One of the main reasons people oppose the pro-life movement’s desire to end abortion is due to a misconception that abortion is oftentimes a woman’s only option. 
People are under the impression we care only about saving unborn babies and will allow women to fend for themselves once their decision has been made. Through working with a multitude of pro-life organizations, I have come to realize the endless assistance people are willing to give to women facing crisis pregnancies so that no woman feels the need to end the life of her child in order to retain stability in her own life.
I spent one summer volunteering at a crisis pregnancy center that served primarily abortion-minded women, many of whom were on the fence about aborting their babies or others who had already scheduled their abortion appointments. There are a couple of lessons I learned that summer that have been crucial in the formation of my view — women deserve so much more than abortion. 
First, women do not want to have abortions. A woman chooses abortion because it seems like the easiest way out of whatever crisis pregnancy circumstance she has found herself in, whether it be financial struggles, school, a disapproving family or any other myriad of reasons. When 90 percent of the abortion-minded women who walk into a crisis pregnancy center leave with no intent to abort, you can be sure abortion was not the ideal option in their minds. Another point I took away was that there are so many resources available to women facing crisis pregnancies. There are centers all over with workers and volunteers willing to devote as much time as necessary to ensure each mother who comes in has the resources and knowledge she needs to continue her pregnancy and raise her child.
The Bryan-College Station area, for example, is filled with resources for women facing unplanned pregnancies. We are fortunate enough to have two pregnancy centers — Hope Pregnancy and Aggieland Pregnancy Outreach — which, between them, offer free pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, counseling, classes for teen mothers, baby items, adoption services and more. We even have a maternity home, which takes in pregnant women and their children facing very trying circumstances and houses them during and after their pregnancies, teaching them the skills they need to parent, run a home and search for jobs along the way. 
Even on campus we have ways of supporting student mothers. Pro-Life Aggies give out Pregnant and Parenting Student Scholarships each year to A&M and Blinn students who have courageously chosen life in times of trouble and are continuing to work towards their educational dreams.
The members of Pro-Life Aggies would never deny an unplanned pregnancy could be daunting and unmanageable. However, no woman, no matter how difficult her circumstance, should feel her only way out of trouble is to end the beautiful human life growing inside of her. Empowering women involves helping them celebrate their unique ability to bring life into this world, and there are so many people dedicating their lives to doing just that by providing pregnant women with resources and assistance. We should be doing everything we can to expand and draw awareness to such pregnancy resources so women facing crisis pregnancy situations can feel confident in their life-affirming choices.
Carly Burke is the public relations chair for Pro-Life Aggies and a philosophy senior.