Multiple abortions led her down a rough road, but Jesus changed everything

At 18 years old, JC Carpenter was dating her older supervisor at work when she became pregnant. She called a family member who she most trusted and was told to contact another family member who previously had an abortion. This person told Carpenter that she, too, should get an abortion.

Carpenter told Live Action News, “My partner made it clear that while he was supportive of whatever I wanted to do, he wasn’t ready to become a father, so I made the decision to have an abortion.”

It was Super Bowl weekend, and her boyfriend was out of town when she went to the abortion clinic. Her boyfriend’s brother, though disturbed about what she was going to do because he was opposed to abortion, agreed to drive her. Carpenter recalls that she saw graphic signs displaying baby body parts dotting the area in front of the building.

“After I saw those signs, I remember asking the staff if it was true I was carrying a baby,” Carpenter said. “But they assured me it was just a clump of cells and not a baby because I was early in my pregnancy.”

Depression and Self-Loathing

The staff gave her Valium, so she doesn’t remember much about that day, but recalls the rift that her abortion caused between her boyfriend and his brother. She later ended the relationship.

As far as she was concerned, she hadn't done anything wrong. However, her alcohol consumption increased after the abortion.

“I experienced sadness and depression but never attributed it to the abortion," Carpenter said. "I just thought I was a mess given my dysfunctional background of living in eight foster homes during my teen years. I had such family drama marked by divorce, drug and alcohol abuse.”

A childhood without love or affection was the impetus for Carpenter to search for the love she desperately missed. She had always suffered abandonment and rejection issues, but after the abortion, self-loathing reared its ugly head.

“We don’t know who we are until we are saved by Christ,” Carpenter said. “I just continued on this way for 25 years.”

Single parenthood, abortions, drug abuse, and homelessness

She became pregnant again by another man and gave birth to a son, but a friend had tried to convince her to end the pregnancy and even scheduled the abortion for Carpenter, but she did not go. 

Carpenter said, “I wanted this child, and I hoped it would change the dynamics of my relationship with my boyfriend.”

When her son was two years old, she had her second abortion. She was 16 weeks pregnant.

“I went to San Francisco to have the surgery to end my third pregnancy,” Carpenter said. “It was a two-day procedure. I let fear whisper in my ear that I couldn’t raise two children alone. My son’s father was never around to help with co-parenting so I couldn’t depend on him, and I had broken up with the father of the child I was carrying.”

While her baby’s father was encouraging her to end the pregnancy and offered to pay for it, the state ended up paying for the abortion. “I suspected they wanted the baby’s body parts,” Carpenter said. 

Carpenter’s third abortion was the result of an affair with a married man. Afterward, she knew she’d never again have another abortion. “I was starting to realize the great emotional toll the abortions took on me.”

Yet, Carpenter saw so many signs that God was trying to get her attention that she ignored – such as having an appointment card with a date for her abortion only to find the clinic closed when she arrived. When she went to reschedule, she noticed sidewalk counselors holding signs and praying.

“I even went into a pregnancy support center by accident, found out they didn’t perform abortions and left,” Carpenter said. “I didn’t stay to get counseling.”

Ten years after her last abortion, Carpenter was still struggling – her life scarred by drug abuse, homelessness and depression. She was arrested for drug possession when her son was seven years old.

“My son went to live with his dad," she said. "I eventually got sober, then got pregnant again with my daughter. I knew I would not have another abortion.”

After the birth of her daughter, Carpenter ceased her promiscuous lifestyle; she wanted to be a better role model for her daughter, but still wasn’t living for Jesus. Once again, though, she was arrested for drug possession, and her daughter was removed from her home by the state.

A New Mission

“Everything changed for me that day,” Carpenter said. “I got clean and stayed sober for 12 years. I decided to trust Jesus and the Holy Spirit taught me how to live better.”

She failed to regain custody of her daughter but "lived in an alley for six months next to a building that housed Alcoholic Anonymous meetings, which I attended every day.”

God called her to the pro-life movement as a sidewalk counselor and leader of a 40 Days for Life Campaign. Today, she travels across country in her eye-catching “pro-life car” with the abortion pill reversal number clearly visible on the sides, giving away precious feet pins and starting conversations about abortion. 

“I’ve given away 2,000 precious feet pins since June, and have had some great discussions,” Carpenter said. “While I can’t change my past, I must move forward and make a difference where I can. I still think about my daughter, with whom I’ve lost touch, but I’ve learned that every day can be a good day when I’m following Jesus. He makes my paths straight.”