In response to Kaitlyn Neath’s article in the Owen Sound Hub’s Opinion, I would like to take a few moments in response to her article titled, “Call for transparency in pregnancy centres” on February 15, 2019.

First and foremost, in Kaitlyn Neath’s article she states that we counsel women as such that they “may be shown anti-abortion material in an attempt to guilt the young and vulnerable into continuing their pregnancies”. This is an incredibly inaccurate depiction of our work at the Centre. When a woman obtains support at the pregnancy centre, they always receive accurate information and support on all three options: parenting, abortion and adoption. This information is both verbal, provided in a handout, and/or a video that has been reviewed by physicians. We never show graphic or harmful materials about abortion.

If a woman does decide that abortion is her best option, we do not judge or persuade her not to obtain one. We want each woman to feel that the Centre is a safe, welcoming place to talk. If a woman decides to have an abortion and has any feelings of regret, anger or remorse months or even years later, we even have support for that. Let’s face it, not every woman thinks an abortion was the right decision for them months or even years later. And that is okay, we are here to talk about it.

Likewise, if a woman decides to place for adoption or parent, we provide her with resources, support and the care she needs to make positive decisions for her and her child. We thank you for notifying us that our website link was down – we are making changes to our site – it is not intentional. [ed. note: the links about morning after pill and abortion are still not available - the rest of the site is working.]

We can do this important work because we are not government funded which allows each woman to talk through each option for as long (sometimes many hours or days!) as she wants. This is incredibly important now that the abortion pill is accessible, as primary care doctors do not have the time to counsel women for days or hours. If we did not exist, many Grey Bruce women would be alone making these decisions because they have little support. And if they are not alone, they may be experiencing pressures from a boyfriend, parent or friend to choose an abortion - when she may want to parent or place for an adoption!

We have never hidden the fact we are faith-based. However, we do not provide faith-based counselling unless the client indicates they want this perspective.

Our services are incredibly important to the Grey Bruce community. We fill an unmet need in the community indicated by the numerous referrals from other social service and government agencies such as lactation consulting, mentorship, friendship circles, baby clothing, diapers and much more. All our services are free.

We would also like to point out that The Grey Bruce Pregnancy Centre in downtown Owen Sound is not affiliated with the new Brockton Maternity Centre. While we are supportive of their work, and will likely refer women to the maternity home if they choose this option, we remain an independent pregnancy care centre dedicated to supporting women and men in an unplanned or stressful pregnancy.

And finally, Kaitlyn (or any other reader), I am happy to show you all our materials we handout to the client as well as the DVDs we show. Further, I will personally walk you through exactly how we work with a client during a crisis pregnancy. You are free to take a tour of our very welcoming Centre! Anyone reading this may call me at 519-371-2004 or email at [email protected] if you have questions.

Amanda Graham
Executive Director
Grey Bruce Pregnancy Centre