European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 15, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse Nurnberg group emphasizes alternatives to abortion friends lot life Isa pro life group dedicated 10giving women alternatives to abortion h Snow unlike Anli abortion groups across America except Lor two map areas la snot political and it can be Lound in a us army Hospital in Niernberg. West Germany we have 10 put our Money where our Mouth is group coordinator oppose abortion via have of give both emotional an practical support to women who decide to Havo i hair babies Whon these women ask. How can 1 survive we Tell to help dispel any conclusion Stropko said the group s goal is to help any woman faced with an unwanted pregnancy. We do not get involved with politics. We re solely and slip atty sponsored by tha roman Catholic congregation of Darby Chape in the Natii Borg military Community Frienda is an ecumenical group of about two dozen volunteers. They Are allowed to use space for counselling in the chaplains Olti cos in the basement of the Nurnberg Hospital because the group is an approved Chapel said chaplain maj Glenn Sammis. The Hospital chaplain the volunteers Range in age and experience from a couple in their 60s who raised 12 Foster children As Wol As 12 child in of their own to a 19-year-old private who said she decided to help because she saw so Many Pregnall soldiers in her unit. Most of the women Stropko sees Are Young soldiers plus a Low teen age children of soldiers when the pregnant woman is a Soldier she laces some unique difficulties. Long duty hours Field duty and an assignment Distant from family support May convince her Hal single parenthood would be impossible. Confused and alone she May feel panicked about How a pregnancy will affect her career. The military Chain of command May give her support but More than Likely she s on her own to make her Choice regarding what to do about the baby if under Groat emotional stress she May think that her Only Chico is an abortion. To the worst Case a woman May be told take a Lew Days take the weekend Lake care of it " a military chaplain Ollen Trie higher the rank of the pregnant woman the More pressure to dispense with the friends for life wants to assure a when these women ask How can t survive we Tell them " Lanny Stropko of friends Tor Lite there Are alternatives to abortion she can keep the baby or put it up Lor adoption. Giving her the facts about abortion can he a her make an informed decision said Stropko the Mother of one adopted and eight natural children counselling on abortion is Frank and factual and Given in a concerned non judgmental manner said Stropko. Who has worked in the pro life movement Lor in years. However video materials and literature Ori abortion can Range from sensitive documentaries to graphic pictures of discarded fetuses in abortion clinic rash cans. Critics would say they Are biased or. Sensational Stropko couplers the criticism by saying. We let the tads speak if a woman decides that she wants an abortion we refer her to the social work Counselor at the army he spinal in Nurnberg she said. Sinco american military hospitals do not perform elective abortions social workers there would offer More counselling before referring an abortion minded woman to the appropriate social work services in West Germany or other countries in Europe. For the woman who decides to Havo her baby. Friends for life offers continued counselling and practical help such As transportation childbirth information baby clothes and help in seeking housing. There Are other pro Lite groups connected with military chapels in Europe but Stropko believes that friends is special because it gives a woman Concrete support both before and after her baby is born. And the group s office is located in Tho Hospital where a woman who needs help is Tho false often is not involved . Friends will counsel the couple loge Lher. In a few cases a Young couple May decide to gel married but Counselor say that does t always provide a Long term solution to an unwanted pregnancy. A woman considering pulling her child up for adoption May need More time to make a decision. Through the friends group arrangements can be made Lor the baby to slay with a faster family or up to two months. Babies born in West / Germany Are subject to. German adoption Laws. Army regulations strictly forbid the use of inside information for the. adoptions the friends group therefore directs women interested in adoption to Lega services or the social work services at the army Hospital. Those offices work with services the approved adoption Agency for the military Community. Friends Lor Lite also can provide a woman in a crisis a Shepherd Home where she can live for six. To eight weeks allowing time in a caring environment where she can Mako decisions and plan her future. The number of pregnant soldiers no Ore not married is estimate because they May Sook other agencies said i. Col Gene Wilkinson the chief of the Nurnberg army Hospital s social work services. His clinic which serves one of. The largest . Military communities in West Germany counsels twi or three unwed pregnant soldiers each month. A company commander in a medical command said thai he had counselled almost one unwed pregnant Soldier each month. Several other commanders in the Community said thai was also True of their commands. One said that last summer his battalion had 23 pregnant soldiers and 10 were unmarried High enough he said that a decided to arrange Lor classes on sex education. The consensus of commanders and Counselor is that the unwed pregnant Soldier is usually Young. 19 or 20, a private and serving her Lisl tour far away from Home alone and scared she May not know where to turn. The most important service we Otter is befriending Stropko said just offering a helping attitude and a shoulder to cry on she said May be enough to got a woman through the decision crisis and on her Way to making plans Tor the Lulu re Effie Ballon at some Point in your life if you re Lucky you throw practicality to the wind and Start living a lot of things can bring about your rebirth. Maybe you read in the paper Hal someone your age has had a heart a11acj and you say to yourself that s ill i m going to grab All the gusto i can get while i m still Here the not Day you and your credit Union go out and buy a Sailboat. With me. N was a Case of the 6 o clock news i was sitting around one night flipping Between Dan Peter and Tom who were giving me my stale cd the world fix after hearing about drugs crime bad air tainted fish holes in Iho atmosphere cyanide laced fruits and people blowing each other up. I said aloud that tears in Lite is Loo shot to eat Brown bananas " i know that s a strange metaphor but the bananas sort of sum up my Lile every week 1 buy fresh bananas but 1 can t eat them until i have Ealen up the Semi Rotten ones by the time 1 eat them the fresh ones Are Rotten. This has been going on for 30 years. I took a Long hard look Al sensible life end began to question it i remembered the colourful candles i bought in Israel a Tew years ago. They were shaped like fish and i refused to Burn her because they were top piety they melted last year when the air conditioning won out. I never saw them As 1hey were meant to be. Bickering and reflecting pleasure i questioned the years i grafted Small slivers of soap to a new bar Only to find it in a liquid Sale going Down the Drain where the kids left l there were years of never bringing myself to accept a stick of gum without Loarma it in halt and saying want to spill ii i be decided life is too fragile to finish a Book i dislike just because it Cost �16.95 and everyone else loved it. Or eat a tried egg with a broken Yolk which i hate when the dog would leap Over the St. Louis Arch for it. You re smiling. How Many of you women have stood outside of a pay i Stroom Booth wailing to make Eye Contact with someone to hold the door open for you your kidneys Are destroyed Lor a Lousy dime our generation is sometimes critical of the baby Boomers Lor their priorities a Cappucio maker today next year the steam Iron. We come from a time Warp where we read about the titanic and observed whal a shame i la bet some still had him in their maybe baby Boomers know something. This week i bought the greenest bananas i could find. I m in control. I la Eal them when i say they re ready to be eaten auntie mama would t consider that much of a banquet but it s a Start. Saturday april 15. 1989the stars and stripes Page 17
