Why our city needs First Image

Welcome to First Image, a community that considers Jesus’s approach to suffering and sin to be the most compelling solution to the heartache that surrounds abortion. Jesus’ commitment to love and truth as found in Scripture is our inspiration for the compassionate care and education we offer to women who are discovering  their unplanned pregnancy.   

Abortion is more common than most people realize. According to recent data, 40% of pregnancies in the United States are unplanned – and 40% of those unplanned pregnancies are ending in abortion.¹ In Greater Portland alone, there are over 200 abortions reported every month.² For over a decade, it has been documented that one in four women, inside and outside the church, will have an abortion during their lifetime.³ This means it’s very likely that you, or someone you love, have been or will be impacted by abortion – even if you don’t know it yet.

Even still, the repercussions of abortion go unseen and unaddressed in our communities, often because the only framework we have been given for caring is through politics or protest. While these avenues of engagement serve an important purpose in the formation of societal norms, they do little to respond to the current needs of the woman discovering her unplanned pregnancy today. The community of First Image is grateful to have addressed this need in Greater Portland for over 40 years. Through our interactions with thousands of women facing an unplanned pregnancy, we have observed that abortion is rarely a decision made lightly, but it is often made quickly. Many women would choose to carry their child to term if they had support, education, and time to process.   

It is our conviction that every human is made in the image of God and uniquely designed from the moment of conception to be one of a kind. We hope and pray that seeing her child in the womb, finding a caring community, and receiving time to consider her options will lead a woman facing an unexpected pregnancy to the brave decision to carry her child.Yet, we know that many circumstances make that decision seem impossible. The reality in Oregon today is that abortion is legal at any stage of gestation and easily available and affordable. When this is combined with the valid difficulties of mothering in today’s culture, it’s not a wonder we see abortion on the rise.⁴  Oregon’s solution to unplanned pregnancy appears to be increasing abortion access, and there is little effort being given to imagining a world where abortion isn’t the best or only option. 

We believe there’s a better way. This is why our city needs First Image. 

The decision to abort is often complex and involves painful realities – and it can be difficult for those that haven’t experienced it to hold space for both the unborn child and the one who carries, especially in a time and place that considers abortion to be the most compassionate choice for both parties. But at First Image, we believe this is the invitation from Jesus – to care deeply for the one in the womb and the mother with love and truth. We strive to celebrate the miracle of pregnancy and acknowledge the difficulties of bringing a child into the world – because both are true. We also believe that we, individual followers of Jesus, and communities following him together (the Church), have the privilege and responsibility of embodying love and truth through our words and deeds to the places and spaces where the world is hurting and broken.  

¹ https://www.brookings.edu/articles/abortion-in-the-us-what-you-need-to-know/

² https://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/BirthDeathCertificates/VitalStatistics/Pages/Induced-Abortion-Data.aspx 

³ https://www.focusonthefamily.com/pro-life/abortion/survey-women-go-silently-from-church-to-abortion-clinic/

4 https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/abortion-trends-before-and-after-dobbs/#:~:text=In%20the%20two%20years%20since,to%20pre%2DDobbs%20time%20frame. 

If you’re ready to learn more about the realities and impact of abortion, we invite you to check out our resource list below. While each resource is solely representative of the author/creator’s viewpoint, these books, podcasts, articles, etc., have helped shaped the way we at First Image and Ava Health think about abortion, care for families in crisis, and dream about communities where abortion never feels like the best or only option. We hope they do the same for you.