Following are actual stories from people, explaining why they switched from being pro-choice to being pro-life. These stories were left unedited, and were posted with permission of the authors. If you used to be pro-choice and are now pro-life, e-mail me and I will post your story. Identities will be kept anonymous if desired.
Received February 2000
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.
Char [HopefulHrt28@aol.com]
Web site After Abortion
Received February, 2000
I used to be pro-choice. I used all of the typical arguments, if it was illegal-women would die in the alleys, no one has a right to tell a woman what she will do with her own body, rape, incest... any and all, I would argue them. All this, and I was only 14, but with extremely strong convictions on the subject.
Then, at 17, something happened. I was preparing to go off to college in the fall, to accomplish all of these dreams that would make me important to the world around me. I got pregnant. My fiancé was only 18, barely out of high school. All of a sudden, abortion didn't look like a very good idea, for me...it was still okay for other women, but not me. I didn't want to make this baby-to-be pay for what I knowingly did- having sex before I wanted children. I didn't want my child to be born out of wedlock, so we got married a year early. I got married one week before my senior prom. My child was born the same week I was to start college. I held him and all I could do was thank God for this child and for planting the pro-life seed in my heart when I was at the cross roads. Still, yet, I didn't think there was anything wrong with other women doing it. I was still of the mind set that that was a personal decision.
At 19, I had an affair. I got pregnant and didn't know if my husband was the child's father or if my lover was. I ended up staying with my husband. He was aware of the affair and the possibilities of the child I was carrying. Yet, there was enough "what if's" to prevent me from aborting the child. There was something more, though, hovering around the edges of my pro-choice conscious My second son was born and we have never bothered to find out who his biological father is. We assume it is my husband because of some medical problems our son inherited.
All of this time, my reasons for supporting abortion started slipping. I turned my life over to God, thankfully Then, I read a book. A book changed my heart and my outlook, "Who Broke the Baby?" I had never thought about the value of all human life, regardless of deformities or the method in which the life is created. Finally, I have seen that the choice one makes is the moment of conception...to have sex or not... If, by rape or incest, a child is created, it is not the fault of the child. It is no less human then the most wanted baby. I am now completely pro-life. We thought I had a tubal pregnancy, even then, we knew that if we were to abort that baby to save me, I would never recover from killing my child to save myself. I have been raped once, if it were to ever happen again and a baby was the result, we would keep the child. Nothing changes the fact that a baby is human, no matter what. God bless,
Melanie M.
mc_melanie@hotmail.com
Received October, 1999
Over the last few years, online, I had been very outspokenly prochoice, even probortion. I attacked anyone who was prolife, was very rude and said some terrible things to folks.
I had been feeling uncertain about this issue for quite a while, so I decided to think about it and actually deal with it, and came to the conclusion that I was behaving that way because I knew I was wrong, not because I really believed in that stuff :)
OK, for me, what happened was, I was bought up Catholic, in an Irish household, mainly by my grandmother. I am the product of two teenagers, and my grandmother, she wanted to make things work with me, to raise me well, unlike my mum, who got away.
Anyhow, to cut a long story short, I was good, until I was 20, when I had a one night stand with an Irish musician. I felt terrible, of course, having succumbed to lust and violated my faith. I became pregnant as a result of that, and, as I did not want to disappoint my beloved grandmother as had done my mother, I went and had an abortion in secret. I committed a terrible act to cover up a bad one.
Becoming prochoice was the way I dealt with the emotions arising from the abortion. I felt I could either be a hypocritical prolifer, who had an abortion, or I could fully embrace prochoice and everything that went along with it.
So, I was not *truly* prochoice, I felt I HAD to be in that camp to justify my own actions. Of course, it did not work, really, and I felt worse than ever. I was consumed with a lot of anger, and told everyone I knew that I had an abortion and was very glad I did. It was my way of dealing with the pain inside. I was outspokenly in favour of abortions and encouraged others to do as I had done. I even made tasteless jokes about fetuses.
As to my conversion, I had been having doubts about the moral correctness of my prochoice views for a while. I believe that life is special, that it if wrong to take the life of even an animal without good reason, and pretty much had a prolife ethic, apart from the unborn. Of course, that felt wrong, as it indeed, was.
In July of this year, I again became pregnant. It was a surprise, but I am now married, and it was welcome.
Being pregnant seemed to have switched on something inside, and I found I could no longer BE prochoice at all any more.
I cannot justify the taking of innocent life just because it is not Ok for me at the time.
I know I did something that was wrong, and I don't like the feeling of being in favour of something just to justify myself.
rhianwenj@yahoo.com
Received August, 1999
I, too, was pro-choice back in college. In the eighties, it just wasn't hip or enlightened to be pro-life. I'm sure with the rampant political correctness on campuses now, it's much worse for those who dare to be pro-life. Having babies changed my perspective on abortion greatly. It's difficult to even imagine killing the person who kicks, rolls and even hiccups in your womb. (My first had terrible gas, but that's another story!) My third child really affirmed my pro-life beliefs, though. She was born with Down syndrome and a heart defect. Thoughts that perhaps she'd have been better off not being born crossed my mind. When we visited her in the Neonatal ICU that she'd been transported to, my husband said that he wished God would "just take her". During the next fourteen months of her life, though, Kelly demonstrated to us that she wouldn't be ready to go for quite some time. We grew to understand that her life has as much value and meaning as anyone else's. She reached some milestones late -- sat up at 8 mos., walked at 20 mos., but I was amazed when she rolled over at 4 mos. And began to respond to her favorite activity, baths, by saying "baaa" at 11 mos.
When her heart defect was repaired when she was 14 mos. old, she had complications. She bled through the sutures in her chest, and her blood pressure dropped dangerously low. Over the next couple of days, she retained 4 pounds of fluid. "Just take her" changed to "Please, Lord, don't take our precious daughter yet". Thanks to God, she pulled through after two more surgeries. She is now a happy eight year old, and although she faces another health obstacle called subaortic stenosis, we pray it will be resolved. One thing is clear: my daughter loves her life and has a right to it.
I see daily that my daughter's life has value, yet I also see opinions in the public forum that devalue the lives of the disabled. Most of these opinions are formed of ignorance, fear and just plain bigotry. It is unfortunate that such ideas are given credibility in the hip intellectual crowd. It's even worse that I would probably echo such opinions if I were in college today and hadn't experienced what I had.
Susan Lodi, CA beep@lodinet.com
Received April, 1999
"I used to be pro-choice. I used to think that an unborn baby was a fetus. I used to think that a severely deformed child would be better off not being born. I used to think I knew what life was all about; that I had experienced enough "living" to take these kinds of moral stances. Eric proved me wrong." Read Linda's entire article about how the birth and death of Eric changed her stance on abortion.
Received November, 1998
Concerning the abortion issue, I used to be pro-choice. During my 20's, being pro-life never crossed my mind. My college friends were also pro-choice, and I even accompanied one of my roommates to a local clinic so that she could have an abortion. She had been on the pill and still got pregnant. We didn't talk about it after it happened. I think my judgment was clouded with all the independence that comes with college, and the freedom of being on my own. I knew that an abortion killed a human life, but it didn't seem to matter to me. The important thing was that a woman had the freedom to do what she wanted to do. It was almost like a constitutional right that a woman should be proud to exercise. Also, what would any of us do with a baby??? We were too young to get married and settle down, and having a baby and being single just wasn't cool.
Continuing into my late 20's, I was still pro-choice. I remember telling my boyfriend that if I got pregnant, I would have an abortion. I was not prepared to have a child, and I wanted to do it in the correct order: marriage, then children. I seriously don't think I could have had an abortion myself, though. I had known several people who had chosen that route, but when push came to shove, I would have chickened out.
I got married when I was thirty, and for the first three years of marriage, remained childless. During that time, abortion didn't cross my mind very much. It was still the other person's business, and didn't affect me directly. I would occasionally see reports on the news about some people protesting outside abortion clinics, getting arrested, etc. The bombed clinics reinforced my belief that pro-lifer's were all some kind of nuts that had nothing better to do than harass women and blow up buildings for their own amusement.
After the birth of my son, my opinion gradually changed. The older he got, the more I questioned how someone could choose to destroy something as wonderful as a baby. Soon, I decided that abortion should only be given in the case of rape, incest, or for the protection of the mother's life. I started going to church on a regular basis, and my son's baptism was a joyous occasion. I read the Bible, the lives of the saints, and studied the Catechism. I asked God to let me do His will. The Catholic Church teaches that abortion is a sin, in fact, a mortal sin. How could I condone something that was in direct conflict with what I longed to be a part of? My son is now almost three year sold, and my journey of faith continues.
I believe that as I open my heart and mind to God, the Holy Spirit works to show me what is truly right and truly wrong in the eyes of Our Lord. And that the most important thing in our everyday, mundane lives, is to do the will of God, so that we may be united with Him and His Most Holy Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, I can say that I am pro-life. Abortion is wrong. Disposing of a human life is wrong. I believe that abortion should only be given in cases where the life of the mother is surely in grave danger if the pregnancy continues. The woman, along with her family and doctors should carefully weigh all the medical evidence, and come to an abortive solution only as a last resort. The number of abortions performed would drop from millions to almost nil if this was the law.
For those pro-choice people who say that it is a fetus, and not a baby, I say it is just mincing words. It is human, it is alive, and no one has the right to throw it away with such little disregard as what is happening in the world today. If we do not stand up for what is morally right and try to change the horrible conditions in our society, nothing is ever going to get better. God has given us free will, and how each of us chooses to conduct our life has an impact on the next generation. We have the ability to make our planet a better place in which to live. Until attitudes in our society change, we will continue on a downward spiral, until we destroy ourselves, and the rest of the world along with us.
May the peace of Our Lord Jesus Christ be with you always.
Connie S.
September 1998
I was pro-choice until my first year in college, when I found myself drawn to the Catholic Church. I was still struggling with some of the Church's teachings, above all the teaching on abortion. I had always been against the death penalty, however, as well as supporting aid to the poor and hungry, both important tenets of the prolife stance. Probably the turning point was at dinner one night when some of my friends and I were talking about our families. One of my dear friends, who is multiracial (as am I) said that when her mother became pregnant with her many people suggested that she have an abortion. I was stunned by the fact that this wonderful person sitting across from me might never have existed, and I would never have traveled with her, cried on her shoulder, written her overly long letters, cared for her plants while she was on vacation . . .
The biggest part of being prolife is an inherent faith in humanity, a belief that, in the words of Anne Frank "all people are really good at heart." Prolife sentiments do not deal only with abortion and euthanasia, but also with hunger, poverty, and social and political oppression. To be prolife is to support the rights and dignity of ALL human beings, from conception onwards. American society has convinced us that many things are disposable. Let us never forget that people are not disposable.
[jlakshminar1@rachel.chatham.edu]
Received April, 1998
Had I written this essay 25 years ago, I would have said that a woman's body is her own and she can do with it what she wants. Fifteen years ago, I would have said abortion is wrong, but many times it's the best choice a woman has, considering her circumstances. About five years ago, it would have been tempered to sometimes, but rarely, it is the only choice due to a life or death situation.
Why the change? It's very simple and it's really more of a what than a why. What has changed over the years is my love for the Lord. The deeper my love grows for Him, the more I hear, "If you love me, keep my commandments," and among those commandments is, "Thou shalt not commit murder," Thankfully, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, all our sins can be forgiven, including the sin of taking the life of an unborn child. However, I'm sure that every time a baby is aborted, it grieves His heart. I think that maturing as a Christian means that more and more, his desires become our desires and it grieves our heart to grieve His. All life belongs to Him, there are no unplanned pregnancies. Sure, they may be unplanned for the man and woman, but never to God. He created sexual intimacy that we would go forth and multiply.
The problem is, that society has changed that message to go forth and enjoy yourself, have a great time, and "don't worry be happy." Because God knew these unborn babies before they were even conceived, they are just as much a person as the mothers and fathers whose union made their conception possible. God created each of these babies with a purpose, which we, as His servants, can help fulfill by ensuring their continued development and birth. I love the old bumper sticker, "God don't make no junk." This certainly applies to those teeny, tiny babies nestled so helplessly in their mothers' wombs. When Jesus walked the earth, the words He spoke and His mighty touch delivered healing to the bodies, minds, and souls of countless people. But Jesus knew that His time on earth was short, because of the greater plan of the Father; so He prepared a handful of followers to continue His work.
Today, we are those disciples, and we are daily asked that very
familiar question, "What would Jesus do?" How
would Jesus minister to women and their unborn children? We must know the
answer to this question because He has
commanded us to do as He would. First of all, I know He would love them
and would speak only the truth to them. He would
also invite them to trust in Him and to believe that all things could be
redeemed through Him. Finally, He would draw them
away from their sinful lives into a relationship with Him In the opening,
I told you how I felt 25, 15, and 5 years ago, but how
about today? Today, I not only believe in God's sovereignty, I honor it.
Only God has the right to say when life begins and when
it ends. I thank and praise Him that He has entrusted me to minister His
truth through love - Emily.
Also posted at:
http://www.fortunecity.com/meltingpot/sandringham/38/opine.html
Received February, 1998
I went to Catholic schools all of my life. I was always the one in my religion class debating with the teacher on a woman's right to choose. It was in 11th grade that I started to change my pro choice views. A lot of my friends were getting pregnant and having abortions. It was easy to say that I was pro choice when I couldn't put a face to the act of taking an innocent life, but when my close friends started to tell me about the abortions they had had, I was sickened. These children had not asked to be conceived, yet they was paying the ultimate price for their "parents'" irresponsibility. How hard would it have been to use birth control? After one of my friends had her abortion, the Planned Parenthood clinic she went to gave her a year's free prescription for any birth control method she chose. 2 weeks after her abortion, she was having unprotected sex again. I asked her why and she responded, "It's too hard to remember to take those pills everyday." From that point on I was pro life. Before I had assumed that most women who had had abortions had tried to prevent pregnancy from the beginning, but had accidentally conceived. I don't consider conception an accident when you took no steps to prevent it.
As a woman I feel the greatest gift I have been given is the ability to bring forth new life. And, as a Black woman I feel that throughout history, when everyone had been against us, the mothers in our community were the safe havens, the ones who were there to protect us. Now it seems that we can't even count on the mothers in our society anymore. I also find it peculiar that in areas that are majority white, you have to do a lot of traveling to find a clinic or a doctor that will perform abortions, yet in predominately Black communities, there is practically one every few miles.
It took a long time for me to recognize abortion for the murder
that it is, but now that I have, I plan to let my views be known. Thank
you for giving me this opportunity to share.
Alisia
Please e-mail me with your comments at:
as20@axe.humboldt.edu
I was a sophomore in college when I found out I was pregnant. I was scared, because I didn't want my family to find out, and I was ashamed of what I had gotten myself into. I went to one of my professors for advice, and she told me about all the options, but she stressed that abortion would be a good idea because I was still in school and she didn't think my boyfriend was prepared to be a father. She had a lot of influence on how I thought and what I did back then, and I was seriously considering doing it just so that I wouldn't have to tell my family. When I came home for summer break, I was already about six weeks along, and I ran into a pro-life friend. She could tell something was wrong, and I told her that I wanted to have an abortion. Thank God she was a good enough friend that she wouldn't leave me alone until I promised not to do it and to tell my family. It was really rough when I did tell them, but they didn't hate me or throw me out like I was afraid they would. Now I have a gorgeous 2-year-old boy, and I can't imagine my life without him. It was very easy to rationalize killing him before he was born, but I know that no amount of rationalization would have helped if I had gone through it. I knew in my heart that even if there was the slightest chance that he was a human being, I should let him live. That's all the pro-abortion argument is--rationalization for murder by dehumanizing the child. I know people who have gone through it, and they almost never talk about it. If there is nothing to be ashamed of, why does it seem like a dirty secret? I am glad that I don't have to hide any dirty secrets like that.
Alicia
ah9@evansville.edu
Annie's Story
I am an 18 year old, full time college student, full time employee of a music store, and a full time mother of 11 month old twins. i am a single mother and i used to be pro choice. after giving birth to two precious individuals only one minute apart from each other, i am as pro-life as it gets. yes, my life is a struggle, but with the Lord on my side and two bundles of joy to tuck in at night, my children are well worth it. my children (connor and chloe) didn't ask to be born. it was by my actions that they are in this world today. and no, i wouldn't change a thing about them or the way they got here. my plans for the future were a bit altered, but i am a very determined person to make the best out of the most complicated situations. so if you ever need to talk, to cry, or have any questions on why you shouldn't have an abortion, please contact me. i will give you two perfect reasons why you shouldn't have an abortion. e-mail me at:
dcsalm0@pop.uky.edu
Annie Salmon
Vie's Story
Vie gave me permission to link to her story on her web page:
Your right to Choose??
Faye's Story
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
fayeanne@hotmail.com
Mike's Story:
I was pro-choice up until about 1989-90. I was totally confused, and assumed that being right wing meant being pro-choice - ie, "keep your rosaries off my ovaries" bull.
One day I watched the Miracle of Life, and how the little tiny foetus looked so human. it was awe inspiring. then i started to buy New Dimensions, National Review, American Spectator, and my dad bought be a subscription to the Conservative Chronicle. Then the Wall Street Journal (who write BRILLIANT editorials) swayed me more.
So, I was now prolife about 75% committed.
Then in about 1994, my friend Lisa told me she was pregnant. I was So happy for her - she had had surgery which had dropped the chances to almost NIL. I cried in the middle of the mall, and as a gift to her and to Stephanie, I kept a diary for the whole NINE months about how Lisa, Mark and little fetal Stephanie were doing. I wrote it TO Steph, and after writing for about 7.5 months everyday (2 volumes), I KNEW her. I had no option, psychologically, to think of her any other way than as a person.
Then she was born. Lisa (my Lisa - my wife) and I were at the hospital for hours and hours. We were in the delivery room about 1/2 hour after Steph was delivered. I had NEVER been involved with a pregnancy before, and it was such a moving experience - emotionally, spiritually, physically - I never considered that I would ever be pro-choice again.
The kicker came in 1996, last November, when Wee-est one was born. Nicole was born a month early, but an amazing 6 1/2 lbs. In Canada, abortions can legally be performed until D-Day. There is NO fetal protection, and has not been since 1989. None.
I was the only one in the City when Nicole was born. No one knew they'd gone to the hospital. I called home for phone messages, and there was on e from Mark and Lisa.
I was alone in the waiting room, and the nurse came in and told me that Baby Girl has been born. I walked into the enormous and almost vacant delivery room, and under bright lights in one corner, and like in a movie, Mark and Lisa were huddled over Nicole (she was named the next day).
She was perfect, and I remember thinking, "How can we see this, and not believe that there is a child in there?".
So while I have been pro-life for a while, I have only been committed to
that belief - at least with the confidence to defend it - for a little
while.
Mike Brown [cooties@sympatico.ca]
Rich's Story
I just wanted to say that I found your WWW page on abortion very informative. I am firmly against the murder of unborn children. How anyone can support this barbaric, cruel, and evil practice is beyond me.
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.
Rich Geldreich, Jr
Tracy's Story
I want to thank you for putting this wonderful site on the internet, it really opened my eyes to the realities of abortion. I recently met and became close to a man who is very pro-life and works for the movement distributing pamphlets, etc.. He showed me, a former pro-choice woman, the other side of the argument and recommended I get online and so some research. Well, I did, and I found your site to be the most convincing of all that I've read. I can honestly say that I had no idea what an abortion was really like, I just felt that it was a woman's body and her right to choose, I never thought about what the fetus looked like or the pain it might feel. Once again, I want to tell you what a wonderful service you are doing for the American public by showing us what abortion is really about.
Tracy
lpo@itis.com
Sally's Story
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. 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