In a recent op-ed in the San Diego Union-Tribune, a woman shared that she chose to place her baby up for adoption after making — and canceling — four abortion appointments. Ultimately, she said that her financial inability to pay for the abortion was “a blessing in disguise.”
Author Lauren Long explained that after a divorce, she found herself and her two little girls living with her parents. She was working odd jobs to make ends meet while juggling the demands of online school and single parenting when she found herself unexpectedly pregnant.
She wrote, “After years of an unhealthy marriage, I felt defeated. In my quest for ‘love’ and freedom, I abused both and fell into a more profound crisis. I found myself pregnant with a child I had no means to provide for with a man I hardly knew. Although it was my passion to raise the next generation, I was keenly aware of what it would take to raise another child, given my circumstances.”
Adding that “the fear was crippling,” she decided to make the abortion appointments before changing her mind and looking to adoption instead.
READ: These babies were welcomed in life, while babies their same age were legally aborted
“Then I considered adoption. I thought of one of my closest relationships, my cousin, who was a part of my life only because she had been adopted,” said Long. “I thought about the couples who ached to have a family: The men who hoped to leave a lasting legacy in a child and the women who yearned to be mothers experiencing tremendous grief because they could not.”
She then went on to share two beautiful reasons why she chose adoption:
As a woman of deep faith, I knew God’s heart on the matter. His Scripture is clear. One of my favorite verses is, “As you do not know what is the way of the wind, or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child, so you do not know the works of God who makes everything” (Ecclesiastes 11:5). I trusted His works were more significant than what I knew at the moment.
[I also] wanted my daughters to know that life holds immeasurable value, despite how I feel. I wanted to show them that I could put my pride aside, endure temporary discomfort and do what was good and beautiful. I wanted to set a good example for them with my faith, integrity and wisdom.
Long said that she chose the name Gideon for her son. He was adopted through an open adoption process, so she is still in contact with him. “Through Gideon’s life, a family was created, one which extends further than I could imagine,” she said. “I believe women reflect God’s compassion and ability to nourish and nurture. This belief was supported when Gideon was placed in the arms of his adoptive mother the night he was born.”
While many in the pro-abortion movement are trying to dismiss adoption as an option for mothers in crisis, Long’s story is one of many that shows that when women choose life, they are choosing something beautiful and good. Abortion causes violence, trauma, and regret that can last a lifetime, while adoption is a gift of sacrifice, love, and life.
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