Beth's Story (Colorado)

“Even though I grew up conservative, and abortion and being pro-life was always really big for me…I never had to really deal with those convictions until I was faced with the idea that maybe I wasn’t as pro-life as I always thought I was. I contemplated calling an abortion clinic multiple times. I wished for a miscarriage because I thought that would make all the problems go away…The minute I heard his heartbeat…everything changed. All of sudden, it was me and this other little person…Having him has been the most amazing experience in the world. “Today I have two children. They are my greatest gifts. My best adventure.”

Hannah's Story (Tennessee)

“When I found out I was pregnant, it was really hard for me to understand, like, what to do now? Everyone around me was telling me to just get an abortion. It only takes like three hours and you’ll be on your feet in no time. You’ll be fine. But my first ultrasound is when it really hit me: it’s not just a fetus. It is a baby.”

D’s Story (California)

“I actually had an abortion. I was young at the time and the thing was to “eliminate” the child. My family said that was the best decision. But I’m telling you, my boyfriend at the time did not want me to have that (abortion.) When I had it done, it was procedural. No ultrasound. I think if I saw that, heard that, it would have been real to me. I’ll tell you, to this day, there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think of that child.”

Tami's Story

“In 1990 I was an unmarried mom. I already had a 12 year old daughter and a 8 month old baby. At the time, I thought I was just fat. I looked in the mirror one day and knew my stomach was an odd shape. I was pregnant. I was in a very abusive relationship so I went to an abortion doctor. I told him I already had two children and I was in an abusive relationship. He agreed to do it. He said he was going to give me a shot and I would come in the next day for the second half of the procedure.

I got on the table and lay there. He was getting ready to give me a shot that would soften my cervix for him to do the abortion the next day. In that moment I thought, it doesn’t matter how awful my life is, I just can’t do it. During the exam he told me I was 19 weeks pregnant. I knew enough to know that in about another month that baby could live outside the womb. Because of this pregnancy, I ended up leaving my abusive relationship and taking my other two children into hiding. My son was born with a smile on his face. He just celebrated his 26th birthday on May 9th.

When I look at my son today, he is such a beautiful soul and everyone loves him. Since Kent was born he’s always had this beautiful smile. He was born 6 days after my own birthday and after he was born, life got better. At the time I was in an abusive relationship, working at an awful minimum wage job and didn’t know what to do. But people helped me. We lived in an empty apartment without furniture for 6 months. Today, I’ve become somebody because when I was at the point of giving up, I didn’t.

It’s really important that no matter the situation someone is in, organizations give them options. They need to be able to make a decision based on factual information and resources. I’m so glad that I changed my mind that day. I was on the table and the doctor had the needle in his hand. I was seconds away from aborting my son. I never thought I’d ever tell anyone this story. His life is not only a gift to me, but to the world. It’s so important that women don’t make decisions out of fear or not having resources and information. The more education, support, and resources you have makes your life easier.”

Gabi's Story (Indiana)

“I didn’t like where my life was going….I met the father of my child on Christmas Eve. He started getting really possessive and really angry with me…I was just like, we need to break up… Probably a week or two later, I felt weird. I took a pregnancy test at my friend’s house, and I was on her bathroom floor and I was like ‘oh my God. My life has ended. I was not even able to take care of myself, let alone another human being.’ I had no support system, no hope. I didn’t know what to do. But I heard about Matrix in . I told her (the counselor) that I missed the cutoff to get an abortion, so I made an appointment in Chicago to get an abortion… but going on the bus, seeing him, completely turned my life around. A whole 180. I started doing my prenatal care. I quit smoking. I quit drinking. I started eating healthy. I got a new job. Things were finally starting to look up…. I was induced and had him the following morning. I fell in love for the first time in my whole life.”