Unplanned Pregnancies

In Jane Brody's syndicated health column today, she was talking about how 1/2 of all pregnancies are unplanned. Her position was that this was an outrage because of all the contraceptive options out there. She then went over each option in detail, weighing the pros and cons of each (natural family planning was conspicuously absent from her list.) Her argument was that no woman should have to face being pregnant unless she had chosen to become so. She then postulated that there would be no need for abortions if this were the case.

Readers of my blog know that I am 100% pro-life and that I use natural family planning. Regardless, I can appreciate the fear that an unplanned pregnancy can put into a woman. I can understand how it feels to be thrust into a situation you feel ill-equipped to deal with. For those facing such difficulties there are places to turn to for help. You can find a list of them on my website at: http://www.spiritualwoman.net/Sorrow/UnplannedPregnancy.html

And yet, I wonder how we got to this point, where children are no longer regarded as a gift from God, but rather as a burden to be contended with or to be fit into life when the time is right. You can't plan on a gift and if you are sexually active, you need to accept that possibility that a gift may come. If God sends you a child, God will give you the strength to make it through the day (yes, one day - life and parenthood can often be only handled one day at a time).

Perhaps that 50% unplanned pregnancy rate is just God showing us that He is still the one in charge of giving life. If He wants to send a baby, one will be sent, and God has a purpose for every soul He sends to this earth. Regardless of the circumstances of the conception, every child is a child of God and loved by God.