Every non profit and organization is operating on a bias. We are transparent with all our clients, supporters and communications on what we believe and our goals with serving our community. We acknowledge that Christians do not all share the same belief on the morality or legality of abortion. At our centre, we train our staff and volunteers to avoid political debates on controversial topics related to the choices of our clients. God teaches us to care for the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of all people and therefore we have chosen to adopt a pastoral role when working with our clients. We demonstrate the love of Jesus by relieving external & internal pressure of people in crisis. We also offer a space to talk through their own faith journey and how it impacts them; at their pace and timing. Stats show that 1 in 3 women will have an abortion or face the decision to have an abortion. This includes women from all religious backgrounds as well. We offer a safe space for them to find grace and comfort, knowing that they are valuable and loved regardless of pregnancy decision. We are uniquely positioned to offer services to women and families in the Eastern Townships facing unplanned pregnancies, and are passionate about meeting their needs.

We always offer to talk about the abortion options so that she is prepared in her expectations to navigate the experience. Regardless of your pregnancy outcome, we offer care. We are however not a medical facility that performs abortions. In Quebec, no referral is needed to access abortion services. Should your decision to terminate be made and you do not feel the need for additional support, we encourage you to contact your primary healthcare provider, local CLSC or Family Medicine unit for more information. Please know that you are always welcome to discuss and debrief before and after an abortion experience as well as access other services at Options. We are here for you!

Options is doing our part in ensuring women know they have choices. We help them assess the pros and cons of each choice with accurate information. Our existence is not to take away the choice of legal abortion. Our existence is to provide a safe space for vulnerable women and their families to know what each option means for them now and in the future while helping them find tools to relieve external and internal pressures. Although we are non-political, we apprciated what Corey Purdy-Smith said, a pro-choice activist from Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada, in regards to believing in a women's choice while also in believing in reducing the number of abortions women endure. “As a pro-choice activist I am always surprised to hear others talk about how much I love abortions. I’d never thought of myself as actually liking abortions, but to hear the comments of nearly every single pro-life writer, politician and activist, you’d think that I and all my cohorts just go all gooey inside every time a woman walks into a clinic. For some reason ‘Pro-Choice’ has come to mean ‘Pro-Abortion’ in the minds of our opponents and even in the minds of the mainstream public. This is unfortunate because if there is anything that both sides of the debate can agree on it is that the fewer abortions there are, the better. For the pro-choice folks this is because any woman, given the choice, would prefer to either bring life into the world or avoid pregnancy altogether rather than endure an abortion. Women only choose abortion when their other choices have failed them or have been denied them. This means that as pro-choice activists our duties go far beyond fighting for the legalization of abortion. Here in Canada, that happened 20 years ago. If legalizing abortion was all pro-choice was about, we could have packed up and moved on long ago. But pro-choice means a great deal more. In fact, pro-choice is as much about ensuring a woman’s right to not abort as it is about her right to abort” (2008). We know abortion is not as simple as what some may say. We believe it is a complex, hard, and life-altering decision for everyone involved. You can read more of her letter here: https://www.arcc-cdac.ca/pro-choice-is-not-pro-abortion/

No, we believe that we are to love and serve everyone; regardless of their faith, ideology, gender, or culture background. All of our sessions are client-led. We will only talk about our faith if the client is comfortable and interested.

What we understand about the two sides of the debate is that the pro-life movement fights for the rights of the unborn and the pro-choice movement fights for the rights of pregnant women. We value the life of both. Ultimately, we take a women-focused approach that is rooted in the understanding that our role is to address the client’s need, recognizing that she is the one who must make the decision. We amplify voices so that women know they have more than one choice and that they are not alone. We do not engage in the political debates of the pro-life or pro-choice movements so that we can offer a safe space without pressure for our clients.