networking

One of "those" people

ashamed A pregnant woman called the ARIN CARE Line one evening at 11:30pm. She had found our website on the Internet and was calling to schedule her first abortion recovery counseling appointment. Oddly enough, she had not yet ended her pregnancy. She was scheduled for an abortion the next day! My skin got goose bumps when she said....

“I know I’m going to need some help. After the procedure tomorrow, I’ll be one of ‘those people!’”

I lovingly explained to her, that I too was one of those people! That actually there were quite a few of us! It seemed to bring her comfort when I summarized just who we ALL were....

Those People Are...

Those people, I explained, are the women, men, siblings, grandparents, and extended family who have chosen an abortion in the past, or been associated with someone who has. Those people are your neighbors down the street, your pastor or his wife, your nephew's teacher, or your son's coach. Those people are your daughter's best friend, your work-out buddy at the gym, your grandmother or friend from school. You're eating lunch with those people at work, studying the Bible with them at church, watching them on TV, listening to them on a CD, or seeing them run for public office. They are those whom you’d never predict would make a choice like abortion.

Those people are individuals who chose abortion when it was legal, or when it was illegal. Either way, those people were deceived into thinking it was the ONLY way out of an unplanned or medically challenged pregnancy. Then realizing, it was too late! Those people ARE EVERYWHERE! And they are suffering in silence around the world! WHY? Because they are too ashamed and too frightened that they will be classified as "those people" when they ask or search for help. I thanked her for calling and for reaching out.

Looking Within...

When people, affected by abortion, have physical or spiritual complication we often don't know how to reach out to them as a pregnancy center, society, church or even as a family member. Unfortunately, those who made a "poor choice," don't often know what to do themselves when their world seems to be crashing down around them. ONE abortion, through a rippling effect, can touch as many as 40 people throughout a lifetime.

Some of those affected may choose to do nothing, stuck in denial for years! Others may take a courageous step and seek outside help!

What do we do when approached by the post-abortion client? How do we treat them? Do we grant them complete compassion or quietly scold them with contempt? So we lash out in passive aggressive anger? Or reach out in Christ-centered love? Do we grieve with them differently than a family who mourns a child lost to miscarriage or stillbirth?

Hmm… something we should think about...

Do our volunteers know how to speak to the client who has an abortion in their past? Are our websites friendly to those clients? Or does our web presence create additional triggers and sensitivities that would further push those hurting away? Have all of our staff, who have experienced an abortion, completed an abortion recovery program? Do we promote a "recovery first" position?

Let’s work together to make it easier and more acceptable for people to get the healing they need. Let’s make it safe to talk with them at school, at church, at home and even within our families. Okay... but HOW Stacy?

We can start by making sure our physical buildings and web presence is a gift to those who ache from a past choice. WE can be the one person who opens our arms, our hearts and our centers to welcoming those people who just might need our unconditional acceptance. We, at ARIN, wish to help! Our goal for 2013 is to have every pregnancy center reaching out to individuals and families impacted by a previous choice.

Abortion Recovery InterNational (ARIN) has been honored to partner with Heartbeat for the past 10 years. Our affiliates, many Heartbeat affiliated themselves, minister to approximately 40,000 post-abortion clients each year through our CARE Directory and CARE Line. Many of those hurting found our CARE Directory through the Option Line web-link. Many journey through a recovery program and then go on to receive further healing through our Recovery Encore brochure and website.

With the passing of certain legislature and the upcoming 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we expect the number of those affected by abortion will greatly increase. We need your help to care for those wounded. If your center provides after abortion support, we'd appreciate sending clients your way. Please drop us an email here: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Whether you have an active abortion recovery program, need some help bringing yours up-to-speed or are prayerfully considering starting one; we are more than happy to help get YOUR program and center ready for ready for the individuals and families impacted by abortion. Phone consultations, center walkthrough, literature and web reviews are all something we enjoy doing to help pregnancy centers, medical clinics and other counseling agencies open their doors, and hearts, to the client who’s abortion affected.

"Abortion Recovering International, Inc. has been a HUGE help in getting our abortion recovery program and website up and running. We were really having a hard time trying to decide if we should renew our membership with ARIN because we felt like we were not getting any response from people needing help. However, ARIN helped us see that there were women seeking help but our approach and website was not "welcoming" to them. ARIN offered a lot of valuable information as well as their time to help us know what direction to go. I am so glad we decided to renew our membership!"

~ Melissa Howard, Sound Recovery, GA

Our goal is for those people impacted by abortion is to find personal peace for their heart, mind, soul and spirit. We’d love to help YOU reach those hurting in your community!

Just One of Those People, Who is Divinely Forgiven...

Stacy Massey

President / Founding Partner Abortion Recovery InterNational, Inc. - arininc.org
CARE Directory and CARE Line - abortionrecovery.org
Recovery Encore - recoveryencore.org

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Helping Affiliated Life-affirming Organizations (HALO)

HALO blue

As war rages on overseas and natural disasters hit close to home, one thing is certain—women in those affected areas will still need the real support offered by the pregnancy help movement.

Life-affirming organizations are by no means immune to the damage caused by trauma, and yet, they often become rallying points in their communities for aid in addition to their normal functions. Affected pregnancy help centers, maternity homes, non-profit adoption agencies, and abortion recovery programs will need prayer and financial support in the weeks and months to come.

Heartbeat International offers you a way to help, through our Helping Affiliated Life-Affirming Organizations (HALO) fund.

Heartbeat affiliates help each other in many ways, including through our own affiliates’ generous donations. Please consider giving to the HALO fund today, as we come alongside our friends who will struggle to rebuild in order to provide women with the compassionate support they need in order to choose life for their unborn children.

As always, keep an eye on your inbox and check PregnancyHelpNews.com for the most up to date information.

Unless pregnancy help organizations are there to set the standard for true compassion and support for women, someone else will—namely, Planned Parenthood.

In the wake of disasters, Planned Parenthood and abortion activist organizations arrive not with needed material aid, food and shelter, but with abortifacients, including the abortion pill. These pills only increase the death toll in the darkest hours.

There is no better time than now to come alongside your brothers and sisters through the HALO fund. You can give online today.

Heartbeat collects information on organizations potentially in need so that we might be able to direct resources, if available. If you are aware of an Heartbeat affiliated organization in need of support, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with their information and situation.

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Working with StandUpGirl.com to save lives

I have always been a planner, and the birth of my first child was no exception. I had been married for 7 years, graduated college, and had a high paying job in the IT industry. We had remodeled a bedroom into the perfect nursery, and purchased pretty much every piece of baby equipment sold – we were ready!

After our son was born we felt so fulfilled by our little family that we weren’t really sure if we would have more children. Then 3 years ago, I was laid off from my job. It was also the start of the recession that hit the housing industry hard and my husband’s remodeling business was suffering as well. As a result of the layoff, we not only lost income, but also our health insurance.

It was at this point that we decided we definitely were not going to have any more children. We would not be able to afford it, and we had no medical care. So we sold the crib, gave away the baby clothes we had saved just in case, and instead spent the next years focused on trying to survive a very tough economy.

Last spring, our son was about to turn five and I had plans to enroll in a master’s program in the fall to help me pursue a new career - and I found out I was pregnant. At first I was in denial thinking this isn’t possible, this can’t be right.

Then the denial turned to anxiety. How we could possibly afford a new baby? With no insurance, the hospital bills alone could bankrupt us. I worried about how difficult it would be to go back to school with a newborn and felt dread about “starting over” again; waking up in the middle of the night, hanging diapers, hauling around a stroller. It all seemed overwhelming.

Without a doctor, I didn’t even know where to begin, but I was able to receive a free ultrasound at our local pregnancy help center to determine how far along I was in the pregnancy.

I felt so much anxiety going in for the ultrasound appointment; I was still filled with worry over how this would possibly work. The volunteer began the ultrasound, started taking different measurements, and after several minutes she stopped, looked at me and said, “There is something I need to tell you.” My immediate thought was that I wasn’t pregnant, it must have been a mistake! And in that instant, I felt such relief.

Then she said, “You are pregnant with twins.” I just burst into tears!

The anxiety I felt before the ultrasound turned into complete panic. We couldn’t afford one baby, how could we possibly afford two?

I panicked over what it would be like to carry twins – the chance of medical complications, or having to be on bed rest, perhaps for months. I worried about the likelihood of twins begin born premature and everything that would mean – from extended hospital stays, to astronomical medical bills, to the possibility that a premature birth could lead to a baby with special needs.

I worried about everything. Our house wasn’t big enough, my car wasn’t big enough, I couldn’t possibly go back to school with two newborns. How could we afford cribs, highchairs, car seats, everything times two! Not to mention the cost of diapers alone? There was no way we could have two babies. Without health insurance, it felt irresponsible to do so. I was unsure if we would be able to provide for them, and I knew we could not afford medical care for them.

I was so overwhelmed; my body was shaking, and seeing my distress the volunteer asked if she could pray for me. Then another volunteer came in, and another, and they formed a circle of prayer, and thanked God for the blessings of the babies. But, it did not feel like a blessing to me. It felt like an impossible situation with only one solution.

But I believe it was their prayers led me to the StandUpGirl.com website and what I read convinced me that it was possible and there was another alternative to abortion.

The stories that impacted me the most were from unmarried, teenage girls who hadn’t completed their education. Here I was: 35 years old, college educated, happily married. If these young girls could do it, we could too! I realized that we had to make this work; we had to make a new plan - one that included the lives of our two babies!

On Dec. 12th of 2011, I gave birth to identical twin boys; both very healthy and weighing over 7lbs each. They are a blessing.

StandUpGirl.com and our local pregnancy help center played such an important role in the decision making regarding my pregnancy and I cannot emphasize enough how important I think it is for StandUpGirl.com to list and make available access to the local pregnancy help organization on their home page.

StandUpGirl.com shows us that we can stand up and say “no” to abortion, and the pregnancy help centers provide on the ground support in our own neighborhoods.

At one point it seemed impossible to imagine having twins in our life, but thanks to all the young women who shared their stories on StandUpGirl.com, I could never image our lives without them.

By Angela, devoted mom of 3!

The StandUpGirl Foundation is a 501(c)3 charitable organization dedicated to providing pregnant adolescent and young adult women with alternatives to abortion. The mission is to change hearts and save lives by educating young women on the development of the unborn child and alternatives to abortion.

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For a listing of Pregnancy Help Centers, see the Worldwide Directory--an online directory of life affirming service providers around the world.

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Displaying items by tag: networking

One of "those" people

Those People Are...

Looking Within...

Helping Affiliated Life-affirming Organizations (HALO)

Working with StandUpGirl.com to save lives

Life Links

Your source for pregnancy help ministry resources

Abortion

Abortion Recovery

Adoption

Books and Movies

Fundraising/Marketing

Hotlines

Incentive Program

Insurance

Legal

Marriage

Men's Ministry

Mobile Units

Pregnancy Center Affiliation Groups - U.S.

Pregnancy Center Affiliation Groups - International

Pregnancy Centers Software

Pregnancy Test

Prenatal Development

Prenatal Diagnosis

Pro-Life Groups

Pro-Life Resources

Pro-Life Speakers

Research

Resale Shops

Sexual Wellness

STD Information

Teens

Ultrasound Equipment

Ultrasound Resources

Ultrasound Training

Website Design

Networking

Worldwide Directory