Unplanned pregnancies and abortions appear to rise from COVID, but God is opening doors

Craig Macartney
Spur Ottawa Writer

Anxiety levels increased dramatically this past year, exponentially so for women facing unplanned pregnancies. Isolated, facing job losses, and afraid of the virus, many women contemplated abortion. This is the bleak picture that saw a dramatic increase in the work for Ottawa’s crisis pregnancy centres.

“We saw a big spike in people coming to us with unexpected pregnancies. That jumped immediately, in the first month,” said the director of one local centre. They asked to be quoted anonymously to speak more freely. “Then we saw a big increase in people who needed material support; diapers, wipes, and help to parent a child who is coming or had just come.”

The crisis pregnancy centre saw an 81 percent increase in women seeking help last year. Of note, the steepest increase was among the most vulnerable women in Ottawa: Refugees, immigrants, and those without established jobs. The centre’s client numbers are still up 60 percent from pre-COVID numbers.

“We were giving out everything we had. Thankfully, right at the beginning, Respond Ottawa reached out to a number of churches and they helped us.”

“I would guess that abortions went up 20 percent last year.”

Throughout 2020, the centre operated on faith and saw God using the Church to provide. At one point last month, the centre gave away their last pack of baby wipes. The next morning a pastor called saying his church wanted to bring over some diapers and asked what else they need.

“That’s the way it has gone all year. With COVID and the lockdown, this issue rests even harder on women in the midst of an unplanned pregnancy. For women who have made a decision about an unplanned pregnancy, whether it is to keep the child or to abort, in both cases the needs have gone up. At this point, it has risen even more for those who are post-abortion.”

Sadly, the increase in client visits has shifted now toward post-abortive care.

“I would guess that abortions went up 20 percent last year,” the director shared. “People were saying they don’t think this is a safe place to raise a child and that it is not a good time to be pregnant.”

“When you consider the horrible numbers of people who have died from COVID, the truth is that far more have died from abortion [in the past year].”

Abortion clinics and the government make abortion statistics nearly impossible to access. Conservative estimates from 2017 show there are between 3,500 and 4,000 abortions in Ottawa, every year.

“When you consider the horrible numbers of people who have died from COVID, the truth is that far more have died from abortion [in the past year]. There are at least 100,000 post-abortive women in our city. When I walk down the street, it is every fifth house.”

The abortion pill is increasingly prominent, meaning many women who chose abortion during COVID witnessed the abortion in their own home, often alone and without mental, spiritual, or emotional support.

“These at-home abortions seem to have a far more devastating psychological impact.”

“The vast majority of women we encounter felt forced into an abortion, usually by a husband, boyfriend, or father.”

Women often struggle with deep regret after an abortion. The centre director shared that the inward struggle many women face (often completely on her own) can lead to dysfunctional and self-destructive behaviour. Walking them through a process of healing is a long journey.

“It is not unusual for those who enter counseling to admit periods of depression or even thoughts of self harm. We have clients where we worry about their suicide risk. The vast majority of women we encounter felt forced into an abortion, usually by a husband, boyfriend, or father.

“We hear stories all the time from people saying, ‘As they were doing the abortion, I realized what was happening.’ In the case of [the abortion pill], ‘When my abortion was happening on my bathroom floor, that’s when I realized what was happening.’”

Isolated by restrictions, increasing numbers of Ottawa women have been unable to supress their trauma and grief, even from abortions they had years ago. The good news is that many are seeking help from crisis pregnancy centres.

“These are people who Satan has convinced that God hates them and that the Church hates them. We try to build bridges back to God with these women, to be able to change that narrative and show them what the Gospel really is, that they can have real hope.”

While researching this article, Spur Ottawa was told of signs of hope to come from a number of pro-life organization. Next week we will publish part two of this story focusing on how COVID is affecting public opinions and discussion around abortion.