An article by
Beverly Kline
Living Alternatives Founder
Mission Statement: Living Alternatives is a biblically based ministry that affirms the value of the unborn by providing opportunities of growth, development, and stability for women and families.
I know many are celebrating the overturn of Roe vs. Wade; and rightfully so. We prayed, we worked, we believed, and we hoped for the removal of the legalized shedding of innocent blood in our nation.
Although we are thankful for the decision, we also rejoice that the Supreme Court’s decision has also opened a wide door for the sharing of God’s presence in the lives of those experiencing an unplanned pregnancy. God has called and equipped us for this, and it is just beginning. Caring for women through love, care, and compassion are needed now more than ever.
Life after Roe continues the trajectory that Living Alternatives has operated from for 40 years! Our focus has always been on the parents of the unborn child. Our long-standing endeavor is to meet the needs and support those who surround the unborn life. The overturn of Roe has simply enlarged our territory as the obstacle of a quick abortion decision – to end a personal and difficult life dilemma – has been removed.
Reaching women now through pregnancy testing, sonograms, parenting programs, childbirth instruction, and most of all, providing emotional and spiritual support, AXIA stands ready and equipped to respond to the need. Women will now seek and need resources to guide them into lives of victory and not become victims of the overturn of Roe.
Fatherheart maternity home is at full capacity right now, and other maternity homes are also reporting the same, as we are receiving referral calls from other homes. This is a curious phenomenon as I reflect on it. The women coming into maternity homes now are not coming because of the overturn of Roe…they are the women who we’ve seen coming in trickles before the overturn, but now the floodgates have opened, and many are asking for help. My speculation is that with the removal of legal abortion in Texas, women are feeling freer to ask for help with pregnancy and no longer feel the pressure of others that would say, “You should have had an abortion.”
Loving Alternative adoptions, I believe, will increase in numbers as we walk out these months and years of the reversal. Adoption is a loving choice for a mother who feels unprepared, unequipped, and simply not ready to take on the parenting role. In the past abortion took many of these babies, but I believe the adoption door will become a more sought-after solution as time goes forth. Adoption is a selfless and painful road to walk, but it is livable for the mother and the child if handled with Christ’s love and guidance. Loving Alternative prepares both biological and adoptive parents for the life-long journey of support and love for the child, in which they both play critical roles.
For 49 years in America 1 out of 3 women have made the choice of federally sanctioned abortion. With the overturn of Roe, the women, (and the men who encouraged them) are now exposed and can no longer buffer their consciences with the right they exercised to abort their unborn child. Some will become more hardened and continue to suppress the truth in unrighteousness, but many more are hurting and broken as the veil of legality has lifted. These women, especially Christ followers, need our compassion to lead them in the way of forgiveness and the hope of eternity. Living Alternatives is committed to walking this through as we walk in tandem with CARE – Christ-centered Abortion Recovery and Education – a sister nonprofit in Tyler.
Ultimately, in my opinion, legalized abortion has only been the tip of the iceberg. The work of the Church and Living Alternatives, as a para-church organization, is to address sexual immorality and reinforce God’s original intention for sexuality. Sexuality was created by God to reflect His Image as the two become one, in the marriage of one man and one woman. The anger we are seeing expressed by pro-choice advocates is not that they take pleasure in the spilling of the blood of unborn babies, but rather the anger is coming from what is perceived as a violation of a woman’s right. Her right to her own body to do with as she pleases. And yet we (so far) do not promote the right to suicide or the right to any number of other moral dilemmas that mankind faces. Sexual immorality is a moral issue, and it’s not possible to successfully legislate morality. Moral issues are issues of the heart. We as the Church, not the civil government, are the only ones who can and should influence individual moral choices. The Bible outlines the moral road that will most benefit mankind. My heart and life’s endeavor are to bring the light and life of Jesus Christ into the dark places of the moral depravity of the soul. The enemy parades around as an angel of light, and sexual immorality is His greatest deception in this time in which we live.
So, beyond the celebration, these are some of the many sobering realities. Yes, we can rejoice that abortion is no longer sanctioned by the law as a right under the US Constitution, but our work and ministry remains the same: to bring the good news of Christ into the scenario of unplanned and unwanted pregnancies. The truth will always prevail in an individual’s life who seeks it.
Beverly Kline
Founder