Our Journey
Why engage in a new conversation?
The Caris journey began more than 25 years ago in a Chicago church. Our history of providing guidance and practical help is strong, and we want to serve the BEST we can. So, five years ago we began asking:
- Why has abortion created divisiveness instead of real solutions?
- How would Jesus approach the issues of unplanned pregnancies and abortion if he were here today?
- Why do women have abortions?
- What do they really need in order to have hope for their future and the future of their child?
- What would communicate God’s love and make a difference for them?
We prayed, searched Scripture, looked at national statistics, conducted research with our clients and sought wise counsel.
Through this process, two themes emerged. First, God is equally concerned with BOTH the woman and the child involved in an unplanned pregnancy. Psalm 139:13-16 is consistently used to outline God’s plan for each unborn child and as we started reading the whole chapter with the woman in mind, we realized that God is equally committed to her welfare, her dreams and her future.
Second, we learned that when Jesus is cornered with a difficult question (John 8:3-11, Luke 20:20-26), he provides an unexpected, but much-needed response. This created our foundation for launching a new conversation based on Commitment, Counseling and Connection.
COMMITMENT
We asked for God’s guidance in this new approach—one that demonstrated his COMMITMENT to both the woman and the child. He designed pregnancy in such a way that to care for the welfare of the child is to care for the mother. At the same time, the mother should never be reduced as a means to an end. She has dignity, value and worth in her own right. Therefore, we want to elevate the needs and well-being of both the woman and the child. This is the heart of God.
So with this focus, we investigated why women have abortions. National statistics consistently show that the majority of women who end a pregnancy say their primary reason was related to either lack of emotional support or lack of practical resources.1 To learn what this practically means, we engaged a social science researcher to conduct in-depth studies and focus groups with our clients.
Through this research, we now know that when a woman discovers she is facing an unplanned pregnancy, she often experiences emotional and psychological distress that needs support and exploration. She is basing her decision on this emotional experience and how she copes with it. She doesn’t see much hope for herself or her child. In fact, research shows that her feelings of panic, shock and isolation often make her to feel that her life as she knows it will be over.
To meet a woman’s tremendous emotional needs during unplanned pregnancy, we now offer COUNSELING from licensed professional social workers and counselors. We understand that once a woman has a safe, non-judgmental place to fully explore what she is feeling, she often starts to realize there will be help for her, and begins to have hope for her future and the future of her child.
CONNECTION
The next phase of our journey focused on how we could help women build longer-term support systems to meet their ongoing needs for emotional support and practical resources. We found that CONNECTION in three different areas—peer support, community resources and local churches—is the best way to meet these needs.
We know that if women facing unplanned pregnancies don’t have the support they need, it often leads to either an abortion, or to a lifetime of struggle and difficult parenting. Connection is how we continue to change that story through hands-on involvement. Women are empowered as they build healthy relationships, and as they are introduced to community and church resources that can provide longer-term support for them and their child.
CONVERSATION
The most recent part of our journey has been about conversations with a broader community. Caris envisions a world where Christians are known more for what they stand for in the abortion issue rather than just what they stand against. We’re working so that Christians are known for embracing women facing unplanned pregnancies and providing what they need to have hope for their future and the future of their children.
The amazing changes we have seen through this journey have convinced us that The Caris Approach of COMMITMENT, COUNSELING AND CONNECTION is a powerful solution to meet the needs of both women and children, build common ground around a divisive issue and reduce the number of abortions.
We know that 75 percent of women choosing abortion are struggling to find enough support and resources.1 We also know that many women parenting after unplanned pregnancies are struggling because they don’t have necessary support or resources. Women are telling us what would give them hope for their pregnancies and their futures. Are we listening?
To become part of the journey to find positive solutions for women and children join the CONVERSATION.
1 The Guttmacher Institute. (2005). New York: Finer, LB and Frohwirth, Lori Reasons U.S. Women Have Abortions: Quantitative and Qualitative Perspectives, 2005, 37 (3).