a miracle story

A beautiful young woman came into the center as I was sitting at the front desk today. She told me she had an abortion scheduled for next Tuesday but wanted some information first. She was worried that she might have an ectopic pregnancy because she had had some cramping on her side. We talked about how far along she thought she might be (9 weeks). I asked if she'd had an ultrasound and she said they would do one at Regions Hospital, where her abortion was scheduled to be done. I told her, yes, from what I'd been told, I thought they would do an ultrasound but they wouldn't let her see her baby on it. I asked her if she knew anything about abortion. She said she did, a little. I told her what I knew to be true--that it's not the easy fix one would think, that women tell me over and over that they will never get over it. They think about their dead baby all the time, if it was a boy or girl, what he or she would have looked like, etc. I told her about the women who came to me, 20 years after their abortions. All I did was ask a simple question of them: How did that experience go for you? And, both immediately burst into tears. I said it never goes away. I told her that I thought it was because abortion asks a woman to do something that is against her natural instinct. Our instinct is to protect our children. Abortion asks us to kill them. I told her how, in an abortion at 9 weeks (which is what she conjectured she was), the vacuum breaks apart the baby's arms and legs to get them out and then the abortionist has to do an inventory of the baby's parts, making sure none is left behind in the mother so she won't bleed to death. She seemed to recoil at that. I told her there is a very real probability that she will miscarry succeeding pregnancies and even the possibility that she may never have another child. She listened very intently, urging me to continue by the questions she asked.

She told me about her life. She has a young daughter. Her daughter's father doesn't have anything to do with them so she feels pretty alone. Her new boyfriend had told her he would support this baby. She said it's hard raising a child alone and she felt ashamed at having a second child when she wasn't married and at her age. (She is in her early 20's.) I told her she'd feel even more shame if she aborted her child and she'd be feeling it all alone because it would be difficult to talk about with anyone.

Granted, I did a lot of talking, which I normally don't do (it's usually much, much better to draw the client out and get her talking so that she can work through things), but she was very receptive and interested in what I was telling her. I wanted so much to impart all the information she needed so she wouldn't go through with the abortion! Blessedly, her demeanor changed to a peacefulness as I finished. She said she thought she would cancel the appointment.

As it happened, she came in right as Ione, the sonographer, was finishing with her fourth and last scheduled ultrasound of the day. I quietly introduced her to Ione, explaining a little of what she'd told me, with the woman adding more detail. I asked Ione if she'd be willing to stay a bit to do an ultrasound for her. She said she just had to make a quick call home and then she could do it. Her mother was waiting to be driven home 90 miles away; her husband was waiting to go with them. Sometimes this work becomes a family affair!

I asked if I could go in to see the ultrasound and the client said I could. Her cousin, who had been the one to talk her into coming into the center, had come in by then, carrying her little one year old son. The cousin expressed delight that Ione was there. Ione had done an ultrasound on HER baby (yes, the very one she was now holding!) and she had been hoping she'd still be there. I went into my office and called two close friends, asking them to pray. They both said they would right away. I sat for a moment, praying and crying. I gathered myself together and knocked on the door...

As Ione was doing the ultrasound with the abdominal probe, she realized that the baby was probably not even 6 weeks along so she asked if she could use the vaginal probe, explaining that she would get a much better picture with it. As soon as she did, she found the baby's heartbeat as clear as can be. Of course, Ione has shown me many over the years to the point I could see it, too--and I made it known how exciting it was to see what we were seeing! (The thing is I ALWAYS get excited about seeing a baby's heart beating!) The client saw it then, too. Ione said the baby measured 5 weeks 5 days. She said she probably wouldn't be able to get a heart rate because it was so small but, guess what? She did! 112 beats per minute, a normal rate at that stage of development.

You have to understand. Our ultrasound machine should not, at least technically speaking, be able to depict a heart beat at 5 weeks 5 days and it definitely should not be able to register a heart rate. Ione has a theory. She thinks that, when a woman is abortion-minded, her baby senses he or she is in danger and, against all odds, pops out to make his or her presence known. She also believes, as I do, that the Holy Spirit takes a very active role in the whole process. Today was no exception! And, the mother cried, seeing her baby's heart beating away, strong as can be.

There was one very beautiful moment when Ione asked her if she'd convinced her of the baby. The client answered, "God has convinced me."

After I left the room, there was more paperwork to be done. Ione said to the client, "On the sheet here, it asks me to write your intention for this pregnancy. What should I put?" The client told her she was going to cancel the abortion appointment and she was going to parent.

We offered her an opportunity to have another ultrasound in 3 weeks so she would be able to see more of the baby. She made an appointment, saying she was going to bring her boyfriend with her next time. She gave me back the booklet, "Before You Decide" which talks about all options and gives details about how abortion is done. She said, "I won't be needing this one." My heart leaped for joy with that! She left the center, looking very peaceful and telling us she would be back for the ultrasound.

After she left, Ione showed me what the client had written on her intake sheet (which, in all the initial uproar, I'd forgotten to have her fill out but remembered later and had slipped it to Ione while they were doing paperwork). I cried as I read, "Thank you so much for the talk. It really blessed my heart. God bless you all."

As I sat, praying and crying and thanking God after everyone had left, I thought, "All in a day's work!" I had just witnessed the working of the Holy Spirit in a most awesome way. It was a great honor!