Let me begin by introducing myself, Elisa, as a strong, independent woman who is not one to ask for help. But when I relocated to a new city as a single parent of a new infant, I started to feel overwhelmed. I reached out for help after realizing that raising a baby while also trying to complete school was a bit more than I could manage on my own at that given moment in my life. I was surprised when I was referred to Blue Water Pregnancy Care Center. Although I was no longer pregnant, I was informed that they might still be able to assist with my needs.

My initial feelings of anxiety upon walking through the doors of the center quickly vanished as I took in the calm and inviting environment. The staff and volunteers assisting me with my concerns exhibited nothing but sincere kindness, compassion and professionalism. My various interactions with staff made it evident to me that they had a true passion and dedication to their mission.

I was offered to participate in their Earn While You Learn program. This offers individuals a chance to engage in prenatal classes, parenting classes, bible study, and/or educational DVDs in exchange for baby bucks to purchase a wide variety of baby items such as formula, diapers, car seats, strollers, etc. In addition to the knowledge and spiritual growth I have been able to obtain through participation in the program, I have earned an abundance of supplies for my daughter. Because of the assistance I have received from the center, I did not have to utilize other resources for childcare, and have managed to attend school full-time from home while raising my daughter.

I am just one of countless women and men who have been helped in some way by the Blue Water Pregnancy Care Center. For those women and/or couples who are feeling scared as they are faced with the challenges ahead, the center can be a source of immeasurable support and comfort. A wide array of support services include the following: free pregnancy testing, free limited ultrasounds, physical, emotional and spiritual support, information on pregnancy and abortion alternatives, confidential peer counseling… and so much more!

When I think back to a year ago and the doubts I had about attending my first appointment at the center, I feel nothing but encouraged. I have attended the center on a weekly basis. And not for what I had initially started there for! I go to learn, grow spiritually, continue healthy established relationships, and to be an encouragement for other attendees. The Blue Water Pregnancy Care Center has impacted my life on so many positive levels. The staff and volunteers have such a warm, welcoming love for life. I will be forever grateful for each and every one of them.

I am 22 years old and March of 2016 my entire life was flipped upside down. At the time, I was taking pre-pharmacy classes, finishing up my junior year. I was still involved with a guy I dated for 2 years. We had broken up a while back, but I still “loved” him and continued hanging out with him and sleeping with him, in hopes that maybe one day he would want me back (he didn’t).

I was with my ex-boyfriend when I took the pregnancy test. Seeing that test read “Pregnant 1-2 weeks” was the beginning of a huge change in my life. I immediately showed him the test and we both began to cry. All these mixed emotions and thoughts start flooding my head “I am only 21 years old. I am still in school. I still have a life that I want to finish before having a child.”

I’m going to be honest; my first response was to get an abortion. I would go in, it would be a quick procedure and I’ll never have to think about this pregnancy. The ex was relieved with my decision and began looking up clinics nearby for more information. Throughout that day I thought more about my decision, contemplating between having an abortion or not. I did research on abortion and the mental effects of having an abortion. The “famous” PlannedParenthood.org definition of abortion using vacuum aspiration is “dilating the uterus, and using a small, hand-held suction device or suction machine to take the pregnancy tissue out of your uterus.” My own definition of this is killing your child. There’s no way to sugar coat it; an abortion is a procedure where you terminate the life of your child. If I did this, it would not be a quick fix. This is a life changing procedure that would haunt me for the rest of my life.

I went to my ex later that week and told him about my change in decision. He tried changing my mind with the typical concerns people have with an unexpected pregnancy. “Our life will be over if you have this baby. We’re still in school. A baby isn’t a part of our plan right now.” I stayed firm with my decision. God doesn’t make mistakes and I knew there was some reason God decided to get me pregnant before I was ready. My ex finally suggested going to a pregnancy center to explore our options. The next week we went to Hand of Hope pregnancy center.

All the staff members are committed to helping women, as well as their unborn babies. Right when I walked in I felt a sense of relief. These women were here to help me make the best decision for me. One of the counselors sat down and talked to us about the pregnancy. One of the first things they did was showed me a bible verse from Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” They assured me that this baby was not a mistake. God had planned this baby to come during this period of my life. God had even made plans for the growing baby inside me. God loved me so much that he gave me the amazing gift of a child. He trusted me to be a mother to this baby, whether I planned to be a mother or not.

After talking with the counselor, we went into a room to get an ultrasound. The ultrasound screen showed a tiny grey area which was my baby. The biggest thing I noticed during this was that inside my baby was a strong heartbeat, flickering on the screen. I was only 6 weeks pregnant at the time. Yes, my baby not yet looked like a baby on the ultrasound screen, but there was strong heartbeat, that you could easily see, flickering on the screen. That heartbeat of life that God gave me and trusted me to take care of, love, and eventually raise. I saw true love for the first time on that ultrasound screen. 

The last day of exams, right before I went home for the summer, the ex and I sat down with his mother. I will never forget one of the last things she said to me “If you choose to keep this baby, just know that will be the most selfish thing to do.” Starting to already fall in love with this growing baby, I was heartbroken.

Communication between my ex and me ended that day. Reality set in that I’m going to be a single mom. My child may never know who his dad is. But I knew that with my parents support, my son Noah would have the necessities and I could give him a good life.

Three weeks before his due date, on November 24, 2016, Thanksgiving Day, my beautiful, 7 pound 10 oz. healthy, baby boy arrived. At 3:24 pm, I met my true love. An innocent human being that I had created and had the honor of bringing into the world. I wouldn’t change my decision for anything.

This boy has changed my life. Having this baby was the best thing that ever happened to me. My child has pushed me to be the best mom I can be. He has pushed me to go back to school in order to give him the best life possible. My plans in attending pharmacy school went as planned. I am currently in pharmacy school now, with my precious baby turning a year-old next month.

I hope my story helps other women out there that may be in the situation I was in. You may feel alone and scared. Remember that God doesn’t make mistakes. A baby is a gift that shouldn’t be taken for granted. 

By the time Giselle entered the world in early December, she arrived fully equipped with her own protective detail of three older brothers. They’re old enough to know their sister is a precious addition to their family, but they’re years away from understanding just how priceless she is.

What Giselle’s brothers will learn in time was that their mother, Samantha, was abandoned by Giselle’s father and turned to a chemical abortion pill because she felt it was her only way forward.

But regret set in almost as soon as Samantha had taken the first of two chemical abortion pills—which ends a baby’s life in utero ahead of the second and final pill to induce labor. Samantha changed her mind and reached out to the Abortion Pill Rescue helpline (1-877-558-0333).

Through the helpline, Samantha was connected to one of 450 professional healthcare providers in the nationwide Abortion Pill Rescue network. These providers are trained in a life-saving protocol that starts with an emergency injection of progesterone used since the 1950s to prevent miscarriages. It is highly effective.

Samantha’s daughter, Giselle, was born Dec. 1, 2017—an event celebrated all month by the pregnancy center in Massachusetts, where Samantha had learned about the life-saving option before going in for her abortion appointment.

“For those who have been following along with the story of Sam, and the miracle of Abortion Pill Reversal, we are so excited to introduce her little girl, Giselle,” the pregnancy center posted in early December. “Born Friday, December 1st at 2:00 p.m. 6lb 3oz, 18 3/4 in. Both mom and baby are in perfect health and doing wonderfully. And her 3 older brothers are completely smitten with their new sister!” 

Heartbeat took a bold step in bringing APR into our life-saving network. It is a powerful and effective tool in bringing a second choice to moms and babies!

Misdy found herself in a situation where the only “practical solution” pointed to an abortion. She had six kids, a troubled marriage, and had just started a new job to help make ends meet. The news of a pregnancy was overwhelming and she justified taking the abortion pill.

As soon as Misdy took the first dose of the abortion pill regimen, she knew she had made a horrible mistake.

“The drive home, I was just sick about what I just did and the thought that I was actually killing a baby with a heartbeat inside me. I went home and just cried and cried and knew I needed to seek help.”

With God’s provision, she found the Abortion Pill Rescue Network and was able to make a second choice to save her pregnancy.

And God saved Tig.

God uses these moments when the world seems to fall around you to help enlighten you to the fact that the only “practical solution” isn’t practical at all! Just as God used his angels to encourage Mary in her time of need and sent her to her cousin Elizabeth for additional support through her pregnancy, so too, He uses the Abortion Pill Rescue Network and pregnancy help centers to encourage women like Misdy.

“I know that Tig was sent here to me for a reason. He is the light and the best baby ever! He puts a smile on my face every single day.”

Through Heartbeat’s Abortion Pill Rescue Network, Misdy was able to save the life of her baby boy, Tig, after first making the choice to take the abortion pill.

And, yet, the fight was not over.

At her 19 week prenatal appointment, Misdy learned that her child had Trisomy 21—Down syndrome, the most common chromosomal condition in the United States. As doctors shared this news with her, one doctor in particular encouraged Misdy to go back down the dark path she had already roamedand attempt to abort her child a second time.

You see, in today’s culture, value for the sick has diminished to such a degree that recommendations to abort are fairly common among medical providers around the world. Studies show that somewhere between 67 and 90 percent of babies diagnosed with Down syndrome are aborted. In countries like Iceland, that figure is close to 100 percent.

These precious children should not be disregarded as glitches in our world, but rather celebrated for the life of joy they bring to it!

When Misdy’s doctor suggested an abortion, she broke down and cried.

“My first thought was, ‘You don't know how hard it's been to stay pregnant,’” she wrote. “How could I even think of doing it now? He was a baby with hands and feet and a heartbeat that I got to see once a week on ultrasound.”

Again, Misdy would be justified by her doctors for making an abortion decision. It would be the “practical solution.”

But again, Misdy chose to fight for her son’s life. 

Misdy was given a second chance at pregnancy through the Abortion Pill Rescue Network and now understood that God has a plan for each and every one of His children. While every “practical solution” pointed her to an abortion, Misdy knew that she had a life inside her and that her child’s life has purpose.

So Misdy chose life… TWICE!

“It was hard to hear that there was something wrong with my baby,” she wrote. “No mother ever wants to hear there is something wrong. BUT what I have come to understand (is) that there is nothing wrong with my baby. He is perfect and he brings such joy to my home.”

Though life is not always easy, Misdy has never regretted fighting for Tig, just as God will never stop fighting for each one of His children.