Regarding the Nov. 10 article "Pregnancy crisis center lends guidance, support": I applaud the ideal that Nagoya resident Cynthia Ruble is working toward through her volunteer activities.
Affordable mental health care is scarce, and pregnant women who may not have familial support are especially vulnerable. I do hope, though, that the government pays as much attention to her clinic as to other medical clinics and mental health facilities.
While I'm sure that Ruble lends a very supportive ear, her background in advertising hardly qualifies her to be either a doctor or a mental heath practitioner. Without proper training, she and her employees are not qualified to give medical or mental health advice, and there is a huge risk that women will be given inaccurate and/or misleading information.
In the United States, these clinics are often a front for Christian groups that proselytize against abortion. If that's the case here, then potential clients should be told up front so that they can make an informed decision as to which they prefer: a licensed medical/mental health facility or a heaping helping of Christian propaganda along with potentially unsound medical advice.
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.
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