When a woman walks into Human Coalition’s women’s care clinic of Pittsburgh believing that abortion is the only logical solution to her unplanned pregnancy, you may wonder what would cause her to change her mind and choose life. From seeing her baby during an ultrasound, to receiving support from a partner or family member, the reasons vary for each mother.
“Julie” changed her mind about abortion and chose life for her baby because of a job opportunity.
She was expecting her second child, and everything about Julie’s life felt up in the air. Her relationship with the father of her two children (both her preborn baby and her two-year-old child) was crumbling. And now he wanted Julie to move out of their house immediately. Her mother offered to take her in, but Julie believed that living with her mom wouldn’t work.
Julie had just finished school, and she didn’t know how she’d provide for two children. She felt trapped and thought she had no choice other than to abort her baby.
When she visited our women’s care clinic, she saw her baby’s development during an ultrasound. Then our nurse talked with Julie and shared the realities of the abortion procedure, as well as the potential long-term physical, emotional, and psychological implications. The nurse also provided Julie with some job resources.
Julie listened to the nurse, but she didn’t react.
After Julie left the clinic that day, the nurse felt discouraged. It seemed as though Julie had just shut down, as many abortion-determined clients do. Yet in the days and weeks following Julie’s appointment, the nurse and our clinic staff continued reaching out to Julie to share their support for her. In one particular communication, they asked Julie if she’d gone through with the abortion and Julie provided a simple answer: “No. I got a job instead.”
Sometimes we don’t hear back from a client after her appointment, and yet we still reach out to encourage her, let her know she is not alone and we are here to help.
We rejoice when women like Julie realize they are equipped, able, and ready to bring a child into the world. Our prayer is that more mothers will make the same lifesaving decision as Julie, and do so with their eyes opened to a bright future that includes their precious babies.
