Abortion survivors on new late-term abortion bills
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Posted On: 03/05/2019 8:19:29 AM
Abortion survivors on new late-term abortion bills: 'Where were my rights in the womb?'
Proponents of abortion bills say they are pushing for women's reproductive rights, but three survivors of the procedure say it is a human rights issue. All three survived even though their birth mothers attempted to abort them.
New York triggered a firestorm of debate after publicly celebrating a bill that allows abortion in many cases up to the point of birth and decriminalizing the act that can now be performed by a non-doctor. Then, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, amid a state abortion bill debate, made comments that were perceived as infanticide, saying the child, post-birth, would be "resuscitated if that's what the mother and the family desired."
Melissa Ohden, the founder of the Abortion Survivors Network, along with abortion survivors Josiah Presley and Claire Culwell joined "Fox & Friends" Monday morning to discuss their stories and get their reaction to the latest late-term abortion bills.
"This is a human rights issue," Ohden, who found out as a teen that she survived a saline-infusion abortion, said. "Without the right to life, there is no other right that comes."
Ohden encourages women who are deciding whether or not to get an abortion to know they're not alone.
"So many women are forced, coerced, forced, don't know what resources exist in their communities, maybe you're completely unsupported so I want women to know there are resources in every community. They can always contact any of us," she added. "You're never alone."
Ohden's birth mother - who lived with regret - didn't even know she survived the procedure. Her mother didn't know if she had a boy or a girl, because, as Ohden explains, she was told her child was a hideous monster and that she shouldn't look at it. The two were reunited about six years ago and have a great relationship.
Ohden's adoptive parents struggled with infertility for about 15 years and were foster parents. They adopted her despite the diagnosis that she might not live long or might face multiple disabilities. She said she's healthy and alive today thanks to the power of love.
"This is what love does," she said. "It saves lives. It brings us to life."
Josiah Presley, abortion survivor
Presley was adopted from South Korea after his mother got a curettage abortion when she was two months pregnant.
"If abortion is legal in the first trimester and the second trimester, then the next step is, why not the third trimester? Why not right after they're born?" Presley said.
He said the type of abortion his mother received is likely the reason he's missing a limb.
"A curettage abortion is a type of abortion where the doctor goes into the mother's womb and basically rips the baby apart and brings them out in pieces, and that's actually why we think that I'm probably missing an arm today," he said. "So, she had the procedure at two months and then at five months realized that I was still alive. That the abortion failed."
He is one of 12 kids, 10 of whom are adopted, the son of a Southern Baptist worship pastor in Oklahoma who adopted them because of their Christian faith.
"What has caused them to adopt us is the gospel," Presley said. "The fact that they've been changed by God to love others and His work in their life then causes them to love those around them and then gives them the pro-life conviction to then want to take in these children and make us their own just as God has made them His children, they make us their children."
He added: "People are people at conception, and we should care about their personhood then, not after they're born, because this is what we're left with when we have those kinds of arbitrary criteria for personhood."
Claire Culwell, abortion survivor
Culwell's mother was 13 years old in eighth grade at the time she got pregnant. She had a D&C surgical late-term abortion, five months along in her pregnancy.
"It's shocking to me that people no longer in our country care about what is true and right," Culwell said. "We know that a baby is what is inside a mother's womb based on medical technology and science. We just hope that because people can see our faces and see that we are people. We are human.
We do grow up to be someone someday, that people will realize that those women do not speak for women like me.
That's why I would ask those people, 'Where were my rights as a woman? What were my rights in the womb?'"
Her mother was told her abortion was successful, but one of the twins had survived. She then sought out a second late-term abortion in Kansas, but because of the risk of infection, her mother was not able to do it.
Culwell, who had a lot of physical complications growing up, didn't know she survived an abortion until she met her biological mother and heard the entire story.
Culwell's adoptive parents were told they couldn't have kids so they adopted her and her sister.
"God created our family, and I owe my parents so much credit for the way I was able to respond to my birth mother when she told me because they raised me on love and grace and forgiveness," she said.
All three say forgiveness and redemption is a big part of their lives.
"All three of us have forgiven our birth mothers," Culwell added, "because we know that they had no idea what they were getting into when they had an abortion."
https://www.foxnews.com/us/abortion-survivors...n-the-womb
Melissa Ohden abortion survivor
Melissa Ohden was born under less than ideal circumstances in 1977. Her birth mother decided to abort her through a saline abortion while about seven months pregnant. A saline abortion is different from most abortions in that it takes longer to complete. A fetus is surrounded with a solution that is meant to burn it to death and can take hours upon hours to completely work. According to Melissa, when this process did not work as planned, her infant body was thrown away. Melissa claims that a nurse found her crying in a garbage can and saved her life.
Melissa appeared in a pro-life ad prior to the 2012 United States Presidential Election denouncing Barack Obama’s stance on abortion, in which she shared part of her story. She survived the abortion relatively unscathed and today holds a master’s degree in social work. In 2008, she gave birth to her own child in the very hospital that her mother tried to abort her in.
Gianna Jessen abortion survivor
Gianna Jessen’s story is very much like Melissa Ohden’s, right down to the birth year, though the effect of abortion was much worse in Gianna’s case.
Gianna’s mother was a 17-year-old girl who was not ready to have a child and decided to have a saline abortion in the third trimester. Gianna spent over 18 hours in the solution, but eventually forced a birth.
Delivered at just over two pounds, she was put up for adoption. At a very early age, she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a result of the saline burning and her foster parents were told that basic tasks such as walking and talking would be incredibly difficult for her.
However, Gianna hasn’t let this stop her. Though her muscles throughout much of her life were very weak, she worked hard to exercise them and eventually ran the London Marathon. She maintains an active lifestyle and now spends much of her time as a speaker, motivating young people to make good choices.
Sarah Brown abortion survivor
Sarah Elizabeth Brown was carried very nearly to term—in fact, she was at 36 weeks when her mother decided not to keep her. Nevertheless, she traveled out to Dr. George Tiller, a late-term abortionist who lived in Kansas. Dr. Tiller was then known for having one of the most pristine records in providing abortions, having never killed a mother during one.
Sarah was to be aborted through the use of potassium chloride, but didn’t take to the poison injection the way she should have. Instead of the needle piercing Sarah’s heart, it punctured her brain. Sarah ended up being birthed not long after and was adopted. She was blind, had a stroke at about six months old, and finally passed away from kidney failure at age five. Despite this, she was said to have been as happy and normal a child as could be expected. Dr. Tiller, the man who provided the abortion, was assassinated by a pro-life vigilante several years later.
Sarah Elizabeth Brown was carried very nearly to term—in fact, she was at 36 weeks when her mother decided not to keep her. Nevertheless, she traveled out to Dr. George Tiller, a late-term abortionist who lived in Kansas. Dr. Tiller was then known for having one of the most pristine records in providing abortions, having never killed a mother during one.
Sarah was to be aborted through the use of potassium chloride, but didn’t take to the poison injection the way she should have. Instead of the needle piercing Sarah’s heart, it punctured her brain. Sarah ended up being birthed not long after and was adopted. She was blind, had a stroke at about six months old, and finally passed away from kidney failure at age five. Despite this, she was said to have been as happy and normal a child as could be expected. Dr. Tiller, the man who provided the abortion, was assassinated by a pro-life vigilante several years later.
Brandi Lozier abortion survivor
Brandi Lozier is a Louisiana native who was scheduled to be aborted through a saline procedure as her mother was a little over four months pregnant. After the procedure was through and Brandi was determined to be a dead fetus, the staff at the clinic prepared to dispose of her body. As they were about to do so, she reportedly raised an arm and was allowed to be revived.
Today, Brandi works literally around the clock as a pro-life advocate and offers her services as a speaker for rallies, church events, and other such programs where she relates her story. She’ll sometimes hold vigil outside state buildings for days or weeks at a time. One of her biggest engagements so far has been as the primary speaker at a pro-life rally being held outside the Democratic National Convention in Colorado.
Dr. Imre Teglasy abortion survivor
Dr. Teglasy’s story is unique in that he survived an abortion before there were really standardized procedures for it. His parents were being deported from their home country when his mother discovered that she was pregnant. She wanted an abortion, but had no way to get one. Despite her husband’s protests, she attempted the abortion herself but was unsuccessful.
Dr. Teglasy survived and was born a healthy boy, though he claims his relationship with his mother was very complicated throughout his life. And that was before his father told him the story behind his birth. Today, he holds a doctorate in literature and is an advocate for women having crisis pregnancies, operating a hotline that’s available to assist them.
Carrie Holland-Fischer abortion survivor
Carrie Holland-Fischer spent much of her childhood being bullied for her appearance. According to this video she made, the ridicule from her peers and teachers was constant and the things they told her were the same. She grew up believing that because of her disfiguration, she would never live a normal life and would never have children. These were hard things for her to hear, so she attempted suicide by drinking a whole bottle of wine and swallowing a bottle of pills.
When this failed, she decided that her life had a purpose to it, and she now spends her life as a speaker who tries to convince young women that they are beautiful no matter what. Not only did she survive her suicide attempt, it turned out that she survived an abortion attempt as well, which is what caused her disfiguration and health problems in the first place. Carrie is now happily married and was able to become pregnant against the odds.
Keira Harmsworth abortion survivor
One of the younger survivors on this list, Keira still has a lot of life left ahead of her. Her mother Chelsea was 16 when she discovered she was pregnant and reportedly made the decision to have an abortion at about 10 weeks of pregnancy. Chelsea thought that the procedure was done and over with, but continued to feel normal signs of pregnancy over the next couple of months. After about five months, Chelsea returned to the doctor only to learn that the abortion had failed. Completely shocked, Chelsea suddenly felt bad about her previous abortion attempt and carried the pregnancy to term. Baby Keira was the result. Though the abortion caused some developmental damage to her hands, she is a happy and healthy young girl, and Chelsea claims that the two have a great relationship.
Finley Crampton comes from a family with some significant problems in its medical history. His mother, Jodie Percival, carries a gene that causes kidney problems in children that develop in her womb. She lost her first child to kidney issues after only about 20 minutes. The second child also had kidney issues, but survived and today lives with just one kidney.
Finley was conceived while Jodie was on birth control medication, and she decided to have an abortion procedure at eight weeks rather than have to go through the pain of losing a child again. However, a few months later she noticed her belly expanding still, and doctors informed her that she was still pregnant. Jodie carried Finley to term, and he was born at a little over six pounds. He still has kidney issues like the first two children did, but is expected to live a normal life after beating out contraception and an abortion in order to come into the world.
Sarah Smith Abortion Survivor
"Twenty-nine years ago, my mother decided to have an abortion. At the time, she was pregnant with twins, but nobody knew this, not even her doctor. My tiny brother and I were both there growing in her womb, until that dreadful day. Before the abortion, we were both alive. Moments later, I was alone.
It's frightening to think I was almost aborted when my mom had a D&C abortion. Somehow, miraculously, I survived! My twin brother wasn't so lucky. Andrew was aborted and we lost him forever.
Several weeks later, my mother was shocked to feel me kicking in her womb. She already had five children and she knew what it felt like when a baby kicked in the womb. She instantly knew that somehow she was still pregnant. She went back to the doctor and told him she was still pregnant...that she had made a big mistake and that she wanted to keep this baby.
To this day, my mother deeply regrets that abortion. I know the pain is unbearable for her at times when she looks at me and knows she aborted my twin brother. Mom says 'the protective hand of Almighty God saved my life . . . that God's hand covered and hid me in her womb, and protected me from the scalpel of death.
After surviving the abortion, I was born with bilateral, congenital dislocated hips and many other physical handicaps. Nine days after I was born, I was taken to an orthopedic surgeon who applied a cast to each of my tiny legs. My mom would remove these casts with pliers every Monday morning and take me to the doctor to have new casts put on.
At six weeks I was put into my first body cast. Many surgeries and body cast followed over the next few years. Unfortunately, doctors are telling me that now I'll need surgeries about every 5 years (please pray for me).
Today, I thank God I survived the abortion, but the pain continues for everyone in my family. In memory of my brother Andrew, we bought a memorial gravestone and placed it in a cemetary in Southern California. It reads:
ANDREW JAMES SMITH, TWIN BROTHER OF SARAH -- IN OUR HEARTS YOU'LL ALWAYS BE ALIVE -- NOVEMBER 1970
Jack Harper abortion survivor
When Vicky Harper cradles her four week-old son Jack, she knows this is a baby she tried to destroy.
At 24, Vicky discovered she was pregnant with her third child, and made the agonizing decision to abort the baby.
But when he miraculously survived the procedure, her world changed forever.
Vicky, a full-time mother to Ross, two, and Leyla, five, accidentally conceived last June when she forgot to take her pill.
Already struggling to make ends meet, Vicky knew she'd never cope with three children under five.
"It wasn't an easy decision. I love my kids more than anything in the world, but I just didn't have the strength for another," says Vicky, from Caithness, Scottish Highlands.
Although her partner Keenan McIvor, 19, a joiner, promised to support her whatever she decided, her mind was made up: she told her doctor she wanted an abortion.
Vicky opted for a surgical termination, which involves the baby being removed via a vacuum, over a medical termination, which involves taking a series of tablets.
"Keenan came with me and held my hand," she says.
"I had a little cry before I was put to sleep, but we knew it was for the best."
Leaving the hospital later that day, Vicky soon realised something was amiss.
Vicky says: "I was tired and dizzy all of the time.
"I was off my food.
"As I already had two children, I knew what pregnancy felt like."
When a home test came back positive, she immediately phoned her doctor.
"He reassured me there was probably just some pregnancy hormones left in my body," she says.
But after 15 home tests showed up positive, Vicky begged the surgery to scan her again.
They told her she was just being paranoid.
"When I hadn't had a period for two months," Vicky says.
"I knew the baby was still there."
Nine weeks after her termination, a midwife finally agreed to give her a scan, which revealed she was still pregnant.
"Deep down I'd always known," she says.
"But seeing my baby on the screen sent me into tears.
"Keenan tried to comfort me, but I just felt lost.
"When the doctor went over my options with me, everything was a blur."
Vicky claims Raigmore Hospital told her the termination was carried out by a medic who was still training to carry out the procedure, under supervision from a senior colleague.
By now, she was 16 weeks pregnant and says she was offered a medical termination, despite the increased risks of the procedure after 12 weeks.
"I didn't want to risk a medical abortion in case it didn't work because I was so far on," Vicky says.
"But neither could I face the thought of giving birth."
She was told a second surgical termination could fail like the first and may damage her womb.
Vicky says: "I asked them if it could kill me.
"They told me although the risk was very low, it could.
"I felt like I'd been backed into a corner.
"I was pregnant with a child I never wanted or planned.
"But I had no other option than to have my baby."
The Silent No More Awareness Campaign is a Campaign whereby Christians make the public aware of the devastation abortion brings to women and men. The campaign seeks to expose and heal the secrecy and silence surrounding the emotional and physical pain of abortion. There are over 1,600 testimonies posted on the Campaign website.
https://listverse.com/2013/08/20/10-abortion-survivors/
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/meet-ba...ed-7528182
http://www.priestsforlife.org/testimonies/def...timonylist
https://theabortionsurvivors.com/
Proponents of abortion bills say they are pushing for women's reproductive rights, but three survivors of the procedure say it is a human rights issue. All three survived even though their birth mothers attempted to abort them.
New York triggered a firestorm of debate after publicly celebrating a bill that allows abortion in many cases up to the point of birth and decriminalizing the act that can now be performed by a non-doctor. Then, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, amid a state abortion bill debate, made comments that were perceived as infanticide, saying the child, post-birth, would be "resuscitated if that's what the mother and the family desired."
Melissa Ohden, the founder of the Abortion Survivors Network, along with abortion survivors Josiah Presley and Claire Culwell joined "Fox & Friends" Monday morning to discuss their stories and get their reaction to the latest late-term abortion bills.
"This is a human rights issue," Ohden, who found out as a teen that she survived a saline-infusion abortion, said. "Without the right to life, there is no other right that comes."
Ohden encourages women who are deciding whether or not to get an abortion to know they're not alone.
"So many women are forced, coerced, forced, don't know what resources exist in their communities, maybe you're completely unsupported so I want women to know there are resources in every community. They can always contact any of us," she added. "You're never alone."
Ohden's birth mother - who lived with regret - didn't even know she survived the procedure. Her mother didn't know if she had a boy or a girl, because, as Ohden explains, she was told her child was a hideous monster and that she shouldn't look at it. The two were reunited about six years ago and have a great relationship.
Ohden's adoptive parents struggled with infertility for about 15 years and were foster parents. They adopted her despite the diagnosis that she might not live long or might face multiple disabilities. She said she's healthy and alive today thanks to the power of love.
"This is what love does," she said. "It saves lives. It brings us to life."
Josiah Presley, abortion survivor
Presley was adopted from South Korea after his mother got a curettage abortion when she was two months pregnant.
"If abortion is legal in the first trimester and the second trimester, then the next step is, why not the third trimester? Why not right after they're born?" Presley said.
He said the type of abortion his mother received is likely the reason he's missing a limb.
"A curettage abortion is a type of abortion where the doctor goes into the mother's womb and basically rips the baby apart and brings them out in pieces, and that's actually why we think that I'm probably missing an arm today," he said. "So, she had the procedure at two months and then at five months realized that I was still alive. That the abortion failed."
He is one of 12 kids, 10 of whom are adopted, the son of a Southern Baptist worship pastor in Oklahoma who adopted them because of their Christian faith.
"What has caused them to adopt us is the gospel," Presley said. "The fact that they've been changed by God to love others and His work in their life then causes them to love those around them and then gives them the pro-life conviction to then want to take in these children and make us their own just as God has made them His children, they make us their children."
He added: "People are people at conception, and we should care about their personhood then, not after they're born, because this is what we're left with when we have those kinds of arbitrary criteria for personhood."
Claire Culwell, abortion survivor
Culwell's mother was 13 years old in eighth grade at the time she got pregnant. She had a D&C surgical late-term abortion, five months along in her pregnancy.
"It's shocking to me that people no longer in our country care about what is true and right," Culwell said. "We know that a baby is what is inside a mother's womb based on medical technology and science. We just hope that because people can see our faces and see that we are people. We are human.
We do grow up to be someone someday, that people will realize that those women do not speak for women like me.
That's why I would ask those people, 'Where were my rights as a woman? What were my rights in the womb?'"
Her mother was told her abortion was successful, but one of the twins had survived. She then sought out a second late-term abortion in Kansas, but because of the risk of infection, her mother was not able to do it.
Culwell, who had a lot of physical complications growing up, didn't know she survived an abortion until she met her biological mother and heard the entire story.
Culwell's adoptive parents were told they couldn't have kids so they adopted her and her sister.
"God created our family, and I owe my parents so much credit for the way I was able to respond to my birth mother when she told me because they raised me on love and grace and forgiveness," she said.
All three say forgiveness and redemption is a big part of their lives.
"All three of us have forgiven our birth mothers," Culwell added, "because we know that they had no idea what they were getting into when they had an abortion."
https://www.foxnews.com/us/abortion-survivors...n-the-womb
Melissa Ohden abortion survivor
Melissa Ohden was born under less than ideal circumstances in 1977. Her birth mother decided to abort her through a saline abortion while about seven months pregnant. A saline abortion is different from most abortions in that it takes longer to complete. A fetus is surrounded with a solution that is meant to burn it to death and can take hours upon hours to completely work. According to Melissa, when this process did not work as planned, her infant body was thrown away. Melissa claims that a nurse found her crying in a garbage can and saved her life.
Melissa appeared in a pro-life ad prior to the 2012 United States Presidential Election denouncing Barack Obama’s stance on abortion, in which she shared part of her story. She survived the abortion relatively unscathed and today holds a master’s degree in social work. In 2008, she gave birth to her own child in the very hospital that her mother tried to abort her in.
Gianna Jessen abortion survivor
Gianna Jessen’s story is very much like Melissa Ohden’s, right down to the birth year, though the effect of abortion was much worse in Gianna’s case.
Gianna’s mother was a 17-year-old girl who was not ready to have a child and decided to have a saline abortion in the third trimester. Gianna spent over 18 hours in the solution, but eventually forced a birth.
Delivered at just over two pounds, she was put up for adoption. At a very early age, she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a result of the saline burning and her foster parents were told that basic tasks such as walking and talking would be incredibly difficult for her.
However, Gianna hasn’t let this stop her. Though her muscles throughout much of her life were very weak, she worked hard to exercise them and eventually ran the London Marathon. She maintains an active lifestyle and now spends much of her time as a speaker, motivating young people to make good choices.
Sarah Brown abortion survivor
Sarah Elizabeth Brown was carried very nearly to term—in fact, she was at 36 weeks when her mother decided not to keep her. Nevertheless, she traveled out to Dr. George Tiller, a late-term abortionist who lived in Kansas. Dr. Tiller was then known for having one of the most pristine records in providing abortions, having never killed a mother during one.
Sarah was to be aborted through the use of potassium chloride, but didn’t take to the poison injection the way she should have. Instead of the needle piercing Sarah’s heart, it punctured her brain. Sarah ended up being birthed not long after and was adopted. She was blind, had a stroke at about six months old, and finally passed away from kidney failure at age five. Despite this, she was said to have been as happy and normal a child as could be expected. Dr. Tiller, the man who provided the abortion, was assassinated by a pro-life vigilante several years later.
Sarah Elizabeth Brown was carried very nearly to term—in fact, she was at 36 weeks when her mother decided not to keep her. Nevertheless, she traveled out to Dr. George Tiller, a late-term abortionist who lived in Kansas. Dr. Tiller was then known for having one of the most pristine records in providing abortions, having never killed a mother during one.
Sarah was to be aborted through the use of potassium chloride, but didn’t take to the poison injection the way she should have. Instead of the needle piercing Sarah’s heart, it punctured her brain. Sarah ended up being birthed not long after and was adopted. She was blind, had a stroke at about six months old, and finally passed away from kidney failure at age five. Despite this, she was said to have been as happy and normal a child as could be expected. Dr. Tiller, the man who provided the abortion, was assassinated by a pro-life vigilante several years later.
Brandi Lozier abortion survivor
Brandi Lozier is a Louisiana native who was scheduled to be aborted through a saline procedure as her mother was a little over four months pregnant. After the procedure was through and Brandi was determined to be a dead fetus, the staff at the clinic prepared to dispose of her body. As they were about to do so, she reportedly raised an arm and was allowed to be revived.
Today, Brandi works literally around the clock as a pro-life advocate and offers her services as a speaker for rallies, church events, and other such programs where she relates her story. She’ll sometimes hold vigil outside state buildings for days or weeks at a time. One of her biggest engagements so far has been as the primary speaker at a pro-life rally being held outside the Democratic National Convention in Colorado.
Dr. Imre Teglasy abortion survivor
Dr. Teglasy’s story is unique in that he survived an abortion before there were really standardized procedures for it. His parents were being deported from their home country when his mother discovered that she was pregnant. She wanted an abortion, but had no way to get one. Despite her husband’s protests, she attempted the abortion herself but was unsuccessful.
Dr. Teglasy survived and was born a healthy boy, though he claims his relationship with his mother was very complicated throughout his life. And that was before his father told him the story behind his birth. Today, he holds a doctorate in literature and is an advocate for women having crisis pregnancies, operating a hotline that’s available to assist them.
Carrie Holland-Fischer abortion survivor
Carrie Holland-Fischer spent much of her childhood being bullied for her appearance. According to this video she made, the ridicule from her peers and teachers was constant and the things they told her were the same. She grew up believing that because of her disfiguration, she would never live a normal life and would never have children. These were hard things for her to hear, so she attempted suicide by drinking a whole bottle of wine and swallowing a bottle of pills.
When this failed, she decided that her life had a purpose to it, and she now spends her life as a speaker who tries to convince young women that they are beautiful no matter what. Not only did she survive her suicide attempt, it turned out that she survived an abortion attempt as well, which is what caused her disfiguration and health problems in the first place. Carrie is now happily married and was able to become pregnant against the odds.
Keira Harmsworth abortion survivor
One of the younger survivors on this list, Keira still has a lot of life left ahead of her. Her mother Chelsea was 16 when she discovered she was pregnant and reportedly made the decision to have an abortion at about 10 weeks of pregnancy. Chelsea thought that the procedure was done and over with, but continued to feel normal signs of pregnancy over the next couple of months. After about five months, Chelsea returned to the doctor only to learn that the abortion had failed. Completely shocked, Chelsea suddenly felt bad about her previous abortion attempt and carried the pregnancy to term. Baby Keira was the result. Though the abortion caused some developmental damage to her hands, she is a happy and healthy young girl, and Chelsea claims that the two have a great relationship.
Finley Crampton comes from a family with some significant problems in its medical history. His mother, Jodie Percival, carries a gene that causes kidney problems in children that develop in her womb. She lost her first child to kidney issues after only about 20 minutes. The second child also had kidney issues, but survived and today lives with just one kidney.
Finley was conceived while Jodie was on birth control medication, and she decided to have an abortion procedure at eight weeks rather than have to go through the pain of losing a child again. However, a few months later she noticed her belly expanding still, and doctors informed her that she was still pregnant. Jodie carried Finley to term, and he was born at a little over six pounds. He still has kidney issues like the first two children did, but is expected to live a normal life after beating out contraception and an abortion in order to come into the world.
Sarah Smith Abortion Survivor
"Twenty-nine years ago, my mother decided to have an abortion. At the time, she was pregnant with twins, but nobody knew this, not even her doctor. My tiny brother and I were both there growing in her womb, until that dreadful day. Before the abortion, we were both alive. Moments later, I was alone.
It's frightening to think I was almost aborted when my mom had a D&C abortion. Somehow, miraculously, I survived! My twin brother wasn't so lucky. Andrew was aborted and we lost him forever.
Several weeks later, my mother was shocked to feel me kicking in her womb. She already had five children and she knew what it felt like when a baby kicked in the womb. She instantly knew that somehow she was still pregnant. She went back to the doctor and told him she was still pregnant...that she had made a big mistake and that she wanted to keep this baby.
To this day, my mother deeply regrets that abortion. I know the pain is unbearable for her at times when she looks at me and knows she aborted my twin brother. Mom says 'the protective hand of Almighty God saved my life . . . that God's hand covered and hid me in her womb, and protected me from the scalpel of death.
After surviving the abortion, I was born with bilateral, congenital dislocated hips and many other physical handicaps. Nine days after I was born, I was taken to an orthopedic surgeon who applied a cast to each of my tiny legs. My mom would remove these casts with pliers every Monday morning and take me to the doctor to have new casts put on.
At six weeks I was put into my first body cast. Many surgeries and body cast followed over the next few years. Unfortunately, doctors are telling me that now I'll need surgeries about every 5 years (please pray for me).
Today, I thank God I survived the abortion, but the pain continues for everyone in my family. In memory of my brother Andrew, we bought a memorial gravestone and placed it in a cemetary in Southern California. It reads:
ANDREW JAMES SMITH, TWIN BROTHER OF SARAH -- IN OUR HEARTS YOU'LL ALWAYS BE ALIVE -- NOVEMBER 1970
Jack Harper abortion survivor
When Vicky Harper cradles her four week-old son Jack, she knows this is a baby she tried to destroy.
At 24, Vicky discovered she was pregnant with her third child, and made the agonizing decision to abort the baby.
But when he miraculously survived the procedure, her world changed forever.
Vicky, a full-time mother to Ross, two, and Leyla, five, accidentally conceived last June when she forgot to take her pill.
Already struggling to make ends meet, Vicky knew she'd never cope with three children under five.
"It wasn't an easy decision. I love my kids more than anything in the world, but I just didn't have the strength for another," says Vicky, from Caithness, Scottish Highlands.
Although her partner Keenan McIvor, 19, a joiner, promised to support her whatever she decided, her mind was made up: she told her doctor she wanted an abortion.
Vicky opted for a surgical termination, which involves the baby being removed via a vacuum, over a medical termination, which involves taking a series of tablets.
"Keenan came with me and held my hand," she says.
"I had a little cry before I was put to sleep, but we knew it was for the best."
Leaving the hospital later that day, Vicky soon realised something was amiss.
Vicky says: "I was tired and dizzy all of the time.
"I was off my food.
"As I already had two children, I knew what pregnancy felt like."
When a home test came back positive, she immediately phoned her doctor.
"He reassured me there was probably just some pregnancy hormones left in my body," she says.
But after 15 home tests showed up positive, Vicky begged the surgery to scan her again.
They told her she was just being paranoid.
"When I hadn't had a period for two months," Vicky says.
"I knew the baby was still there."
Nine weeks after her termination, a midwife finally agreed to give her a scan, which revealed she was still pregnant.
"Deep down I'd always known," she says.
"But seeing my baby on the screen sent me into tears.
"Keenan tried to comfort me, but I just felt lost.
"When the doctor went over my options with me, everything was a blur."
Vicky claims Raigmore Hospital told her the termination was carried out by a medic who was still training to carry out the procedure, under supervision from a senior colleague.
By now, she was 16 weeks pregnant and says she was offered a medical termination, despite the increased risks of the procedure after 12 weeks.
"I didn't want to risk a medical abortion in case it didn't work because I was so far on," Vicky says.
"But neither could I face the thought of giving birth."
She was told a second surgical termination could fail like the first and may damage her womb.
Vicky says: "I asked them if it could kill me.
"They told me although the risk was very low, it could.
"I felt like I'd been backed into a corner.
"I was pregnant with a child I never wanted or planned.
"But I had no other option than to have my baby."
The Silent No More Awareness Campaign is a Campaign whereby Christians make the public aware of the devastation abortion brings to women and men. The campaign seeks to expose and heal the secrecy and silence surrounding the emotional and physical pain of abortion. There are over 1,600 testimonies posted on the Campaign website.
https://listverse.com/2013/08/20/10-abortion-survivors/
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/meet-ba...ed-7528182
http://www.priestsforlife.org/testimonies/def...timonylist
https://theabortionsurvivors.com/
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