Success Story

I have been with First Choice Pregnancy Center for about a year now.  I was asked recently (for the first time) to share a success story from a recent counselling session.  These success stories are sent to the agency that helps fund our center.  This is what I wrote:

I counselled with a client on a Thursday evening not too long ago. I will call her Abby.  She came in for a pregnancy test.  She told me at the beginning of our session that having an abortion was her intention if she were pregnant.  She said she was a Christian and had a relationship with God.  However, she also had a soccer scholarship to go to college in the fall.  She had worked very hard to achieve her educational and sports goals, and that scholarship represented a reward for all her hard work.  With school coming up in the fall, a baby would not work into her life right now.  Additionally, the father was her boyfriend of only a month and he was not wanting to be a father at all.  We discussed her options, as we do with all clients.  I gave her all the details about parenting, adoptions, and of how abortions are performed.  She asked a lot of questions.  She seemed so hungry for information.  She also seemed concerned about the pain and suffering involved with abortion.  Once I had answered all her questions, she waited for the nurse to do her test.  I prayed in the office with another volunteer before returning to her.  I got the pregnancy test results from the nurse.  The test was positive.   She had taken tests at home and so she said that she already kind of knew what the result would be.  We talked more about how she was feeling now that she had the results in hand.  She still felt like abortion was her only way out.  I encouraged her to get an ultrasound.  To which she responded she did not want to.  She tearfully explained her reluctance stemmed from a fear that if she did have an ultrasound, she would become attached to her baby and not be able to have the abortion she believed was necessary.  After further discussion, she did make an appointment for an ultrasound.  I determined at that moment that I would be at that appointment.  Abby and her situation weighed so heavy on my heart.  It was a tearful drive home that evening.

I texted Abby on the following Monday evening to arrange a time to speak on the phone.  She soon texted me back with some surprisingly wonderful news.  Abby wrote, “I've decided to keep it.”  It was like a thousand pounds was lifted off my heart upon reading this news.  She asked for some advice on what would come next for her, she said that a lot had happened she wanted to tell me about, and asked if we could talk again in a couple of days.  Once we were able to connect on the phone, I could hear the relief in her voice.  She had peace about her decision to keep her baby.  She had a plan to postpone college for the first year to raise her baby.  She had broken off the relationship with her boyfriend, and her mom offered to help her accomplish her new goal to be a parent.  The confidence in her voice was a relief to hear.  Her questions now were about getting insurance, finding a doctor, and beginning prenatal care instead of about the pain and suffering associated with abortion.  She told me about how she had been taking her prenatal vitamins and had heeded my warning to do so with food.  It was a much more enjoyable conversation this time.  

I was completely convinced that Abby was going to have an abortion after she left that first visit.  In my opinion, her choice to make a plan to parent her baby was nothing short of miraculous.