On Tuesday, I was at the airport on my way home from the national pro-life march when an Instagram story caught my eye. It was the image of a scheduled appointment for an abortion at a Planned Parenthood in Ohio on Thursday. What stood out about this story though, was that it was accompanied by the caption, “I don’t want to have this abortion, but it feels like there is no other choice.”

This was on the personal story of a woman I happened to follow, for a reason even I don’t know. The only reason I can think of is that God wanted me to use this as an opportunity to offer support—so I reached out. I told her I saw how she didn’t want to go through with the abortion and that I wanted to show her she had other options.

I waited all day but heard nothing till the evening, when she responded saying that she was a single mother who already had a child and didn’t know how she could care for another. She had no family or social support and felt like she had no option but abortion, even though she was already in her second trimester.

I asked what she felt like she needed to keep her baby. She had made it clear that she didn’t want an abortion—meaning if her need could be met, she would keep her child. I let her know I was connected with the pregnancy centers in the area and told her how Students for Life student groups would be more than willing to help provide for her needs so she could keep the child.

I ended up calling “Let Them Live” and explaining the situation. They asked me to connect them to the woman so they could get her in touch with the necessary resources.

After that, I heard nothing back. As Wednesday passed, I feared the worst, and I prayed desperately for the mother and the life of her child—until, later that day, she sent this message: “I reached out to the resources you offered and I cancelled my appointment,” along with a Planned Parenthood notification that her appointment had been cancelled!

Of course, that isn’t the end of this woman’s story. Please pray for this brave mother as she prepares to welcome her second child into the world—that she would be comforted, loved, and cared for, and that she would know she’s not alone.

For the pro-life movement more broadly, this woman’s story should serve as a reminder to us that we must do our part to not just make abortion inaccessible but to also make it unthinkable. Desperation drove this woman to seek an abortion she didn’t want—a procedure that would have left her with lifelong guilt and the broken heart that comes with the loss of a child. All she needed was someone to stand with her.

The same is true of many other women. Studies show that over 70% of women who have had abortions describe those abortions as coerced, unwanted, or inconsistent with their values. They don’t want to lose their babies—they simply believe they have no other option.

For us, that leaves a simple message: Be the person to stand with mothers when no one else will.