Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Why Pro Life? Part IV

This is the second part of my mom's story about her first pregnancy and why she chose life for her child instead of an abortion.

Where There's Life, There's Hope (Part 2)

"Is this okay?" the nurse looked at me cautiously, knowing my medical history. "I can give you a referral for a doctor in the city." What was she saying to me? Is she offering to set up an abortion for my baby? I have a baby?! My mind was racing and immediately I was filled with joy indescribable, and a little fear. "I'm going to have a baby!" my soul cried out on the inside, while a smile formed on my face. The nurse was concerned, and tried to gently remind me of my diabetes and how hard a pregnancy would be with it. All I could think about was this tiny baby growing inside. I had an immediate reassurance in my heart that God was going to take care of me and the baby, regardless of whether I had a husband or not, like the pastor had told me. "I'm going to keep my baby," I told the nurse with a smile.
"I'm going to have a baby!" my soul cried out on the
inside, while a smile formed on my face.

After I left the appointment I started praying fervently to know what to do next. I needed to tell my boyfriend, so I called him and we met at his apartment. I told him the news and also told him I was trusting God to take care of me and that I wasn't pressuring him to marry me. He immediately told me he wanted to marry me and we got married in the Fall of that year.

As I read more of the Bible I was filled with a sense of responsibility to protect the life of my child, and that meant to stop hurting my body with the eating disorder I struggled with. As soon as I read a verse in the book of 1st Corinthians, I immediately had no desire to hurt my body, and especially my baby's body. The pregnancy was considered high-risk with the diabetes and I ended up in the hospital a couple of times for low-blood sugars as well as pre-eclampsia, and our son was born at around 37 weeks. He was beautiful and healthy with strong lungs. He just was a little guy, weighing in at only 2 1/2 pounds. It took him over 40 days to gain 2 pounds in the NICU, but was the cutest baby I had ever seen. God had protected my baby from any serious complications, despite all the medical issues I had dealt with during the pregnancy. My son is now 20 years old and is serving in the military.

My hope is that if some woman who is considering an abortion because she thinks it will be too difficult to handle, or she's too afraid of raising a child alone or is just not aware of the facts of the baby's humanity in the womb, that she would hear this account of my hope in the midst of a desperate situation and decide to carry her baby to term. There is hope for those who feel afraid and alone. You are not alone; there is help and hope for you and your baby.

Kathleen

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If you or someone you know is pregnant and considering abortion and needs help, please visit the Pregnancy Resource Center in your local area.

Resources for information and help:

Pregnancy Facts

Stand Up Girl

Post-Abortion Support

Information and Support

Why Pro-Life? (Randy Alcorn)

Read Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Just read all four parts of "Why Pro Life?". Well written. Thought you'd want to know that the links in the first three parts to part IV aren't working.

Uncle S