Pro-Life Perspective
"If Only She Had Known"

By Wanda Franz, Ph.D., NRLC President

One of the ways National Right to Life educates the public about the issues of abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia is through our website, at www.nrlc.org. Here you can find the latest NRL News articles, press releases, and other information from National Right to Life.

We recently received an e-mail from a young woman who had been perusing our web site. I would like to share her message with you today. She writes:

When I was eighteen, I got pregnant. I spent the whole summer terrified of what to do.... [w]hen I finally did tell my parents, my mom paid for the abortion, but she knew I would hate myself later. It was the most horrible experience of my life.... The abortion was painful, especially after seeing the baby's hands and feet in the ultrasound. I was thirteen weeks along.... My recovery was like that of recovering from a birth, only there was no baby to hold! I felt so empty.

Today I have two beautiful children, and my husband knows about the abortion. If I had known that such a wonderful man would come into my life... I never would have made that decision. I would literally give my life up if I could bring that baby back. I had no idea how much I would love being a mom, and how much joy my babies would bring into my life...

If just one person had really reached out to me... If I had known about the resources there were all along, fear might not have driven me to an abortion... there would be a wonderful four-year-old angel walking the earth today, being raised by a loving step-dad and surrounded by his or her two little sisters....

Giving birth was such a wonderful experience. It was so painful physically, but at the end, there was a light at the end of the tunnel - - a beautiful baby to hold and love. The abortion was painful, too, but at the end there was nothing. No triumph of a baby's cry - - only emptiness and shame.... Unwed pregnant women should be surrounded with support and love, even strangers should reach out to them....

I will spend the rest of my life lavishing the love of three children on my remaining two, and I will always regret that I didn't look at other options [before I had my abortion]. Even if I couldn't have raised the baby, now I see so many couples out there with open arms. I wish I had thought of others instead of only thinking of myself. I would give up my life in a heartbeat if I could bring that baby back.

Please let all the pregnant women out there know that they can keep their precious babies without shame! And that there really are people out there who will help them without judgement.

I'd like to thank this young woman for having the courage to share her story. You and I must be the ones to, as this young woman said, "help [pregnant women] without judgement." We must let women facing a crisis pregnancy know that abortion is not their only option and that there are people who can help. There are over 3,000 crisis pregnancy centers in America designed to help women choose life for their unborn babies. There most likely is one in your community - - look in your local phone book under " abortion alternatives." I also urge you to continue supporting National Right to Life as we work towards restoring protection to unborn children and their mothers.