Counseling women with unwanted pregnancy
The PRO VITA MEDICA Foundation
Timisoara, ROMANIA
(Also available in German
and Romanian
)
Abortion situation in Romania and
its effects
Romania has the highest abortion rate in Europe, with about
75% of all pregnancies ending in abortion. It is currently stated that
the main cause for such a dramatic abortion rate is the bad economic situation
of the country, which renders women unable to raise a child. However, because
of its meaning and the many side effects it produces, abortion cannot be
a proper solution for the women who pass through an unwanted pregnancy
crisis. Abortion produces deep wounds in the woman’s soul and attacks her
fundamental role, that of being mother and bringing new human life into
our world.
The women who have abortions suffer psychical and behavioral
effects such as anxiety, breaking of relations with the partner and her
family, feelings of guilt and irrecoverable loss, depression, panic, sleep
disturbances, suicidal attempts, psychosis, etc. Physical effects are also
important: sterility, genital wounds, menstrual disturbances, bleeding,
complications in further pregnancies, breast cancer, etc. From the social
point of view the result of the huge abortion rate is a dramatic decrease
of birth rate and, implicitly, the aging of population and its decrease,
which is a serious reason for concern, even for the state authorities.
Goal and creed
Our general goal is to contribute by all our efforts to decrease
the abortion rate in the western part of Romania, where we live. We believe
that God is the Creator of life and that all human life, born and unborn,
is created in His image. The Pro Vita Medica Foundation exists to promote
the sanctity of life by providing support to the woman who finds herself
in a crisis pregnancy, in the hope that she will carry her baby to term.
The pregnant woman has to be properly informed about the new life that
is developing in her womb, about fetal development and the complications
that can occur from performing an abortion. The woman has the right to
be informed.
We recognize that a crisis pregnancy has far reaching
consequences for the mother, the child, the family, and the community.
Therefore, we are committed to the ongoing development of our services
to promote sexual abstinence outside of marriage, to educate our community
on sexuality, crisis pregnancy, abortion, and abortion alternatives, and
to provide a nurturing environment for women and their families to deal
with the effects of a crisis pregnancy or the long-term effects of a previous
abortion.
The most important part of our work with pregnant women
and girls is to reach out to each with compassion, love and acceptance.
Therefore we offer loving, personal and confidential help to the pregnant
mother, whether she is single or married, regardless of her race, age,
financial status or religion.
Our Center
On the 26th November 1998 we opened a Crisis Pregnancy Center
in Timisoara (population 320.000), inside the biggest Obstetrics-Gynecology
hospital in our county.
About 12 to 15 women come here daily in order to
have an abortion performed, out of which we are able to talk with 8 - 10.
Most of them choose abortion because of despair, so that words are rarely
enough to persuade a woman to continue the pregnancy. Practical care is
the most efficient way to help them decide, whether it is medical, financial
or consisting in covering immediate needs (a home, clothes, medicines,
etc.). Our center is run entirely by donations, and we exist strictly for
the benefit of women and their children, born and unborn.
We use for counseling diagrams and plastic models of fetal
development, brochures and books, as well as video films on fetal development
and abortion.
Dr. Cristina Valea, president of the Pro Vita Medica Foundation,
counseling women in the hospital.
What we do:
-
Provide free pregnancy tests
-
Offer counseling and alternatives to abortion
-
Counsel as needed with parents, boyfriend, or husband
-
Introduce women to a Gynecologist for
good medical care
-
Offer childbirth and breast-feeding classes which the father
can also attend
-
Offer post-abortion counseling, through individual or group
therapy classes, led by professionals
-
Educate young students in high schools
and campuses on a number of topics such as sexuality, fetal development,
pregnancy, abortion and post-abortion syndrome, sexual transmitted diseases.
-
Offer house and lodging to those women
who desperately need it
-
Offer practical help consisting of
baby clothes, medicines, powdered milk and money
-
Create awareness within the local community of the needs
of pregnant women and of the fact that abortion only compounds human need
rather than resolving it.
All services are provided free of charge
Our results until now
Since the beginning of our work in the hospital until November 2,
2007 we have counseled over 7200 abortion minded women. 413
decided to keep their babies despite all their financial problems. The following pictures present you some
of them. Names and other details are confidential.
All these women came to the hospital determined to have
an abortion performed, but changed their mind after talking to Dr. Cristina
Valea and getting to know what an abortion really implies. Some had already
paid the bill for the abortion. Therefore it is not the case that some
of these women might not have considered an abortion and were only searching
for help to get through the situation easier. The children you see in the
pictures would literally not have existed in our world. It is true that
their mothers face more earthly difficulties (which we do our best to alleviate)
but the babies brought them also a new sense of fulfillment and joy that
only parents can understand. As a result, none regrets her decision
to keep the baby.
How You Can Help
You can help us by donating:
-
Urine pregnancy tests
-
Baby clothes and supplies, etc.
-
Money (payable to the Pro Vita Medica
Foundation account, Bank
info: BRD Timisoara, Romania, sucursala Mehala, Swift BRDEROBU,
Account no. for
US$ (IBAN code): RO69 BRDE 360SV 399526663600
We are very grateful for any kind of help you
can provide!
Contact us:
 Phone: (40)723-440393
between hours: 07 - 19 GMT
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Last updated November 2, 2007
