins at 9 a.m., the Walk at 9:30 a.m. and we will be done with our two-mile walk in less than an hour. We’re not going to dominate your day, and we won’t even make you collect the money. We’ll take care of that. All you need to do is turn in your form. And back by popular demand is the Basket Auction. Come see the beautiful and interesting variety of baskets, then bid on your favorite one! Bidding begins at 9 a.m. and ends at 11 a.m. Hope to see you there!

In regard to the above mentioned article, I would first like to thank both Lisa and Jonie for their continued effort to keep all sorts of issues in front of the people in the Sterling/Rock Falls / Dixon and surrounding communities. Upon first reading it, it does appear to have a very flippant, unrealistic, childish message to it. But maybe that is what Lisa was trying to convey. They are in fact two children having children. Along with that, I’m not sure how you can put the two words complicated and fun together when talking about a pregnant teen soon to give birth to twins!

But I can’t help but see the many positives that have come from running the story. A story that is not so uncommon in all of our communities.

The first positive is that Stephanie and Brian chose to continue with the pregnancy instead of ending the baby’s life. Life is precious at any stage.

Secondly, I am so encouraged by the outcry and reactions to the article. What’s encouraging is that so many people expressed their negative and positive opinions. I had two people leave me messages on my home phone about how upset they were about the article and what was I going to do! Many months ago I expressed my discouragement about the lack of response to “issues” I had written about in my columns. I asked if anyone was out there. I said “Doesn’t anyone have anything to say, positive or negative, about the things I was writing about?” “Doesn’t anyone care out there?” Well the readers have shown that they do care! You just have to hit the right buttons.

Another positive is the evidence that there are so many people in way of services that really care about the teen pregnancy and sexuality problem. They are the volunteers and employees at Lee, Ogle and Whiteside County Health Departments and Hope Pregnancy Center. The one thing we all know and agree on is that abstinence only, not being sexually active, is the only, 100% “safe“ and effective way of preventing not only pregnancies but also the contraction of sexually transmitted diseases (STD)s. In the article, Stephanie advised teen girls to “try to prevent getting pregnant if you can” Well you can and that would be by not being sexually active! She went on to say that she and Brian used protection but not regularly. Doesn’t that say enough there? That is why we do not promote birth control here at the center. It doesn’t work! Abstinence only works. That is the only thing we can truthfully tell our clients. People say we are unrealistic in using that approach. Let’s talk unrealistic. Expecting our teens to be responsible about something that adults can’t even be responsible about is unrealistic. Telling them to use condoms, that are known to be ineffective in preventing the contraction of four very serious, rampant STDs is not only unrealistic but deceptive!

What is realistic is that we believe our teens can hear an abstinence only message, understand it, believe it and then follow it! In defense of abstinence education, a new report from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) shows abstinence only education is working as fewer teens are having sex and that the age in which young people begin having sex is on the rise. Teen pregnancy rates are on the decline. In fact, the report shows that abstinence education has been so successful the total number of teens abstaining from sex before marriage nearly achieves the 2010 targets previously set.

Well hopefully with reaction comes action. That is what we are all about at Hope Pregnancy center. No, we are not real happy about the situation like Stephanie and Brian’s but what we can do is be there for those finding themselves in an unplanned pregnancy situation, like we have been for the past 15 years.