Category: Personal Stories

At one time I was for abortion, until I learned what it is actually about. I was greatly mislead by the media

I find it very uncomfortable to talk or read about abortion. I try to avoid it because the entire subject is just too sickening. It reminds me of how unnatural and depraved this society has become. Before, I had no qualms about talking about it, because I didn’t understand what it was all about.

I hear about young women in my town having abortions all the time. I find it hard to have any respect for them. How can I have respect for a person that killed their own helpless child?

My neighbor’s daughter had an abortion (perhaps more than one) when she was young. She doesn’t want to admit it to anyone, but her mother and I finally put two and two together and figured it out for ourselves. You can tell, after knowing her for a while, that it deeply affected her emotionally. She is now incapable of having any children, and needs some sort of gynecological surgery.

It was my senior year in high school. I was on top of the world, and I truly thought that nothing terrible could happen to me. I wanted to be Homecoming Queen, date the cutest guys in school, and get the best grades. I had a plan to go to college. Well, I don’t know everything.

In the beginning of the school year I became pregnant. My boyfriend (then) and I both agreed to have an abortion. After all, it was our senior year in high school, and we had our whole lives ahead of us to look forward to. We weren’t ready for a child… how could we be committed to a child when we weren’t even really committed to each other? Although we had been dating for one-and-a-half years, we weren’t too sure about what was planned in our future. We were both extremely religious. We were scared.

We agreed to have the abortion, and I offered to pay for it and handle all the details concerning it. But I stalled, and for some reason, I don’t even know why I did. Well, it got to the point where I was over three months pregnant, and I no longer wanted to get an abortion. Of course, my boyfriend and I fought a lot about it, and I was left extremely undecided.

All of a sudden my back began to hurt, and I had to go in to the doctor’s office to have it checked. After the appointment, I finally decided to tell my mom what was going on with me.

Talk about fear. I was scared out of my wits! I guess now that I just didn’t want to face her, or my dad’s, disappointed look. Well, when I told my mom (I decided that I would let her tell my dad), she told me that I was going to get an abortion. She also told me that she wanted to speak to Jeremy’s (my boyfriend’s name) mom as soon as possible.

Well, I ended up being the one to tell Jeremy’s mom about the whole thing. He, as with me, didn’t want to tell his mom. It was sort of a spontaneous decision to decide to do so. Of course, both her and Jeremy wanted me to get an abortion as well. Then I discovered that my dad wanted the abortion performed as well.

My situation was horrible. My mother and I set a date… and we were going to split the price with Jeremy’s family. I didn’t want to go through the abortion. For me, having an abortion in the second trimester was against everything that I believed in. But I went along with it… mostly because I knew that I couldn’t compete with the desires of every one else around me. Finally I told my mom that if she was going to force me to have an abortion, she was going to have to send me off to a different place because I couldn’t and wouldn’t be able to stand any of them. The ball was now in her park… I was going to go through with the abortion, but she now understood my terms.

The week of the scheduled abortion, my family and I went to church (as always). I went up to the altar to ask for guidance and strength in what I was about to do. My pastor prayed for me, and my eyes were opened. I finally saw the right decision… the ball was now in my court.

What did I do? I decided to keep the child. I fought long and hard with the father’s family, but I stuck with my decision. I kept my baby, and he is absolutely beautiful. I became pro-life instead of pro-choice when I was faced with the decision to choose. I made the right choice, and I hope and pray that all of you who may be considering abortion will also make the right choice.

Sincerely yours,

Faye Escomiendo

I used to be pro-choice – and then I got pregnant. Two daughters, a multitude of ultrasounds, and the book _Your Pregnancy Week by Week_ sure made me think about the issue. I started thinking about that cut-off line for when life begins and where it was. So help me I couldn’t find the damn thing!

After learning more about pre-natal development I realized that these little ones have rights just like we do. Not a very exciting story but I have to say that although I fancy myself to be a somewhat intelligent woman and I was just plain ignorant. Makes me wonder how many other well-meaning “enlightened” liberals there are out there who are as ignorant as I was. It’s all too easy to fall into the trap of blindly following your peer group and your mentors without really thinking it all through – spew the mantras without having the true convictions behind them. That is why we need to reach these young women/men and let them know that you can be a liberal or a feminist or a lesbigay (or whatever) and still be pro-life. Give them the facts – they’ll make the right decisions.

~ Sally ~

The whole reason I was pro-choice was based on lies. I was very loyal to Planned Parenthood, but, when I did some research, I found out that a lot of the things they were telling me were false. I didn’t know that most of the world’s top scientists have said that the fetus is human,and I never really thought about it.

I also didn’t know that PP was lying when they said 1 million women died as a result of illegal abortions in 1972. (See here)The number is closer to 39. There were so many lies that I decided to see what the pro-lifers were really all about, instead of relying on what PP had to say about them. That’s when I learned that the fetus deserves to live just as much as any of us. I still believe that if the mother’s life is in danger, she can choose, along with the father of the child if he is in the picture, to save her life instead of the child’s. But any other time, I now think abortion is murder.

MRS CARMELA PETTY

As I sit here writing this at one o’clock in the morning, I’m trying to analyze why I’ve left this page until last. Denial isn’t a factor at this point, I’ve come to a realization of what I’ve done. I think a little more about it and I come to the conclusion: I think about my abortion, the pregnancy, and the baby; often, probably on a daily basis.

But when I think about all those things, I never think about everything all together. Any time that these scenes play in my mind, from when I found out I was pregnant to the present moment in time, I cry. It’s difficult to think about any one event, but when they all come together, the pain is immense.

So now here is My Story.

I am a twenty-eight year old single Mother of a beautiful eight year old son. When I found out I was pregnant with him, I was upset and scared, but I always felt like I could handle things. I did for a very brief time consider both adoption and abortion, but once I told my family, and I knew that I had their love and support, I never thought about it again.

The last eight years have not been easy for us. I’ve had to work very hard to give my son the life that he deserves. I put myself through college while I cared for him. I graduated on my twenty-fifth birthday.

In early September of this year, I wasn’t feeling well. A few days before I’d eaten at a picnic. I assumed the nausea and vomiting was from some food that was cooked improperly. Near the end of the week, the vomiting had subsided.

I had dinner with a friend. The nausea afterwards was vaguely familiar. I decided to do a pregnancy test, just to “set my mind at ease.” My menstrual cycle can be irregular so, I wasn’t worried.

I still remember the panic when I saw the second line appear on the test. The tears started rolling down my cheeks immediately. In hindsight, I don’t think I even gave myself enough time to think. I opened the phone book that night and found a phone number for a clinic several hours away.

This clinic offered a procedure called a non-surgical, or medical abortion. The woman on the other end of the phone was very nice and caring. She explained the procedure to me. She told me the pain and bleeding would be like a heavy period. I would get a sonogram at the clinic and if my pregnancy was early enough, I would receive a shot to “stop tissue growth.” A few days later, I would use some vaginal suppositories that would cause me to miscarry. She made it sound so easy. I made my appointment for the following Saturday.

I confided in my sister-in-law, and she arranged an appointment for me at a local crisis pregnancy center. While I was there, I had a sonogram that told me I was about six and a half weeks. I really couldn’t see much on the sonogram and I really couldn’t see how deep in crisis I was. I was not thinking as clearly as I thought I was. I remember telling the woman there my hundreds of reasons why I couldn’t have this baby. I didn’t know then that they had heard them all before. Finances, marriage, health, work; I had so many reasons. I really needed someone to pull me aside and tell me that they knew I could do it, but no one did.

As I told my boyfriend about the baby that evening, he was just as upset and confused as I was. After a few days to think things over, he told me that he didn’t think we should keep the baby. I was devastated. If I would have had his support, I would have continued the pregnancy. The thought of raising two children by myself terrified me. I kept telling myself that I couldn’t do it alone.

As I kept my appointment, my drive to the clinic that day was the longest of my life. I was scared. When I arrived at the clinic, I had all the normal blood work done. My counseling session was short. They never really discussed any of the possible physical and emotional complications. I had a quick sonogram and then received a shot of methrotrexate. This is a drug that is used for cancer treatment, it stops cell growth. After the shot, I came home.

In next few days, I really don’t remember. I tried not to think a lot about what was going to happen. I spent the day on Thursday in a fog. I knew I needed to use the suppositories that day, but I tried not to think about it.

I went to bed that evening around 9pm. I used the suppositories as soon as I went to bed. I remember feeling the contractions start about half an hour later. In the beginning, they were mild, but within an hour the pain was severe. I continued contracting and bleeding most of the night. Around three in the morning, I went to the bathroom. I had been passing a lot of clots most of the evening. I assumed that the pain and pressure I was feeling was from more clots. When I stood up, I noticed that the pain and the pressure was not from clots, but from passing the placenta. When I looked in the commode, I saw laying in the center of the placenta my baby. I saw the baby’s perfectly formed hands, the little fingers. I remember the scream that came from my mouth.

My actions were final at that point. Up to that moment in time, I had always considered myself pro-choice.

The last few months have been tough. The grief, depression, and anger at myself have been at times overwhelming.

I’ve vowed to help other women who also know this pain. Maybe someone won’t hurt as much as I have.

I’ve started healing. A wonderful woman who understands women and the awful grief this experiences leaves behind has come into my life. God has led me to her and I only hope I can be as helpful in someone else’s life. Thank-you Brenda. You will never know how deeply your compassion and caring have touched my life.

For weeks after my abortion, every time I closed my eyes I saw the vision of my aborted baby. I have been able to replace that difficult image with a vision of a beautiful blonde haired, little girl. She has blue eyes and long hair, up in a ponytail with a big contagious smile on her face. When I see her, I tell her how sorry I am. How much I love her. I beg for her forgiveness.

Emily Rose I love you, and I am sorry.

Michael Clancy is a photographer who had the opportunity to take a picture that would change many people’s minds about abortion.

In 1999 Samuel Armas was a 21-week-old unborn baby who had been diagnosed with spina bifida, a congenital deformity of the spine. His parents, Julie and Alex Armas, were determined to give birth to their baby son. Surgery was scheduled when Little Samuel was still in the womb. It was performed when he was 21 weeks along.

During the procedure, as the womb was cut open, the baby reached out and grasped the surgeons finger. The surgeon’s name is Dr. Joseph Bruner. Here is the picture that was taken of this miraculous moment:

The man who took the photograph, Michael Clancy, later said that he converted from pro-choice to pro-life on the spot. According to Clancy:

“Suddenly, an entire arm thrust out of the opening, then pulled back until just a little hand was showing. The doctor reached over and lifted the hand, which reacted, and squeezed the doctor’s finger. As if testing for strength, the doctor shook the tiny fist. Samuel held firm. I took the picture! Wow!”

“I was totally in shock for two hours after the surgery… I know abortion is wrong now – it’s absolutely wrong.”

 

Little Samuel Armas was born in December 1999 and is a healthy child today.

A picture of Samuel, who was born at 36 weeks.

Source: Chuck Colson “Life-And-Death Decisions: Praying for the Supremes” Breakpoint Commentary #000425, April 25, 2000

Also quoted in Randy Alcorn “Pro-life Answers to Pro-Choice Arguments” (Sisters, Oregon: Multnomah Publishers, 2000)