You gave Eve the courage to walk out of her abortion appointment
Thanks to you, the coaches of our national hotline–entirely funded by the generous giving of people like you–have the chance to give scared moms a chance to choose life for their unborn children. For Eve, that chance came when her fear was at its height.
Eve sat on the stiff plastic chair in the abortion clinic lobby. It smelled like cleaning fluid and something sickly sweet. Her muscles tensed as anxiety kicked into high gear. She’d felt this way before. Years ago, she sat in a clinic like this one, going through the same motions before her first abortion. When the wait was over, she walked toward the office and…SNAP!
You provided a safe place
Eve gasped! It was just the receptionist dropping her pen. Eve looked around, afraid someone heard her.
Trying to look natural, Eve scanned through her messages. Her last call was to Care Net’s Pregnancy Decision Line, our national hotline for parents at-risk for experiencing abortion. She’d been talking off and on with her hotline coach, Connie*, about her pregnancy and her abortion plan. She hadn’t felt comfortable telling Connie that she’d had a previous abortion until today. It wasn’t exactly something you just blurted out to a stranger, and it had taken time for Connie to earn Eve’s trust.
When Eve told Connie that her abortion was scheduled for that day, she still wasn’t sure about it. Just before the call ended, Connie gently reminded Eve she didn’t have to go through with the abortion, and that her local pregnancy center was there to help. Eve believed her. Slipping her phone into her purse, Eve then folded her hands together.
Breaking the Cycle
Her mind kept racing back to her last abortion. She remembered hobbling out of the clinic, hand over her empty belly. The following months were filled with regret and depression. Deep inside, Eve knew if she went through with this next abortion, she’d feel even worse this time. Dread coiled up her stomach. Then she remembered Connie said she didn’t have to go through with it.
That was all it took.
Grabbing her purse, Eve got up and walked out the front door. For the next few minutes, she sat in her car, trembling as she cried. She felt all kinds of things she couldn’t name, but relief was the one she recognized. After she calmed down, Eve called Connie to tell her, and Connie assured Eve that she’d made the best choice for both her AND her baby.
Thanks to your faithful giving, moms like Eve have a chance to change their mind and not make a decision that haunts them the rest of their lives. Through the voice of coaches like Connie, you have given them compassion, hope, and help when they needed it the most. Thank you for being a light in the darkness!