A few years ago I met an amazingly talented artist and her story is a truly moving one:
"I was only 17 when I got pregnant with my daughter, just barely out of high school. I was scared and I had no idea what to do. I grew up in a Christian home and knew I didn't want to abort, and couldn't stand the thought of giving my baby up for adoption but I didn't know how my parents would react and what I would do if things didn't go well. My boyfriend was supportive, but didn't have the money to help. I went to a pregnancy resource center, where they gave me lots of encouragement and a long list of programs that could help me out if I couldn't stay at home. Having a back-up plan gave me the courage to tell my parents. Luckily, they were supportive of my decision to keep the baby, although my dad didn't talk to me again until after she was born. Being as young as I was, and without a ring on my finger, I had a good amount of dirty looks when I would go out, and it bothered me quite a bit, but not as much as some of the comments I got. My boss actually told me I was stupid for not getting rid of "it" and that "it" was going to ruin my life. But holding my baby girl in my arms that first time was the most amazing feeling I had ever felt, and I can't imagine my life without her, or how empty my life would be if I had taken the easy way out.
When my daughter was only 9 months old, I got pregnant again. It seems like it should have been easier, since I had gone through all of it before, but it wasn't. You mess up once, and it's just a mistake, but doing the same thing again is not so easily forgiven. I felt so ashamed that I had messed up again, despite all the warnings I had gotten. I was sure I wouldn't be able to stay at home. I was going to school, and I had a little girl to take care of, and there was no way I could take care of 2 babies by myself. I didn't want to take my daughter out of the home that she was used to living in, where there was enough money that she could live comfortably and lots of people who loved her. I knew I couldn't provide her with the same by myself. My boyfriend continued to be in and out of work, and the relationship had gotten abusive, and I eventually left. So there was no back up there either. I went to the pregnancy resource center again, to get the information about the programs that would help, but the life that we would have to live to make it would be a very difficult one, and I didn't want tto do that to the child I already had. I was encouraged by several of the few friends I told to get an abortion, and despite my firm beliefs against it, I looked into it. My self-esteem was at an all time low, with the rocky relationship I was in and the shame and embarassment I felt for messing up again. I looked at several pro choice programs, including planned parenthood, and the procedure sounded humane, but I knew the reality. At that point, I was past the point of a simple pill abortion, and would have to go in for a procedure, as I was about 11 weeks along. In the end, I couldn't make myself do it, but I was sitll left with the problem of what to do. I went to a counselor who helped me figure out a way to tell my parents... again. I had decided that I would be willing to give the baby up for adoption, if it wasn't an option to keep it, so that we could stay in my parents house. I let my parents decide. God answered my prayers, and my parents gave me the grace that I really didn't deserve. I was able to stay with them, and so were both my kids. The rest of my family was not so understanding, and some of them still don't talk to me, but my son is such a blessing, and I wouldn't trade him for the world. I thank God every day for my kids, and for my family and friends who supported me through the rough times, and I am so greatful that I didn't follow through on the abortion. I'm now in nursing school and on my way to being able to provide for my little family. It's hard, I hardly get any sleep, I never go out, and my friends don't see me much, but I wouldn't want things any other way."-(Name will be kept annoymous)
Life is precious and even though choosing life isn't always the easy descison, it's the right one. An abortion doesn't just involve one person, it involves two. So please encourage those around you to choose life.
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-Angela
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