Trafficked by her mother, she became pregnant at 14 and ran away to save her son

Jess Levinson was sexually abused at nine, trafficked for drugs at 12, and became pregnant by her abuser at just 14 — yet she chose life, ran away, and placed her son for adoption. She was recently reunited with him for the first time in two decades.

Key Takeaways:

• At 12 years old, Jess Levinson's mother trafficked her to a drug dealer. She became the man's "live-in girlfriend" until she became pregnant at 14.

• Wanting to protect her baby, she hid her pregnancy and ran away out of fear that her caseworker would pressure her into an abortion.

• At 24 weeks, the age at which the state of Arizona began protecting preborn babies from abortion, Levinson called her caseworker for help.

• After giving birth, she took care of her son for three months until he was placed for adoption.

• Levinson was able to watch him grow up from afar, and she eventually married and had five more children. She recently reunited with her son after 20 years.

The Details:

Levinson, who grew up in Arizona, shared her story in a video for Live Action. She explained that her mother had been an exotic dancer and struggled with substance abuse, specifically methamphetamine.

"She was very volatile and really angry and very unpredictable, and she was a really terrifying person during that time," she said.

Levinson had a friend whose father was a meth dealer, and when Levinson was 12, her mother decided to give Levinson to this man to "date" in exchange for drugs.

"And so I lived with him after that," she explained. "I was like his live-in girlfriend until I got pregnant. I was pregnant at 14."

Trafficking Survivor Meets Son She Gave To Adoption

Levinson did not want to turn herself in to the state-run group home, because she knew that she would likely face pressure to have an abortion. Under Arizona law at the time, abortion was legal through 24 weeks. She knew that if she could hide her pregnancy until then, she could protect her baby.

"There's an unmistakable human connection between mother and child when your entire body changes to support this life inside of you. It was very instantaneous for me," she said. "My job was to protect this life that I was nurturing. Then I stayed gone from the group home [for] 24 frightening weeks."

When she reached 24 weeks, she called her case worker and asked to be picked up "because I'm pregnant."

"Got a lot of pushback from my caseworker and from the staff at the group home, and they would make comments and things about how much better off my life would be if I had been able to abort him, if I had been able to turn myself in on time," said Levinson. "But I just remember thinking, 'This is not the end of my life having him. It's the beginning of his.'"

Levinson said that after giving birth in 1997, she was taken to a group home for mothers:

"One day, I was just playing with him like I did in the mornings before school. They demanded that I hand him over. And then they told me I needed to go make bottles for him, and if I signed papers to the state, he would have a better shot at life, a loving family, the things that I wanted for myself that he deserved.

And there was absolutely no reason for me not to facilitate that. It was an amazing three months. Three months I had with him."

She said it was painful to say goodbye to her son, and afterward, she ended up using drugs and staying with people who hurt her.

By age 21, she knew she needed to change her life. Shortly after that, she saw her son again. He was eight years old, and she said they had "a fun little dinner and I was able to buy him a strawberry milk. It was a real gift and a treat." She was able to watch him grow up from a distance.

Zoom In:

Then she met Nick, her future husband. They eventually had five children together, and she loved being a mother. But part of her was still "broken," and she knew that there were girls out there who were being trafficked and had become pregnant as she had. So she started a safe housing project called Leah's Place.

"What I would like to do and what we're hoping to and gearing up to do in the future is provide residential services," she said. "So, our goal and our aim is to provide that support to moms that they need to give to their little people in order for them to thrive."

Now, her son is 28, and she traveled to New York City to see him again.

"Oh, I get to see my baby," she said. "I haven't seen him in so long. It doesn't feel possible. It's too good."

Watch the whole video to see their emotional reunion.

The Bottom Line:

Abortion has become less taboo in recent years than adoption, and Levinson was right that she would have been pressured and perhaps forced into an abortion when she was 14 years old.

Young women facing unplanned pregnancies deserve to know that adoption is an option, to give their children a chance at life if they are unable to parent.