Like Nicodemus, the religious leader who cautiously came to Jesus at night, Melissa Brooks visited a pregnancy resource center in secret to hear her baby’s heartbeat.
She had always considered herself to be pro-choice, but started to have doubts about abortion when she became pregnant unexpectedly in 2023. Suddenly, the life issue became personal for Melissa, the mother of an 18-year-old.
In an essay in The Federalist entitled, “Pro-Life Laws Helped Save My Son’s Life,” she credits the overturning of Roe v. Wade with enabling her to give birth to her second child.
“My sweet son is here today because of the pro-life protections in my state (Kentucky), made possible by the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision,” she wrote.
In the article, Melissa explained how her relationship with the baby’s father had ended before she knew she was pregnant. When she reconnected with him, the response, “without hesitation,” was that she should have an abortion.
“I had always called myself pro-choice and had dear friends in my life who had multiple abortions. The concept of abortion never seemed to bother me, until I realized I would be aborting my own child… The mere thought of it made me sick, and I could never schedule the appointment myself.”
Despite her awakening to the stark reality of abortion, she still agreed to have one at the urging of the baby’s father. However, because she lived in Kentucky and near Tennessee—two states that ban abortion with few exceptions—she would need to travel out of state.
Melissa and the father of the baby made an abortion appointment in Carbondale, Illinois, a four-hour drive, but a series of family issues and complications led to the cancellation of the three appointments at that clinic.
Had abortion been legal in Kentucky, Melissa admitted that she would have had an abortion, but because of the delay caused by having to go out of state, she had more time to contemplate her feelings and what would happen to the life inside of her; A desire to maintain a romantic connection with the baby’s father further complicated matters.
“I had great fear and doubt about undergoing the procedure, but I was pressured to continue because I was being told that all the things I wanted for my relationship with my child’s father would come true if I had an abortion… While I had agreed to the abortion, each cancellation came as a silent relief to me.”
A visit to a pregnancy center, where she heard her baby’s heartbeat, further strengthened her resolve to keep the baby. At Care Net’s 1,200 affiliated centers, this scenario is commonplace. Every day, women who have decided to have an abortion come through the doors of our centers, where they are met with compassion, and given hope by learning about the options and support available to them if they choose life; Prayer is also paramount, as staff members intercede for a change of heart when it comes to abortion.
For Melissa, a change of heart did not come easily. Despite her fear and apprehension, she eventually went to the abortion clinic in Illinois. At the appointment, she was told she needed to take abortion drugs and then undergo a procedure to have the baby removed.
“There was no way I was going to put myself through that. There was no way I could put my innocent baby through that.”
“After I left the abortion center, I rushed to my OB-GYN’s office. This time, I would hear my son’s heartbeat not as a ‘goodbye,’ but as a promise to protect him as long as I lived.”
At the OB-GYN office, she learned that her baby had a hole in his heart and suffered from omphalocele, a congenital condition where an infant’s intestines, liver, or other abdominal organs protrude outside the body through the belly button at birth. Despite those health challenges—and the fact that she would be raising this baby as a single mom because of her decision not to abort—Melissa vowed “to protect her baby as long as she lived.”
She gave birth to Oryan in November of 2023. The baby has undergone several medical procedures since then. Mom calls him a fighter who is full of great purpose and worth. She is thankful that she did not succumb to the pressure to end his life.
“Thanks to my state’s pro-life protection, my baby boy is alive today, and his life has already made the world a much better place.”