In the midst of recent arguments over the legality of abortion, many people, both pro-life and pro-choice supporters, are fighting for attention to another part of the battle -- the alternatives to abortion.

Sandra Evans, director of the Centre Region Crisis Pregnancy Services, 114 S. Fraser St., said alternatives to abortion, including foster care, single-parenting, marriage and adoption, are readily accessible. Adoption is becoming increasingly popular, she added.

According to one of the service's pamphlets, many women facing an unplanned pregnancy "do not receive the practical help, encouragement, and counsel they need to resist an abortion that clinics say is easy and the law says is proper."

"We're here to help those girls' responsibility to give that baby life, and support them," Evans said. "The problem is not abortion, it's people not taking responsibility for their actions."

Offering a woman options other than abortion can help her make an informed decision about the pregnancy, said Courtney Malveaux, vice president of the Pennsylvania Intercollegiate Federation for Life and a member of Penn State Students for Life.

"Helping a woman to seek a possible alternative can do nothing but improve the situation," Malveaux said.

But once women are advised against abortion, they often receive little, if any, aid, said alumna Margaret Marco, a founding member of Penn State Pro-Choice.

"A women is given a box of diapers and directed to the welfare office," Marco said.

The alternatives to abortion are widely broadcast, but the goal of pro-choice organizations is to "promote all options open to women," Marco said.

If Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion, were revoked, the number of back alley abortions would increase, Marco said.

"(Abortion) is one of the options and one thing women will do whether it is legal or not," Marco said.

Evans said society chooses abortion as a ready answer to an immediate crisis, although other options are very easy to find.

"In making a decision, it's very important to have information," Evans said.

For example, many people are unaware of the actual process of abortion, Evans said.

"A number of girls do change their mind when informed of abortion," she said.

Information is a very important part of the decision-making process for women, said Caryl Ishler, director of education and community development at Family Health Services, 457 E. Beaver Ave.

"If a women is undecided, we go over all the different options open to her, (although) most people already know what they are going to do. We think it's important to go over all the legal options," Ishler said.

Society looks down on women who decide to choose motherhood at an "inconvenient" time in their life, such as college, Malveaux said.

Evans said the stigma attached to unplanned pregnancy is pressuring women to have abortions. With support, many are willing to work through the pregnancy, she said.

"A lot of women feel relieved that there is someone out there to help them," Malveaux said. "Personally, young mothers have my admiration, and women who give their children life and realize (they) can't support it and put it up for adoption."

Abortion is not an easy way out at all, but there are many restrictions if a woman decides to keep the child of an unplanned pregnancy, Marco said.

"Once it's an unintended pregnancy, there is not one happy solution," she said.

Organizations which stress alternatives to abortion emphasize that the options may not appear as easy as abortion but are feasible, Malveaux said.

"They can't promise to offer 20-minute solutions to (the) problems, they constantly seek possible workable solutions," Malveaux said.

According to a pamphlet distributed by the Crisis Pregnancy Center, 1.5 million abortions are performed annually. There were 59,288 abortions performed in Pennsylvania in 1983.

If organizations are going to promote alternatives to abortion, they have to offer a complete support network, Marco said.

"In terms of very short-term support, these women are given it, but it's not long term," Marco said.