When Thomas* (23) and his 19-year-old girlfriend came to our centre, they were overwhelmed and uncertain about the future. Both young and orphaned, the couple was facing tremendous pressure from relatives who disapproved of their relationship—especially since Thomas was unemployed. His girlfriend had been forced to leave home, and in a brave act of solidarity, Thomas chose to stand by her side.
Their initial visit to the centre was driven by desperation. They were considering placing their unborn child for adoption, and we provided them with information and guidance on the process. Throughout the session, Thomas was deeply emotional, showing a powerful attachment to his unborn child. His girlfriend appeared calm, but Thomas’ vulnerability left a strong impression on us. We offered counselling, practical support in the form of food parcels and transport money, and most importantly, reassurance that they were not alone. We also connected them with a hospital social worker to assist with any adoption arrangements.
After some time, Thomas reached out to tell us that their baby boy had been born. Sadly, they had not received the expected support from the hospital’s social worker and were discharged with the baby without a clear plan. Concerned for their safety and wellbeing, we prayed for protection and guidance. We felt prompted to contact one of Thomas’ relatives—his sister—who had previously pressured him about the situation. In the meantime, her heart had softened. She agreed to support the young couple and even offered to care for the baby if needed.
Just a week before the baby was born, someone had donated a large bag full of baby clothes and essentials to our centre. We were able to pass these on to Thomas along with more food parcels. His eyes filled with tears as he received the gifts. Now, he is preparing to learn how to care for his son, and we are committed to walking this journey with him.
When Father’s Day came, we honored Thomas with a special gift. His courage, love, and growth as a young father remind us why we do this work—and we give all the glory to God.
*Name changed to protect privacy.
Submitted by: Pregnancy Help Network of South Africa
ACfL beginning from a few contacts in the late 1990’s and officially launched in 2000, we have grown to over 75 contacts. Africa Cares is a networking agency that provides services to pregnancy help centers across southern Africa.
Jen grew up to be a stunningly beautiful girl. When she was in junior high, her mother began to reveal the circumstances of her birth. Jen’s mother was twelve years old when she was raped. All Jen knows about her father is that he was a neighbor. Her mother didn’t know him. It was several months before she even knew she was pregnant.
When her family found out, they decided that it was impossible for her to keep a baby that was conceived in such a way. Although they were “personally against abortion,” this was a situation that justified it. Rape is unacceptable, and pregnancy just put one terrible experience upon another. She was a child herself. There was no way she could raise a child. She would have to have an abortion.
Jen’s mother was hurting and humiliated from her recent experiences, and all the adults were telling her that this was the quickest way to forget about the rape and get on with her life. She didn’t even feel like it was a baby inside her. All she knew was that she wanted her memories erased. She wanted to start clean.
However, as the scheduled abortion drew near, she felt a growing dread. It was as though her heart was resisting. As much as she wanted to end the pregnancy, a deeper instinct, some deep down emotion, told her to hold on to her baby. She didn’t know why.
The day of the abortion came. Jen, who was already a healthy little baby inside her mother, was happily unaware of the kind of death prepared for her. She was probably doing her little exercises or sleeping peacefully when her mother was admitted to the clinic. The abortion was a saline injection. Perhaps Jen tried to swim away from the needle as it probed for her. Perhaps she cried as her skin began to burn, but no one heard her. The doctor injected the burning salt, gave her mother some pills and told her to come back the next day.
Jen’s mother went home in tears and spent the day and following night in a waking nightmare. Being handled and probed in the clinic made her feel sick, so soon after her assault. Images of death kept haunting her mind. “I’ve killed my baby,” was all she could think. She also felt excruciating pain in her lower abdomen, and bled on and off. Sometimes she prayed that she could turn back time. Sometimes she despaired.
The next day, she went back to the clinic. “I’m sorry,” she was told, “the doctor isn’t in yet.” While she was waiting for the doctor, some nurses gave her an examination. She was numb from pain and exhaustion when they brought her some unexpected news. “You’ll have to come back later this afternoon. The abortion didn’t work.”
Jen’s mother sat in the clinic, stunned. Perhaps she would be able to give birth to her baby after all! From that moment on, she felt that she’d been given a second chance. She went home and demanded to keep her baby. When her family saw that she was determined, they gradually let go of their abortion idea and left her alone. She began to do what she could to take care of herself and her baby.
Jen was born a few months later, a tiny, beautiful baby with blue eyes and black hair. The only harm from the saline was some mild scarring on the skin on her side and back. Her mother never found out why Jen was spared from the effects of the injection. Perhaps the nurse administered the wrong dose, or the doctor miscalculated where to inject.
Jen grew up to be a stunningly beautiful girl. When she was in junior high, her mother began to reveal the circumstances of her birth. Jen forgave her mother and the two have a remarkable friendship to this day. They are united by their passion for spreading the message of life.
Jen is the result of a botched abortion. Today, Jen is a mother with children of her own. The failure of the abortionist was the success of a beautiful life. So many people are against abortion personally, but believe “it must be legal for cases of rape and incest.” When Jen tells her story, few people can hold onto this position. To suggest that victims of rape should have abortions is to suggest that Jen should not be standing in front of them. It is to insist that Jen’s mother should have gone through life haunted by her abortion, and without Jen, who is her best friend. It is to insist that Jen’s life doesn’t count.
Jen’s life is a powerful counter-message. Even though she was conceived in rape, her birth was the beautiful flower growing in the ghetto of her mother’s past. She maintains that children that may result from rape are the “other victims”. Like their mothers, they are innocent victims of a violent crime. Her mother feels that giving life to her daughter has truly “turned back time.” It was her daughter’s love that healed her memories of the sexual assault and enabled her to start clean.
(The Daily Signal) Katelynn Perry sat in her bathtub doing Google searches on her phone. Was there a way to save her unborn baby?
She had taken the first chemical abortion pill that day and had decided she was not going to take the rest.
After visiting Planned Parenthood, Perry says she “knew that taking that first pill was wrong,” adding, “I shouldn’t have let them influence me.”
Perry already had four kids when she found out she was pregnant with her fifth child, and given the financial struggles she and her husband were facing, she had decided to visit Planned Parenthood to discuss her options.
“When I tried to ask questions, they were kind of shot down. They weren’t really answered in full,” Perry said of her trip to the clinic. “They used a lot of medical terms that I didn’t understand.”
After taking the first abortion pill at Planned Parenthood, Perry was instructed to go to her local pharmacy to pick up the other pills to complete the abortion, but she decided she wouldn’t do that.
Her Google searches led Perry to Heartbeat International’s Abortion Pill Rescue Network website.
She called the number and spoke to a nurse who told her it was possible that her baby was still alive and could be saved. The nurse connected Perry with a pregnancy resource center about an hour away in Lynchburg, Virginia. When she arrived, the first step was an ultrasound to see whether the baby was still alive.
“We do the ultrasound; she still has a heartbeat,” Perry said of her baby. The medical staff at the pro-life center explained to Perry how the abortion pill reversal works through a 12-week hormone therapy.
Today, Perry’s baby girl, Aubrey, is just over a year old, healthy and “the sweetest little girl you would ever meet,” her mother says.
Editor’s note: This article was published by The Daily Signal and is reprinted with permission. Heartbeat International manages the Abortion Pill Rescue® Network (APRN) and Pregnancy Help News
I don’t even really know what to write here, as you can see from the title I’m 11 weeks and 2 days into my pregnancy. The day I found out I never thought I’m not going to have a child straight away it was “I’m going to have a baby how the hell am i meant to do this?”
God has a plan for us all.
Two years ago my virginity was cruelly taken away from me, however i was yet to loose my faith. It started disappearing slowly i began blaming God for what happened and finally i lost my faith all together. However the day i found out i was pregnant I turned back to the Lord realizing that he alone could save me, he alone had written this all in his plan, i realized I’m not in control God is and he was given me this amazing blessing a chance to bring life into this world to raise my beautiful child give her/him a chance to live, a chance to do good and all i felt was love and that’s what i feel now since returning to my faith.
My Ex tried to get me to have an abortion i even went to the first appointment but I already knew this was my child and I told the lady I didn’t want to do it, she sent me to get an ultra sound and watching the lady try to hide the screen and the measurements from me was soo hard i just wanted to scream this is my child let me see them. She spoke as though abortion was soo natural the easiest thing in the world that it would be better for me because I was only 19 I left telling myself I would never enter that place again even with the pressure from my Ex and also to some extent my Mum.
I never did.
I have a life filled with hope, a baby growing inside of me. Friends who are happy for me, a church where they love me.
and the biggest thing of all
I have God’s love and forgiveness.
A baby is always a blessing.
Don’t let anyone persuade you because it’s the easy option just see Love. your love for your baby and the love that everyone has for you. Ignore the negatives always focus on the positives.
This all started a little over three years ago with a positive pregnancy test!
I was sixteen, a virgin, and – quite frankly – sick of it. I was always the party girl who was labeled as a “cock tease” and I constantly “led lads on”. Well, one day I decided that I wanted to have sex…and I did. In my mum’s bed, I have to add. It was a lot less than romantic, not that I expected it to be in the first place. Who can say that a one-night stand is romantic in any way, shape, or form? That night, I opened the floodgates. A week later, I was in bed with a different lad and in very different circumstances. It was a party atmosphere; alcohol had been consumed, drugs had been done (not by me), and inhibitions had been lost…by everyone. By the time everyone was “tired,” it had become obvious that I was going to sleep with someone. I wasn’t on the pill. He didn’t have a condom. We were unprepared, but we did it anyway.
Three weeks later, my period didn’t come – weird. I put it down to exam stress and told myself I would take a test in a couple of days. A couple of days came and went, so I wandered down to the store, flinging a test on the counter and practically running out of the store as soon as I had paid. This might sound weird, but as I hid the test in my bag, it felt like it was burning a hole through the material, and everyone could see my dirty little secret. I took the test the next morning – negative. Again, I put it down to the stress of end-of-year exams. I pushed the thoughts aside even though I had a little niggle at the back of my mind. Four days later, I was still late. I decided to go buy another test. This time it was easier to do. I wasn’t nervous; I wasn’t embarrassed; I simply felt as if I was disconnected from my body. This couldn’t possibly be happening to me. I took the test the next morning – positive. That was when my world shattered.
I sat there staring at the test for five minutes, convinced that the second line was wrong, that it was an evaporation line, and that the test was faulty. Anything but the blindingly obvious truth. The first thought – and many afterward – was please make this go away. That was a chant that ran through my mind for several days. Almost a week, in fact.
Turns out, someone was listening. They made it go away. No one told me about the pain, though. Not just physically but mentally, emotionally, spiritually. I had a miscarriage on the 25th November 2010. I thought my world had shattered when I found out I was pregnant, but that was nothing compared to this.
Still in denial that anything was wrong, I didn’t go to the doctor that day, that week, that month. I simply didn’t go. I hoped and prayed that everything would be okay without having to tell my family or my friends. It took a while, but it looked (and felt) like everything eventually went back to normal.
Now I just feel like there’s a piece of me missing – lost out in the universe somewhere. There isn’t a day that passes by when I don’t think of what could be right now. What should have been? I blame myself for what happened. It was like I wished that baby away with the power of my thoughts. Who knew they could be so powerful?
More Resources: Young Mother Help
I’m 15 and I’m having a baby. I’m scared, and I don’t want to mess this up. My baby is due May 27. I don’t know yet if I’m going to keep the baby or give the baby up for adoption. I hope I make the right choices…..
Thank you for all you comments! I have made the choice to keep my baby.
More Resources:
Young Mother Help
Crisis Support
Philosophy and faith
Single Teen Mom
