“Why do you want to do this?” I asked, with urgency and a heavy heart.
“Because I don’t wanna get fat or have to tell my parents,” she responded. Her voice was calm and full of indifference, as if my question made reference to the weather rather than the abortion she was about to undergo.
Two hours later, the unwanted baby inside the womb of my 17-year-old mentee was gone. I will never forget that day and how it felt. Holding the phone, pleading with her to let her baby live. To consider God’s sovereignty and how involved he was with the new life she sought to rid herself of. The scenario was weighty at its core because I was conversing with a teenage girl on the brink of committing murder.
Unexpected Inconvenience
Perhaps that’s you, right now. You’ve found out that you are pregnant and you’re considering an abortion. After all, this wasn’t a part of your plan—the baby, that is.
“It” seems to be an unexpected inconvenience. Your freedom is at stake, your body under siege and your life potentially under the authority of another, or so you think. The temporal pleasures of sex weren’t supposed to lead to a lifetime of parenthood. Now the only option up for consideration is to call the nearest Planned Parenthood and schedule the appointment you believe will maintain the autonomy you enjoy.
I do not presume to know you, your circumstances or the complete array of thoughts at home in your heart, but I do know that if you are considering abortion, it is because your mind and heart have been led to believe lies. These lies come from a dark place, where light and truth don’t reign, only pride. The same pride that caused Eve to assume true freedom and happiness could only be experienced apart from the will of God. Now, due to sin’s influence on your logic, you are following in her footsteps.
I beg you to walk another way. By faith, take another route—the path that leads to life, not death.
Unforeseen Responsibilities
I got pregnant with my daughter on my honeymoon. Initially, I did not look on my pregnancy with joy, but rather the recognition of another life inside of me felt burdensome. I had plans for me and my husband to spend the beginning of our marriage alone. No children. No unexpected responsibilities. Just the freedom that I believed children would hinder.
Though I did not consider abortion, I still had the heart of an abortionist. I saw the life inside of me as a stumbling block to my joy. I looked at this baby not as a gift from God but as a mistake. And from that perspective, I can understand your anxiety.
