This is the most controversial topic I have done so far. Finding out your teenage daughter is pregnant can be the most life changing event ever. The teen daughter is scared to death to tell mom and dad. She knows they will be angry, hurt and disappointed.

For parents to learn their little girl has been having sex and is pregnant, they may feel their world and the world of their child has ended. The article below may help give you insight on this issue. Parents, you must discuss with your daughter how this happened and who is the father of the child without being condescending. Parents also need to understand the daughter did not do this alone, their was a young man involved.

Together, with your daughter, you need to discuss the future of the unborn child. There are three choices you can make. The mother of the child should be given the chance to decide what she would like to do with her baby before every one else tells her what they want her to do.

The father of the child may want her to have an abortion performed. He may even try to force this issue stating he does not want the burden of being a father at this time. This will put a strain on the young mother-to-be. She too may want an abortion, but is hesitant. If her parents also insist on an abortion, then she is left with little choice. The abortion process should be understood before you make this decision. You must see this video, http://www.abortionno.org/, of an actual abortion being performed. In the video you will see the baby being torn into pieces as it is removed from the womb. After the video ask yourself if you can kill a small baby who cannot tell you it wants to live. If every baby does not the right to live, then who decides who lives and who dies.

The second alternative is for the teen mother to keep the baby and raise it. In this case her parents will need to help. I would hope that the baby's father would want to take part in helping raise his child. Many times the father does not want to play any part in this process even though he was happy while having the sex which made the child. Being a teen mother is a difficult process which cannot be achieved without her parents full support.

If this is not possible then the third alternative is giving the baby up for adoption. This is a difficult decision, but it is better than abortion. There is a story below which is told by a young mother who gave up her baby for adoption. Even though it broke her heart, it also gave her peace knowing that someone was caring for her child. Also listed below are websites on the adoption process. Look through each one carefully before you consider abortion. Please, give your baby the chance to live. They may be the one who finds a cure for cancer.

On our sister site, A-Better-Child.org, we have another topic entitled Talking To Your Kids About Sex. This page has a lot of information on how and when to discuss sex with your children. This is one subject which is neglected in most families. Children need to be properly taught about sex and their bodies. They should be taught to wait until they are married to have sex.

How to React to News of Your Teenage Daughter's Pregnancy

Discovering that your unmarried teenage daughter is pregnant can come as a real shock, particularly when you were not aware that she was having sex. 

She may have kept her relationship with the father a secret, which will make the ultimate discovery that she is pregnant even more of a shock. Or your teenage daughter may have been the victim of a rapist. This article will look at how parents or guardians should react when they learn that their teenage daughter is pregnant.

Gather the facts

Finding out that your teenage daughter is pregnant will not be easy to handle, but just think of how your daughter must be feeling as she or someone else breaks the news to you. She may be feeling guilty, overwhelmed and in shock. So be gentle with her and gather the facts. Do not immediately jump to conclusions about what has happened and start shouting abusively at her. After all, if your daughter was the victim of a rapist, her pregnancy is not her fault. She did not choose to have sex and end up in this situation.

Inform the father

Unless the father is a rapist, it is important to inform him of your daughter's pregnancy, as he has a right to know. He may also be a teenager and show no interest in assuming responsibility for his child. But the father will still need to support his child financially. However much you may dislike the father of your daughter's baby, remember that your grandchild will want to know who their father is and have the opportunity to get to know him. Conversely, the father may want to be actively involved in his baby's life. If so, allow him his rights as a father.

Do not force her to opt for adoption or foster care

Find out your daughter's thoughts on her pregnancy and do not force her to give her baby up for adoption or to put the baby into foster care once he or she is born. This is a very delicate situation. The ultimate decision will rest with her as the mother. If you force her to give her baby away, she may well live to regret the decision and resent you for your interference. So even if you think it is for the best for her not to be a teenage mother, the facts remain, she will be a teenage mother if she chooses to continue with her pregnancy. You cannot turn the clock back and make sure that she never got pregnant in the first place.

Abortion violates the sanctity of life

You may feel that abortion is the best option and going through with an abortion will allow your daughter to resume her "normal" teenage activities once again. But think for a moment about the life that is growing inside your daughter. This is your grandchild. Abortion will end your grandchild's life and you will never get to see him or her grow and form a relationship with you and with their mother if you talk your daughter into having an abortion. Once it is done, the baby is gone for good.

Do not insist upon marriage

Some parents feel that the best solution to the issue of their teenage daughter's pregnancy is to insist that the young couple get married. This depends on many factors. A couple should not get married simply to avoid an out of wedlock birth. Parents need to consider what will be best for their daughter and grandchild. Do the couple have genuine love for one another? Would they have married later on down the road if your teenage daughter was not pregnant? Marriage will not ultimately unite a couple in a secure bond of love, but can actually make them drift apart and resent one another.

Dealing with the news of your teenage daughter's pregnancy will leave you with feelings of shock, disbelief and perhaps even anger. But do not be quick to judge your daughter. Gather all of the facts and then proceed with caution. Look at how your daughter feels about what has happened and accept her apology if she offers one. She will be in need of parental support. If you berate her for becoming pregnant, you may push her away altogether and that would deprive you of your grandchild, as well as your daughter.

The above article was borrowed from: http://www.gomestic.com/Family/How-to-React-to-News-of-Your-Teenage-Daughters-Pregnancy.31602. Please visit their site for information.

Abortion: Consider An Alternative

One young woman, Caroline chose to have an abortion at 17. She shared recently how every day she thinks about the abortion and still regrets her decision. She had not given it much thought until she got married, became pregnant again and had given birth to her baby.

The memories flowed back as she held her beautiful daughter. She said she is haunted by the abortion and wishes she had chosen adoption. She went on to say, “At least I would know I had given the baby a chance. It was very selfish of me to think I would not be affected by this later on.”

By choosing adoption rather than abortion, you will always be comforted knowing that even though you could not provide for your child, you did give him/her life and the opportunity to grow up in a happy, secure home with the love of parents chosen especially for him/her by you.

To read the entire article, http://www.pregnancyhelponline.com/pregnancy_options/abortion.html 

Please visit their website for more information, http://www.pregnancyhelponline.com/index.html

Estimated abortion statistics

·         One baby is aborted every 26 seconds

·         137 babies are aborted every hour

·         3,304 babies are aborted every day

·         23,196 babies are aborted every week

·         100,516 babies are aborted every month

·         1,205,960 babies are aborted every year

·         An estimated 50 million babies are aborted every year worldwide

*Note: The figures above are only estimations based on reported abortions. The actual numbers are probably higher since some abortions are not reported.

Websites with videos 

Silent Scream
WARNING: This video contains graphic images which some may find disturbing. ...
To play the high-speed video clips, click on the forward arrow of the video ...
http://www.silentscream.org/video1.htm

Abortion Pictures and Video
See the inhumanity of abortion through post-abortion pictures at various stages
of fetal development.
http://prolifetraining.com/Abortion-Video.htm 

YouTube - anti abortion vid
Pro-life Anti-Abortion Video: Development of the Unborn Baby · Pro-life Anti-Abortion
Video: Development of the Unborn Baby. 04:31 From: catholichomeschool ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biYm_pLUn5o

Abortion NO / The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform
The internet home to the most compelling anti abortion projects in existence (The
Genocide Awareness Project, The Reproductive "Choice" Campaign, ...
http://www.abortionno.org/

Videos of abortions 

Watch these videos before you go to a doctor for an abortion:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXhyc0bXHh4 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOny71OfD0Q 

http://www.billdetucci.com/The_Hard_Truth_Abortion_Vid.php 

Partial birth abortion demonstration video
http://www.dyinglight.com/index.php/07-12-2006/partial-birth-abortion-video/

Websites on adoption 

giving a baby up for adoption
You may think that if you consider adoption for your child, you are a cold, ... All adopted children grow up to have serious psychological problems. ...
www.bethany.org/A55798/bethanyWWW.nsf/0/16133594B7B07A0285256E24005A0E61

Should I Place My Child for Adoption - Severing Rights - Giving up ...
What are the reasons for and against placing a child for adoption? What are the
pros and cons to adoption? Are there resources available to help an ...
http://adoption.about.com/od/placingachild/i/adoptionoption.htm

Adoption, Not Abortion - People Who Were Adopted Speak Out
I think that giving up your child takes incredible bravery and love and I ...
They were both in college and gave me up for adoption as they had no means of ...
http://www.gargaro.com/adoptedkids.html 

How do you give a child up for adoption? | Answerbag.com
Giving up a child for adoption must be a heart-wrenching difficult thing to do
and this post doesn't speak to those issues. There...
http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/54725 

Putting Your Child Up for Adoption - Associated Content
Dec 23, 2006 ... After giving this careful thought, there are several ways you can go about putting
your child up for adoption. Putting Your Child Up For ...
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/105366/putting_your_child_up_for_adoption.html 

What happens when you give a child up for adoption
Jan 29, 2005 ... Women don't realize how gratifying it can be to give a child up for adoption
rather than buy into Planned Parenthood's abortion plan. ...
http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/shroder/050129

Just when you think you’ve seen and heard it all, you hear a story and see a photo like the one below. I hope this touches all of you as much as it touched me. This is more proof that abortions and partial birth abortions kill innocent lives.

A picture began circulating in November.  It should be 'The Picture of the Year,' or perhaps, 'Picture of the Decade.'  It won't be.  In fact, unless you obtained a copy of the US paper which published it, you probably would never have seen it.

The picture is that of a 21-week-old unborn baby named Samuel Alexander Armas, who is being operated on by surgeon named Joseph Bruner.

The baby was diagnosed with spinal bifida and would not survive if removed from his mother's womb.  Little Samuel's mother, Julie Armas, is an obstetrics nurse in Atlanta.  She knew of Dr. Bruner's remarkable surgical procedure.  Practicing at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, he performs these special operations while the baby is still in the womb.

During the procedure, the doctor removes the uterus via C-section and makes a small incision to operate on the baby.  As Dr. Bruner completed the surgery on Samuel, the little guy reached his tiny, but fully developed hand through the incision and firmly grasped the surgeon's finger.  Dr. Bruner was reported as saying that when his finger was grasped, it was the most emotional moment of his life, and that for an instant during the procedure he was just frozen, totally immobile.

The photograph captures this amazing event with perfect clarity.  The editors titled the picture, 'Hand of Hope.'  The text explaining the picture begins, ’The tiny hand of 21-week- old fetus Samuel Alexander Armas emerges from the mother's uterus to grasp the finger of Dr. Joseph Bruner as if thanking the doctor for the gift of life.'

Little Samuel's mother said they 'wept for days' when they saw the picture.  She said, 'The photo reminds us pregnancy isn't about disability or an illness, it's about a little person.'  Samuel was born in perfect health; the operation was 100 percent successful.