They are perhaps the most overlooked and undervalued heroes of the pro-life movement. They reject the quick fix of abortion and choose LIFE. They provide the safety of their womb for the health and well-being of their unborn children, only to turn around and surrender their maternal rights to someone else. They endure the pain of childbirth but enjoy none of the rewards that usually follow.

They are birth mothers. And in the pro-life movement, we call them the unsung heroes.
Nicky is one of these women. She came to Human Coalition desperate, broke, and alone. At just 26 years old, she’d already lived a life full of heartache. Having given birth to and lost custody of a baby girl when Nicky was only 16, she’d since found herself in an incessant cycle of abusive relationships. With a felony record and a string of failed jobs, Nicky believed her second chance at happiness had finally come when she met Brandon. The two quickly became inseparable; and even though she continued to struggle financially, Nicky felt hopeful about her future for the first time in years.

But all of that changed the morning she discovered she was pregnant. “Get an abortion,” was Brandon’s first response to the news. “Those three words were all it took, and everything we had built together fell over like a pile of pick-up sticks,” Nicky says about that day.

Not sure where to turn, Nicky began searching online for information on abortion. That’s when Human Coalition found her and guided her to a life-affirming pregnancy center where she could become fully educated about her pregnancy. “The woman I sat down with was beyond wonderful,” Nicky shares, recalling her visit to the center. “She helped me to just breathe and ask God what to do….And so I did.” That same day, Nicky asked Brandon to move out, and then she began the slow process of reconnecting with family members who’d be willing to support her. “My aunt drove me to the clinic where I would have the baby.”

As the delivery date drew near, Nicky began having doubts. “I was alone…and without any kind of plan for what I was going to do.” That’s when she remembered the compassionate care she’d received at the life-affirming pregnancy center. Leaning on their support and the help of a few relatives, Nicky began the process of placing her child for adoption. “It was a strange chain of events that ended up connecting me with the adoptive mother.” Three days before her scheduled C-section, Nicky visited with her daughter’s adoptive parents. She describes those days as being full of emotions ranging from sadness to joy to excitement to depression. Fortunately, Brandon and Nicky were able to reconcile before the birth of their baby making the adoption process a little easier.
Nicky recalls her time in the hospital as being surreal. “The nurses kept coming up to me and telling me they were honored to care for and treat someone like me who is ‘brave.’” And after giving birth to a healthy baby girl, Nicky relinquished her maternal rights to her daughter. The whole time, she says, “I felt numb to everything. I couldn’t even manage a giggle without feeling the tears behind it.”

Nicky has managed to pick up a few of the pieces and start her life anew, but she still thinks about her baby girl. “My baby, who came out of a very bad time, ended up being loved by people from across the country.” When asked if she regrets her decision, Nicky shakes her head, “When I walked outside after signing the papers and saw [the adoptive mother] standing there, I knew I’d made this woman’s dreams come true. I was her last hope.”

Nicky hopes her story will inspire other women facing crisis pregnancies to consider adoption. She also hopes birth mothers will be given more recognition. “The voice of the mother who gives up a baby for adoption isn’t heard. We need to change that.”

Thank you for standing with Human Coalition and making successful life-save stories like that of Nicky’s and her daughter’s a reality.