Take a moment to place yourselves in these women’s shoes. First off, imagine the initial shock, fear and worry of facing an unplanned pregnancy. Imagine what it’s like to have people around you throwing their two cents in about what you should do. Maybe they’re telling you to raise your baby because “that’s the only option” or “you can’t just give away your baby” or “you made your bed, now you gotta lie in it.” Or maybe they’re making you feel guilty about “giving away” their grandbaby or niece or nephew. Maybe people are offering empty promises, that you desperately want to believe, to help you raise your child, but you have been burnt too many times to actually believe them. Or maybe they, along with media and our society, are telling you to “just have an abortion” without considering (or offering to help with) the emotional and physical toll that procedure has on a woman. They tell you it is a quick and easy fix and you can just move on. Or maybe nobody is saying anything or offering to help, nobody is checking in on you or offering their love or support. They are leaving you completely alone in your decision.
Now I want you to imagine choosing life. Imagine your baby growing, living and moving inside you for 9 months. Your stomach gets bigger, your hormones cause emotional mood swings, and your body experiences all the typical side effects of pregnancy (cravings, nausea, heartburn, etc.). You feel your baby kicking. You see ultrasounds of your baby growing. You hear your baby’s heartbeat. You discover if you are having a daughter or a son. You worry if he or she is/will be healthy. Can you picture this? Can you imagine the love and connection you are having with your baby, before he or she is even born? Now imagine that after all of that, after 9 months of loving, caring for and living with your baby every second of every day, you choose to place your baby for adoption. You decide that you love your baby so much you want him or her to have the best life possible, even if that means it’s not with you, even if that means you not getting to raise your own child or watch him or her grow up. So at some point during your pregnancy, or maybe even after giving birth, you contact an adoption agency, work with a caseworker, make an adoption plan and choose the parents who will raise your child. Do you think you would make that decision lightly or on a whim? Do you think you would put a lot of thought and effort into what you want a family to be like, or just not care? Do you still think these moms are just “giving away their babies” because they “don’t want them?” Would YOU have the love, strength and bravery to choose adoption for your child?