What are my options if I’m pregnant in Washington, D.C.? Am I ready to be a parent? How do I know what to do if I’m not ready to be a parent in D.C.? Are there resources in Washington, D.C. to teach me how to decide to keep a baby or not?

If you’re experiencing an unplanned pregnancy in Washington, D.C., it’s completely natural to be asking questions like those listed above. This is most likely a stressful time in your life, and you are faced with the biggest decision of your life thus far. It can be tempting to feel overwhelmed and want to give up, but our first advice to you in this situation is to breathe. An unplanned pregnancy in D.C. is not the end of the world, and everything will be okay in the end. Our second piece of advice is to learn as much as possible about your unplanned pregnancy options in Washington, D.C.

This article is going to cover your unplanned pregnancy options in D.C., but we’d like to make something clear first: While we are an adoption agency, our goal is not to persuade you to choose adoption. Obviously, we think it has some very serious benefits that don’t accompany the other two unplanned pregnancy options in D.C., but adoption is not right for everyone. No one should ever tell you what to do with your unexpected pregnancy, and that includes us. Our purpose in providing this information is solely to help you with your research so that you can ultimately make the best decision for your baby and yourself.

Option One: Parenting

If you are facing an unplanned pregnancy in the District of Columbia, the first question to ask yourself is, “Am I ready to be a parent?” If the answer to that question is a resounding yes, then you may as well quit reading this article now. No one should ever attempt to tell you not to parent your child if you are ready and willing to do so. However, if you’re on the fence, there are some details about parenthood that may be helpful to consider:

• The Department of Agriculture estimated that it costs approximately $233,610 to raise a child — and that’s a figure from 2015. This is a large sum of money for anyone, but it can be especially daunting if you have not been financially preparing for motherhood.

• Will anyone help you to raise the child? This is not to suggest that it’s not entirely possible for a woman to be a successful single parent, because it is absolutely an option. However, the saying “it takes a village” is not entirely unfounded. Having a support system to help you raise your baby can make all the difference in the world.

• Will you still be able to continue your educational and professional goals while raising a child?

• Do you want to be a mom right now? Do you want to be a mom at all? If the answer to either of those questions is no, then that is perfectly okay. Many women don’t wish to become parents in their lifetimes, or at this time in their life, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Option Two: Abortion

Abortion is, obviously, the most controversial of the unplanned pregnancy options in the District of Columbia. That is not to say, though, that it isn’t very much an option for you to consider if you want to. If abortion is something you’re thinking about, we encourage you to stick to reliable resources, like as Planned Parenthood, for your information. When it comes to abortion in the District of Columbia, you should know that:

• In 2014, 5,820 abortions were provided in D.C.

• In 2014, there were nine abortion-providing facilities in D.C. Five of these were clinics.

• The only major restriction on abortion in D.C. is that public funding is only available for the service in cases of rape, incest or life endangerment.

Option Three: Adoption

As an adoption agency, we obviously know quite a bit about the third and final unplanned pregnancy option in Washington, D.C. And while we could talk about it all day, we’ll keep it short for the sake of a simple list to help you learn more about the adoption facts that aren’t associated with the other two D.C. unplanned pregnancy options:

• Adopted kids get to grow up with not one but two loving sets of parents who placed the child’s needs above their own.

• An adopted child is more likely to pursue higher education and extracurricular activities, simply because their homes are more prepared for them.

• With adoption, birth mothers can remain in their children’s lives to know that they are happy, healthy and loved.

Of course, this article probably did not make it clear which D.C. unplanned pregnancy option is best for you. However, we do hope it helped you to learn a bit about your choices. To learn more, please contact American Adoptions at 1-800-ADOPTION. 

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