Many of you are aware that Pennsylvania has an “abortion control act.” This hard fought restriction on abortion was decided in order to put common sense limits on abortion after the famous Roe vs. Wade decision in 1973. The abortion control act requires a 24 hour waiting period and informed consent which consists of a phone in “counseling” session by the doctor who will perform the abortion. These seemingly small restrictions are worth protecting and have saved countless lives. “Tiffany,” for example, was determined to get an abortion. She scheduled the day and time with a local clinic but missed her required “counseling” phone call so they had to push back her procedure. Like dozens of previous clients, she scheduled an appointment with us in the meantime.
Tiffany is in her young 20s and has one child already. Her partner is not supportive of having another child so Tiffany has suffered two abortions and now is considering a third abortion—all in the past 9 months. We confirmed that she is pregnant again and spoke for a long time about her previous abortions and her relationship with the baby’s father. She expressed how lonely she felt going to her abortion appointments by herself and how lonely she felt coming to today’s appointment with us. When asked if she had ever considered keeping this pregnancy, she said no. We encouraged her to allow herself to picture what it could look like to have another child, and boundaries that could be put up with her partner. She cried throughout our conversation and said she had never spoken to anybody about these decisions before. It was evident that she was no longer feeling helpless and alone.
Our team provided an ultrasound revealing a tiny baby 12 weeks along. Tiffany was quiet, but our RDMS tech did a great job of explaining to Tiffany what she was seeing. The baby was active and the image was super clear. After the ultrasound, I asked Tiffany how she was feeling and she said she felt confused and not sure what she was going to do. I was a little discouraged when the last thing Tiffany asked about was how she could find funding for her abortion.
We continued praying for Tiffany and created an appointment for a follow up ultrasound. But we were so delighted when later Tiffany cancelled her second scan with us because she was scheduling her first prenatal appointment. She had decided to carry the baby to term! She expressed how grateful she was for our team and the support she received while making this decision. Praise God that this little heart will keep beating.
Pray for Tiffany that God would give her confidence in this decision, bring about healing from her previous abortions, surround her with supportive/healthy relationships, and ultimately draw her to Himself.
Thank you for your faithful support that equips our amazing staff to serve young women like Tiffany.
Amy Scheuring
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