How My Story is an Abortion Story

       That I know of, there are at least two women related to me that, according to society, had every right to have an abortion. If either of these women had an abortion, I would not be here. I've known for a while that my mom was in the position that many young women are today. She was in love, in college, and had a surprise pregnancy. Sure they were were serious, but how could they be ready for a child? And it wasn't like either of my parents had lovely examples to look to when it came to what a family is supposed to look like. My mom's father left when she was pretty young--left for another woman and another family. Both of my dad's parents had passed away by the time he was 13. When my mom became pregnant with me, Planned Parenthood or a similar abortion clinic could have been an easy fix for them. My mom wouldn't have had to drop out of college to finish her pregnancy, and my dad could have had at least another year to figure out what he wanted to do with his life. 

          It wasn't like my parents were in an environment that criminalized abortion or made parenting seem care-free. Where my parents lived when I was first born was a place where police sirens were constantly going off. People were selling their young daughters to be sex slaves, and their sons were practically guaranteed to be around drugs at some point. My parents could have easily chosen to abort me believing that they were keeping me from a world of real bad hurt that they were in--but they didn't. Though they grew up experiencing first hand the difficulties of raising a child in less-than-ideal circumstances, they chose to keep me. Neither of my parents have a college degree, and I was at my parents' wedding, but if you ask them, they'll tell you: they don't regret it one bit.

             The other woman that could have, and many would say should have had an abortion in my family is my great great grandmother. My father is Black, and so was my great great grandma. However, my great great grandma was raped by a White man, and my great grandma is the product of that. There are very few cases that both pro-choice and pro-life have some sort of agreement on in which abortion is viewed as less evil than others. In this case, a case not only of rape (which in and of itself is a horrible, horrible evil) but of race-related rape. Having grown up in the south and knowing our history, I've always had the general understanding that somewhere along the lines someone in my family on my dad's side at the very least, was raped. Negro women were often raped by their "Master," and were still raped after slavery was abolished by White men looking to assert their dominance while getting some sort of twisted pleasure. There are many layers of deep, deep pain wrapped up in this case of my great great grandma being impregnated by a White man raping her. I wouldn't have blamed her if she had chosen to get an abortion, but the reality is, I wouldn't have had a chance to. If she had, my great grandma would have never been born, and she would have never had my grandma, who would have never given birth to my dad.  

               Come to think of it, there is at least one more woman who could have had an abortion. My great grandma Alice. The one I'm named after. Her husband, my great grandfather on my mom's side, was abusive. Many would say it would have made sense for my great grandma Alice to abort a child she had with him as the father. But she didn't, and even though there is a great deal of pain that my great grandma and grandma have gone through, I can type these words. 

              There are a million and one facets to the conversation of abortion. Me telling you it's wrong means next to nothing if you truly think abortion is part of a woman's reproductive rights. And me telling you how abortion is killing children doesn't make anything less painful for the women that have had abortions, been shunned from the Church, or other awful situations. But I can tell you that there is hope. You may not have planned to get pregnant. I won't pretend to know the pain and conflict that you're feeling because I have never been pregnant. But I do know that you don't have to be afraid, and you don't have to choose abortion. The life growing inside of you was put there on purpose by Someone who loves you more than you can comprehend. And He loves that little child inside of you too. It's okay if you don't want to keep that baby. You shouldn't feel ashamed if you feel the need to give your baby up for adoption. There are lots of parents out there who are ready and willing to take on that responsibility for you so you don't have to, but don't disqualify the right of life to that baby growing inside of you. For you, the woman who has either had an abortion, or is considering one, or has encouraged someone else to get  one, here are some beautiful words of encouragement, and confessions from the broken hearts of those that have been a part of an abortion:
To a Woman Considering Abortion

Lecrae Confesses Abortion, Invites Others Into The Light

Beautiful Life by Trip Lee ft. V. Rose

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPpp-2VcMrA

         Let us no longer pretend that abortion is not killing babies.  We know they are killing children--all of us know.  Abortion is the Anti-Gospel. If you are one who, as I have, asks the question of "what about women's rights?", I point you to these two articles that address that question far more eloquently than I could hope to:
Why the Simple Right to Abortion is Unjust

The Truth (About Abortion) Will Set You Free 

There you have it. That is how my story is an abortion story. More accurately, how I have a story because abortions didn't happen. May God encourage or convict you however is necessary with His Truth, and may He cause you to forget anything I have said that is not Truth.
May the very real and very precious grace and peace of God be with you all.