Parenting
Parenthood is one of your options for pregnancy, and it's crucial to know that you have the RIGHT to parent, even as a young person. Your body, your choices. The decision is entirely yours.
Parenting includes the journey of pregnancy, attending those doctor’s appointments, and committing to the journey of raising a child, all wrapped in the your own unique experience.
It is a big decision, so we have some additional information that may help navigate your choices.
Parenting: Make It Plain
Pros
Parenthood opens doors to growth and personal development
Building a family can create a deep sense of connection and belonging
Choosing to parent exercises your fundamental right to decide, taking charge of your body & future
Cons
The financial responsibilities of parenthood can be intimidating,
Balancing the demands of parenting with other life goals, such as education or career aspirations
The societal stigma and judgment often faced by young parents can create additional challenges
Things to think about
Building a support system can provide invaluable guidance, encouragement, and practical assistance throughout your journey
Educate yourself about your rights and entitlements as a young parent
Reflect on your values, dreams, and aspirations, considering how parenthood aligns with your vision for your future
Support & Resources for young Black parenting folk
Join the Choices Within Reach group
An online group that discusses all things parenting, Black and youth
A resource that has food, education, housing, healthcare information plus more for anyone living in the U.S.
A free support tool that sends you updates on your pregnancy, appointment reminders, etc.
An online resource for tracking your baby’s development and more
Abortion
Abortion is one of your options for pregnancy, and it's crucial to know that you have the RIGHT to abortion, even as a young person. Your body, your choices. The decision is entirely yours.
Abortion includes ending the pregnancy, either with medication or with a procedure.
It is a big decision, so we have some additional information that may help navigate your choices.
Abortion: Make It Plain
Pros
Accessing abortion allows you to pursue your educational, career, and personal goals without the added responsibilities of parenting
Abortion can provide safe and effective option for protecting your physical and mental health
Choosing abortion exercises your fundamental right to decide, taking charge of your body & future
Cons
Access barriers can delay or prevent young people from accessing timely and safe abortion care
For some, choosing abortion can evoke a range of emotions to navigate
The societal stigma and judgment of abortion can create additional challenges
Things to think about
Building a support system can provide invaluable guidance, encouragement, and practical assistance throughout your journey
Educate yourself about your reproductive rights as a young person
Reflect on your values, dreams, and aspirations, considering how abortion aligns with your vision for your future
Support & Resources for young Black folk & abortion
Advocates For Youth has an all-inclusive resource for accessing abortion as a young person in the U.S.
A resource for financial assistance for abortion care
Plan C Pills
Information and resource for mailing abortion pills and self-managing abortion
Largest national, toll-free, multilingual hotline about all things abortion
Adoption
Adoption is one of your options for pregnancy, and it's crucial to know that you have the RIGHT to adoption, even as a young person. Your body, your choices. The decision is entirely yours.
Adoption includes continuing the pregnancy, delivering the baby, then allowing the baby to be raised by someone else. Your level of involvement depends on your desires and the desires of the receiving persons.
It is a big decision, so we have some additional information that may help navigate your choices.
Adoption: Make It Plain
Pros
Adoption can provide you with the opportunity to give your child a stable and loving home, even if you’re not able to provide it yourself at the moment
Open adoption arrangements can allow you to maintain a connection with their child and stay involved in their life, to the extent that feels comfortable for everyone involved
Choosing abortion exercises your fundamental right to decide, taking charge of your body & future
Cons
Legal and practical aspects of adoption can be complex and overwhelming to navigate
For some, choosing adoption can evoke a range of emotions to navigate
The societal stigma and judgment of adoption can create additional challenges
Things to think about
Building a support system can provide invaluable guidance, encouragement, and practical assistance throughout your journey
Educate yourself about your reproductive rights as a young person
Reflect on your values, dreams, and aspirations, considering how adoption aligns with your vision for your future
Support & Resources for young Black folk & adoption
A toll free talk to explore all options including adoption. Can refer to reputable adoption agencies
Information about choosing adoption, reg flags, and laws related to each state
Adoption organization specifically for Black, Latinx, Asian or multiracial folk who offer services for free
Support service for pregnant people pursuing adoption
We are centering young, Black, pregnant folk and their choices. Unapologetically.
Instagram: @choiceswithinreach
Facebook: ChoicesWithinReach
Email: info@choiceswithinreach.org
Disclaimer: The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this site are for general informational purposes only. Information on this website may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information. This website contains links to other third-party websites. Such links are only for the convenience of the reader, user or browser. Choices Within Reach does not necessarily recommend or endorse the contents of the third-party sites.
About Us
Choices Within Reach is an Expansion of SIHLE Augusta
Centering young, Black pregnant folk
We are dismantling the systems that limit our choices, changing narratives that shame our choices, and curating spaces that celebrate our joy and reclaim our freedom.
With community, with knowledge, with love.
Sisters Informing Healing Living Empowering (SIHLE) Augusta is an organization that was founded in 2017 by Bria Peacock, MD. It serves young Black pregnant and parenting youth in Augusta, GA for 7 years, providing community, financial resources, and infant supplies. The work would have been possible without Denean Taylor MD, Kelli Clemons MD, &Erin Latif MD among countless others.
New Curriculum; More Access
With a new, original curriculum created by our founder with the expertise of graduated SIHLE sisters, we are offering opportunities to join this community and complete this 6 week curriculum twice a year for 15 Black pregnant youth. We talk repro justice, sex, parenting, LIFE. Online-only.
Meet the founder
Dr. Bria Peacock
Dr. Bria Peacock, MD is a 2023 Emerging Scholar in Family Planning, a resident physician in Obstetrics and Gynecology at UCSF, a UCSF Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health Advocacy Fellow, and founder of SIHLE Augusta. Raised as a Black woman in the South, Dr. Peacock witnessed the policing of Black bodies and our reproduction, especially for young people who choose to parent.
In response, as a first year medical student, she founded Sisters Informing Healing Living Empowering (SIHLE) Augusta, an organization that works to support young Black parents in Augusta, Georgia through providing community, financial resources, and practical support items like strollers and cribs. For the past 7 years, in addition to her medical and residency training, we have worked to disempower the systems and combat the shame and marginalization that impacts young people and their reproductive choices.
Driven by her personal experiences and professional insights, she has shared her influential perspective as a Black abortion provider from the South in the New England Journal of Medicine, CNN, SF Examiner, LA Times, and as a 2022 honoree at The Michelle R Clayman Institute for Gender Research of Stanford University. She also continues to advocate through policy, testifying in favor of a bill signed into law last year by Governor Newsom that makes it easier for out-of-state residents to come to California for abortion training. Dr. Peacock’s ultimate goal is to return to the South to dismantle the systems that limit our choices, change narratives that shame our choices, and curate spaces that celebrate our joy and reclaim our freedoms.
A Black Abortion Provider’s Perspective on Post-Roe America
“As a Black woman raised in the South, I have seen how policies affect the ability of marginalized people to make choices about their own bodies and reproduction.”
Doctors are concerned about a post Roe v. Wade world
“This goes farther than this Roe. v. Wade conversation,” said Peacock. “These types of laws are so very dangerous just to the day-to-day things we do to save lives and take care of our patients. Our lawmakers don’t understand that. It comes with medical training. We want to do the best for our patients always. It’s heartbreaking that this is where we are at.”
Dr. Bria Peacock in the News
New law allows doctors living in ‘hostile’ red states to get abortion training in California
“Peacock told California lawmakers in Sacramento during a legislative committee hearing this summer.
“The lack of this training is life altering,” she said. “When this tool is not a part of our training, thousands of people’s lives are at risk.”
Opinion: The conflicts in a post-Roe America are just beginning
“But the largest point is this: lives are at risk, especially those of Black and brown women.”
Meet the Assistant director and youth liasion
Dr. Denean Taylor
Dr. Denean Taylor, MD was born and raised in Valdosta, GA. She received her bachelor’s degree which included a focus in Women’s and Gender Studies from Mercer University. She later went on to obtain her medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia and is currently an Obstetrics & Gynecology resident physician at Case Western Reserve University/University Hospitals in Cleveland, OH.
She is passionate about women’s empowerment, advocacy, and health education and has exercised these interests in various, impactful ways. Most notably she has been an active member and leader of this organization, previously known as SIHLE, since 2020. She is looking forward to continuing to serve young mothers seeking assistance.