.png)
“Hi, do y’all provide the abortion pill?”
“No, we do not, but –”
“Ok, thank you,” click.
I am on the receiving end of calls just like this on a weekly basis. Women are calling every place they can to get their hands on the abortion pill as soon as possible. The sooner you take it, the more effective it’ll be. This creates in women a sense of desperate urgency to get out of their pregnancy crisis as quickly as possible. With the abortion pill, there is little time for decision making and hardly any time at all to seek support for the decision made. Women often feel they don’t have time to come in for a pregnancy test and ultrasound, let alone time to sit and speak with someone through the full spectrum of information about all of their options. Some women feel that they have no time for options. Many feel like there are no other options besides the abortion pill.
With most calls I take, I have only a few minutes to show compassion with my words, inflect love with my voice, and provide as much information in earnest as I can. With calls like the one above, I have only a few seconds. The reality is that though they won’t find what they are looking for here, they may very well find it elsewhere. And sometimes, they find exactly what they're looking for only to discover it is not at all what they needed.
If and when that moment of realization hits, we will be here for them then, too.
Listen, answering phones is not known for it's glamor. I receive hateful words, discouraged voices, and the sounds of tears on the other end of calls. I praise God that those are few and far between, and praise God I get to show love to those few as well. But my job – both professionally and in ministry – is to be the voice that loves louder than the others. In fact, that is what we are all called to do. Love as Christ loves, not with condemnation but with conviction. What these women actually need is the Gospel. Our job – both for those actively working in the pregnancy center ministry and for those who support it – is to love women as loud as we can towards the Gospel of Jesus.
- Jordyn Kingery, Center Manager