GUEST POST: I never expected to help directly save a life from abortion this year — until I got that call.

In spring 2023, I was going about my day as normal when my phone dinged with a text from my good friend Sarah. I could feel her concern as she urgently explained on a consequent phone call that her friend, Gabi, had confided in her that she was pregnant… and considering abortion. While Sarah is passionately pro-life, she wasn’t sure what to say in this delicate situation so she contacted me.

Knowing I was involved in pro-life outreach, she trusted me to help her in this life-and-death situation, and I am so grateful and humbled that she did. It would be disingenuous for me to say that I was cool, calm, and collected in this moment. Life was on the line, and I knew it.

However, I thought back to everything I’ve learned through my work in the pro-life movement and quickly figured out what pregnancy resources to connect her with and what words of encouragement to give. Among many things, I advised, “Remind her that she’s not going to be a mother; she already is one.”

Fast forward to later that year, I met up with Sarah in the summer, and she excitedly told me the news: “Gabi is keeping her baby! What helped change her mind was realizing she was already a mother like you said!”

It was so surreal and a lot to take in. My simple words of encouragement had helped this young mother save her little one from abortion.

Gabi later told me that she didn’t even fully want to abort her baby, but she was being heavily pressured to do so by some people in her life. While she had her parents’ support from the beginning, the societal pressure was enormous. She used to tell herself that she was “definitely going to abort” but was quickly filled with agony and regret when she looked at photos of fetal development. She would hold her belly and apologize profusely to her little baby.

Gabi felt like taking the life of her child was what she was ‘supposed’ to do because of a lack of support from several people around her. The words that ended up impacting her decision the most were not well-rehearsed apologetics tactics produced by hours of studying fine-tuned debate strategies. Instead, it was two simple truths: that Gabi was already a mother and (as her own mother lovingly told her in support of her preborn grandchild) that Gabi’s child wanted to live.

Baby Luke was born to Gabi and her boyfriend in November 2023. His welcome into the world was with much love and complete with a great support system. Alongside Gabi’s parents who had been encouraging her to choose life since the beginning, the people in her life who had been nudging her towards abortion became supportive of her decision and their family upon the announcement that she was keeping the baby. Gabi herself now identifies as “100% pro-life” and can’t believe that she ever considered aborting her son.

I share this story to show that you don’t need to know the answer to every pro-abortion argument to make a difference. To help save a life, you don’t have to work full-time at a pregnancy resource center. Sometimes, all it takes is a simple voice of love and reason in someone else’s time of vulnerability. To help save a life, we merely need to be a light in the darkness.

Gabi’s story has been shared with her approval as a testament to other young women in her position that choosing life is possible and beautiful even in difficult circumstances.

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