Pregnancy Centers: Help is Around the Corner

If it weren’t for the birth of her daughter four years ago, twenty-one year old April Howard doesn’t know where she would be in life.

“I hated myself and my life at the time,” April admits, “I was heading down a sure path of destruction.”
But the news of her unexpected pregnancy as a 16-year-old allowed for a new perspective on her life.

April Howard, a young mother living in Jenison, is seated with her mother, Joan, on a recent Sunday afternoon while her daughter plays quietly in their church nursery. These women have gone through a full range of emotions. Finding out April was pregnant as a high school junior was a shock to her and her entire family.

April continues, “For the first few weeks after I found out I was pregnant, I was scared to death. Mostly I was scared to tell my parents. I figured this news would be the last straw in a series of flawed decisions I had made in my young life. But my parents turned out to be incredibly supportive and have committed themselves to help raise Jaida so I can go back to school and work.”

April and her mother now have much they agree on. “This pregnancy and this baby brought my daughter back,” Joan explains, “it forced her to grow up and change her life! I couldn’t have asked for a better gift than that!”

April agrees, “The birth of my daughter has been a complete blessing. Because of her, I was forced to finish high school quickly, start college and plan for my future in ways I never would have thought about before.”

April and her mother realize how fortunate they are. And now they want to share some of those blessing with other families in need.

“We want to help other girls and their parents in similar situations,” Joan admits, “there are so many resources and services out there that families may not know about. I want other mothers in my situation to know that their daughter’s life is not over if they get pregnant. There is help out there. No one has to go broke raising a baby this way.”

The Howards’ story can be an inspiration and a help to many others. Their willingness to reach out is part of the needed process of educating others about the abortion alternative services available to all women and their families.

Through the advertised hotline 1-800-57WOMAN, women and families throughout Michigan can get help...help that is right around the corner in their own communities.

More than 100 pregnancy care centers populate Michigan offering free pregnancy tests, counseling, help with financial aid and medical care, maternity and children’s clothing, food and housing. Some also offer free ultrasound imaging and paternity testing.

“With the kind of support services available to women in Michigan, there should never be a situation where a woman feels abortion is her only choice due to lack of support,” says Amanda Peterman, Right to Life of Michigan Project Coordinator.

For women facing an unplanned pregnancy or struggling to raise a child on their own, help from people like April and her family are only a phone call away.

For easy access to a crisis pregnancy center in your area, phone 1-800-57WOMAN or visit the OptionLine on the web at www.optionline.org.

\Back to the Table of Contents