(Pregnancy Help News) A Tennessee pregnancy clinic is establishing an adoption agency among its service offerings, becoming one of just a handful of U.S. centers to do so.
With this new development, Birth Choice in Jackson, Tenn., will be meeting the needs of adoptive parents and birth parents in a large section of the state.
“We’ll be serving 34 counties,” said Lisa Reasons, director of Adoption Services for Birth Choice.
The area includes much of western Tennessee and middle portions of the state, she said.
God’s providence
Reasons began in her role with Birth Choice on January 20 of this year after completing her master’s degree in social work and praying for new direction in her career. She learned about Birth Choice founder and Director Brent Lambert and followed him on social media.
Reasons told Pregnancy Help News that she “felt a strong impression” to reach out to him last November and did so via Facebook Messenger. Lambert responded and invited her to come to his office at Birth Choice the following week. Upon meeting with him, Reasons learned that he and the organization’s board had decided to pursue creating an adoption agency within the offerings of the pregnancy help organization and that they needed someone with a master’s degree in social work to oversee it.
“The timing was … well, you just can’t make it up,” she said.
Reasons is adopted and so is her son. She said for many years she’s felt a burden for those without someone and a nudge to help those kids who are already here.
Reasons believes every Christian has a role in the arenas of foster care and adoption.
“It’s not the state, it’s not the government, it’s not the world – it’s we, the church, who are to take away the argument [reasons given for abortion, including child abuse and neglect],” she said. “We can’t just say we’re pro-life, we’re pro-life by what we do. Everybody’s part looks different, but we all have a part.”
“There are lots of different ways to be involved,” Reasons added.
Operations
Since starting with the new adoption program, Reasons’ focus has been on gaining licensure as an adoption agency. This includes learning and understanding how domestic adoption is performed in the state, filling out and submitting paperwork, completing training, and conducting outreach to organizations, like area pregnancy centers.
The center recently filed the final paperwork with the state and expects to hear back soon regarding the licensing. Upon approval, Birth Choice will be the sixth pregnancy center in the nation that also serves as an adoption agency, Reasons said.
Rather than closed adoptions, all adoptions will range from “openness” to ‘fully open,” a press release from Birth Choice said. Additionally, Birth Choice staff will be available for the birth mother and the adoptive family until the child turns 18.
Working alongside Reasons is Roberta Sellers, a Birth Choice staff member, who serves as a birth mother advocate. She is an adoptee, an adoptive mom, and a birth mom, Reasons said.
“She, too, has first-hand experience,” Reasons stated.
The adoption agency is just the newest addition to Birth Choice’s efforts to help pregnant women and families in Tennessee.
Birth Choice history
Located in Jackson in the western part of the state, Birth Choice has a long history of pro-life work. The pregnancy help organization began more than 35 years ago. Lambert, the founder, remains CEO.
Birth Choice became a medical clinic in 2001, and two years later, another brick-and-mortar clinic was established in Trenton, about 30 miles north of Jackson, Director of Development Tiffany Dawson, told Pregnancy Help News. A mobile ministry launched in 2020, covering six rural counties.
“His [Lambert’s] vision is that we will not stay stagnant as a ministry but keep seeking God’s will and seeking new ways to reach women considering abortion around West Tennessee,” Dawson said. “In total, we serve eight counties in West Tennessee with our pregnancy center services.”
The pregnancy medical clinics also offer men’s mentoring, a fatherhood program, and a childbirth/parenting program, she said.
Biblical foundations and new beginnings
Statistic vary, but studies show a very low percentage of women experiencing unplanned pregnancies choose adoption over abortion or parenting. Stil, the Bible lays a foundation for adoption, including the birth and life of Moses. Additionally, through Christ’s sacrifice for us, believers are adopted into the family of God as His children. Such examples are used when discussing the adoption option with Birth Choice clients, Reasons said.
Two Birth Choice clients have seriously considered adoption since January. One of those women had come to the center planning to abort but learned she was nearly 14 weeks pregnant, which impacted her decision. Both clients have been referred to Life Choices in Memphis since the Birth Choice agency had not officially launched. Life Choices is another pregnancy center that operates an adoption agency, Reasons said.
Moving forward, Reasons told Pregnancy Help News she will begin doing home studies, interviews, and background checks on potential adoptive families and setting up systems for Cradle Call, an emergency-services, short-term, foster care-like program.
“It’s exciting,” she said, “and it’s been really exciting to see how God has been unfolding everything.”
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published at Pregnancy Help News and is reprinted here with permission.
