Abortion Counselor

A woman experiencing and unplanned pregnancy will find herself overwhelmed with emotion. To resolve her feelings, she must confront her options. She has the choice of seeing the pregnancy to term and placing the child with an adoptive family or raising the child herself or she may consider terminating the pregnancy with an abortion. Coming to a conclusion about one's pregnancy options is ultimately the her decision. However, she doesn't have to feel alone in exploring the options, the consequences of those options and receiving unbiased support or advise in the process. Finding a trustworthy confidante who will not make a woman feel judged must be done with care as she's facing a life-long and life-changing decision for which she'll solely care the emotional burden of in the future.

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Any of the various adoption, abortion or parenting counselors are licensed to listen to a woman's concerns and desires and help bring an objective evaluation of those things to the woman's attention. If a woman chooses to have an abortion, she will speak with an abortion counselor sometime prior to the abortion as well as after the procedure. The first meeting may be a consultation of sorts meant to prompt the pregnant woman to think critically about her decision. And while there's no way to prepare someone fully for the kind of emotional response a woman will have post-abortion, helping a woman feel she's making the decision with her own conviction may and usually will ease pain felt later on.

Depending on the state in which a woman plans to receive an abortion, the state may require the parental consent or a certain amount of time to pass between making the appointment and going through with the abortion. During this time, she may want to think about her discussions with a counselor or seek further guidance and understanding of her decision.

Abortion counselors may be referred by a physician at a Planned Parenthood clinic or a hospital. These individuals should not attempt to convince a woman to make a decision either way. Women who go to a Crisis Pregnancy Center with intent of finding an abortion counselor or an abortion clinic will encounter volunteers who support one of many fundamentalist Christian organizations that aim to talk pregnant women out of pursuing an abortion. This is counterproductive to a woman's emotional health and the unbiased services a counselor licensed by the state will provide.