On Tuesday I had a meeting with the Director of a CPC, a Crisis Pregnancy Center. I was so excited and anxious for this meeting. A few months ago I had spoken with someone from this organization about volunteering my Doula services to their Teen Moms. The women and I spoke about how so many young girls are going to the hospital without any support system. She was very happy and appreciative of my offer. So Tuesday was the day I was going to meet with the Director, talk with her about my offer, and hopefully take this Doula business in a great direction.
Well, this meeting was an eye opening experience! This women was so judgmental and discriminatory. Upon my arrival I was judged, categorized and written off within five minutes. She was rude, short and would not even entertain my offer until she reviewed my volunteer form and saw that I am a stay at home Mom. This sparked her interest and she actually began making eye contact with me! She then started asking where I grew up, what school I went to and quickly changed her opinion of me. I could not believe it!!! Last time I checked it's 2012, not the 50's!!!! Her whole demeanor changed towards me and the girls, she was proud to show me around and even talk about her own family!
As we're walking around I was reminding myself that I am passionate about being a Doula and even more passionate about helping Teen Moms. And if this means I have to deal with this woman then so be it. As we were talking about the trainings that I would need to complete before I can have contact with their clients I start looking around her office and see numerous pictures of The Pope, Mother Teresa and other Catholic symbols. So I ask her if the organization is Catholic and what their stance is on contraceptives and abortion. She very quickly responds that they are "very Catholic" and that they "absolutely do not support any form of birth control or abortion under any circumstances". As a volunteer I would be trained to counsel young women on abstinence. She did state that volunteers do not have to be Catholic but do have to adhere and teach their beliefs. Wow! I don't even know where to begin. It is my belief that when counseling young women on dealing with their unplanned pregnancies they should be counseled! Not have someone else's beliefs forced onto them. I never stated my stance on abortion or contraceptives nor should I have. It shouldn't matter what I think someone should chose, it's about what's best for them. It's about guiding them through to make a decision and supporting them.
Later that evening I began researching other CPC's and learned that they are all Pro Life and do not support contraceptives, only abstinence. Numerous CPC's have been sued by teen's who felt they were bullied into making a decision and felt threatened. There are countless testimonials from women who state that they went to these "Crisis" centers and were called awful things for even considering an abortion.
This is all very sad to me. I have been fortunate enough to have a wonderful mother that is very supportive and I was always able to go to her in my teenage years. I can't imagine being a young scared teenage girl and going to a CPC thinking I would be helped.
The positive that came out of this meeting is that I am even more passionate about wanting to help Teen Moms and I even more see the need.
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