Choice to Live With

 

Choice to Live With is a volunteer-driven organization.  Our volunteers work with over 50 clients a month who are facing an unplanned or undesired pregnancy.  We are a private nonprofit agency, and with no paid staff. We depend on our volunteers to help us to serve the world!  Thank you Rose, Chris, Marnie, and Trina for making Choice to Live With such a supportive place!

 

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Rose is the Director and Webmaster of Choice to Live With.  She also volunteers as a Woman's Advocate.  She is 28 years old.  She has lived in Western Michigan her entire life.  She was married in 1999, and began college in 2000 to become a Registered Nurse.  She and her husband have 2 young children. Starting a family prompted Rose to leave nursing school, and now she works from home as a medical transcriptionist.  Rose belongs to a Christian Reformed church.

 

Rose works on this website from her home - usually late at night after her family is asleep.  She has some medical training from her time spent in nursing school, a wealth of reference books, and good researching skills, which allow her to give educated medical information.  She began work on the site in April 2004 and opened it in May 2004.  This is a work in progress for her, but she enjoys it greatly and wouldn't have it any other way.

 

Rose has always had an interest in unplanned pregnancy and abortion issues, but she really started getting involved in 2002 when she began counseling women online with pregnancy decisions.  She prefers to think of herself as pro-woman instead of the more traditional labels of pro-life or pro-choice.  She says that she "incorporates both a pro-choice and a pro-life mentality," and she welcomes both points of view on the issue.  She is willing to do as much as possible in order to help women both make - and live with - their choices.

 

Rose created this site because she noticed a huge void on the internet in this area.  When helping women who needed information, support, resources, or advice, she noticed that most websites had an obvious slant.  Some websites would not share facts while others were overly graphic. Many women were wary of visiting sites that showed this kind of bias in either direction.  In addition, women would often have to visit multiple sites to find the information that they needed, which was confusing and time-consuming for many.  Rose hopes that Choice to Live With will help women, whatever their views on abortion may be.

 

Chris has been a Woman's Advocate at Choice to Live With since 2005.  She is 30 years old. She resides in Western Michigan and is married with 4 children - ages 9, 6, and 4-year-old twins.  In addition to caring for her family, she works part time as a high school choir accompanist.  She attends a Christian Reformed church. 

 

She volunteers at Choice to Live With because she had an unplanned pregnancy at the age of 20 when she was single.  She says, "There were many people that helped me get through it, and I want to be able to help other women who are in the same situation."  She likes volunteering at Choice to Live With because, unlike with other volunteer positions, she can work from home at times that are convenient for her.  She also appreciates that everyone at Choice to Live With shares her views and opinions on how women should and should not be treated during an unplanned pregnancy. 

 

When asked what she would want women in unplanned pregnancies to know, she responded, "I just want women to know that there are people out there that really care about them and their specific situation.  I want their story to have a happy ending.  There are no easy answers in a situation like this.  Abortion is an option, but it's not the only option.  I want them to make informed decisions, knowing they will be happy with how things turned out, and hopefully we can help with that process."  

 

Marnie has been a Woman's Advocate at Choice to Live With since 2006.  She is 37 years old.  She lives in Central Michigan and is currently enrolled in a nursing program.  She is married with 3 children (14, 12, and 9) and 3 step-children (ages 17, 16, and 14).   In addition to nursing school, she is a stay-at-home mom and is homeschooling her two youngest children.  She attends a Christian church.

 

She volunteers at Choice to Live With because she has seen women make the wrong choice for themselves out of fear or because they do not know that there are other options only to later agonize over that decision. She hopes to help women to see beyond their fears and doubts and make a good choice for them.  She enjoys volunteering at Choice to Live with because it has helped her to meet so many great people that she would never have met otherwise, and she feels good knowing that she is helping others.

 

When asked what she would want women in unplanned pregnancies to know, she responded, "I would like everyone to know that abortion is certainly an option, but not the only one.  Also, it's a personal choice, and one not to be taken lightly.  It's not a "cure" for pregnancy, and sometimes the repercussions can be very lasting."

 

Trina has been a Women’s Advocate at Choice to Live With since December 2007.  She lives in Southwest Michigan, has been married 7 years, and has 2 children- ages 4 and 1.  She attended Hope College where she obtained a BS/BA in Psychology and Sociology, then continued to Chatham University studying Health Sciences. She recently completed a Medical Transcription course as well and will be working from home doing medical transcription part-time.  Trina worked as a Medical Social Worker for several years before deciding to stay home with her kids. 

 

She volunteers at Choice to Live With because it was her desire to continue working with and helping others.  She loves how CTLW is done entirely online and does not judge women based on their situations, but rather helps them make decisions they are comfortable with and will find peace with.

 

When asked what she would want women in unplanned pregnancies to know, she responded, "One thing I would like them to know is that they are not alone…there are people out there that are willing to help them through it and be with them every step of the way no matter what their choice ends up being.  I only wish that there were more organizations such as CTLW so everyone who wanted help could get it!"

 

Copyright © 2004 Choice to Live With, Inc.

 

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