Rates of unplanned pregnancies rose significantly during the coronavirus lockdowns. What kind of support is out there for women (and men) facing this situation, and how can the church try and plug the gaps? In this episode we speak with Sophie Guthrie-Kummer, who runs a charity in London which has offered pregnancy crisis counselling (among other services) for two decades, to hear what this work looks like and how Choices juggles the theological and social hot potatoes of pregnancy and abortion. And how can we respond to abortion in a way which cools tensions rather than inflames them? Can a pro-life believer offer truly non-directive counselling to a pregnant woman considering termination, or work with integrity in a hospital which carries out abortions?
In each episode of Matters of Life and Death, brought to you by Premier Unbelievable?, John Wyatt and his son Tim discuss issues in healthcare, ethics, technology, science, faith and more. John is a doctor, professor of ethics, and writer and speaker on many of these topics, while Tim is a religion and social affairs journalist. We talk about how Christians can better engage with a particular question of life, death or something else in between.
Today we’re returning to a classic episode from our back catalogue, with special guest Sophie Guthrie-Kummer from Choices, a Christian crisis pregnancy centre in London. Abortion is a flashpoint issue in both the church and wider culture, with the very language you choose used as a cudgel for either side. So how does Choices juggle the theological and social hot potatoes here, and how can we respond to abortion in a way which cools tensions rather than inflames them? And can a pro-life believer offer truly non-directive counselling to a pregnant woman considering termination, or work with integrity in a hospital which carries out abortions?
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A good place to get help if you or someone you know is experiencing an unplanned pregnancy (or if you’d like to find your local pregnancy crisis centre in the UK) is Pregnancy Choices Directory.
You can find out more about Choices on their website.