Tara’s Story
“On January 22, 1973, I was 9 years old, and I still liked to play with my baby dolls. On that day, our U.S. Supreme Court made a decision that would forever change the face of our country as well as my life. That was the day that abortion became legal.
“In February of 1980 when I was almost 17, I took a pregnancy test and learned that I was pregnant. Scared, ashamed, and confused, I turned to the largest abortion provider in our nation, Planned Parenthood, for my answers. I remember asking the counselor there if this was a ‘baby’ or a ‘life.’ In return, she asked me to define ‘life,’ and I could not. I had gone there for help but all they offered was abortion.
“I am not sure to this day why the abortion clinics call themselves ‘Pro-Choice.’ They are only about one choice, and that is their choice-abortion. I was asking the right questions but no one trusted me with truthful answers. They only had their choice in mind, not MY choice. Yes, there were fingers and toes connected to my child, a beating heart and brain waves, but I learned all of this too late.
“They described my child as a blob of tissue, and the only value my child had to them was the $250 they charged me to kill her. There are no free abortions! They cost women financially, physically, spiritually, and emotionally. Abortion not only takes the life of an innocent child, but abortion destroys the lives of women and men.
“Today, my life is a reflection of restoration, mercy, and God’s unfailing love. I always wanted to be a mom, just not a teenage mom. Now I am a mom, and I wish I had realized as a teenager how important my child’s life was.
“It was never God’s plan for me to abort a baby in order to draw close to Him, but when we repent and turn to Him, He will heal our hearts and our land (2 Chronicles 7:14).”
~Tara Quinn
A Counselor’s Story
“In the early spring of 1984 I found myself sitting in an abortion clinic in Orlando Florida. I was scared and confused thinking to myself, “How in the world did I end up here?” I was a preacher’s kid, growing up in a parsonage: always in church, always trying to live up to my parents and everyone else’s expectations. The first time I met my baby’s father was at a church service on a Wednesday. The mutual attraction was immediate and within a few months I was expecting our first baby. So now here we sat at this abortion clinic waiting for my name to be called. I just wanted this day to be over with; I wanted my life back; I wanted things to be normal again. I really felt that the decision we were making to end the life of this precious baby would be best for everybody. My boyfriend and I could go on with life as usual. My parents and his parents would never have to know we were sexually active– this abortion would be a quick fix, and life would be fun again.
“The scripture in the third chapter of John comes to my mind where it talks about men who love darkness because their deeds were done in the dark. That is exactly where I was– in the dark hiding a pregnancy. In order to save my reputation, I sacrificed my first born baby. The nurse called my name and I got out of my chair and walked into the room of death. The abortion was painful in many ways: physically, mentally, spiritually. I remember being in a recovery room with my boyfriend, both of us sobbing. I had never before cried such anguished tears that filled my face, and I ached all over. What I thought was going to be a “simple procedure” turned out to be the worst mistake of my life. It was too late to change my mind and from that moment on my life would never be the same again. I had never known such sadness in my life.
“Generally when a woman miscarries her pregnancy there is an outpouring of concern for her well being, and there is a time of grieving for the baby that has passed. Not so when you choose abortion. You go right back to living your life as though nothing ever happened. I’ve heard many stories of ladies who, after their abortion procedure, had to get on an airplane, hail a taxi, or go out to dinner and carry on with life as usual. They get up the next day, and it’s back to work, school and church, and most times nobody knows the heartache they are going through.
“Jeremiah 29:11 says, ‘For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord. They are plans for peace and not of evil, to give you a hope and a future.’ When I got pregnant, it wasn’t God’s way of punishing me, it was the outcome of my actions having premarital sex with my boyfriend. If I would have chosen life for my child God would have seen me through it. He would have provided for us. Instead I feared what people would say more than I feared God.
“At HELP Pregnancy Center our goal is to reach the abortion minded client and to show her there is a better way. Abortion is not a quick fix; there are lasting consequences for this choice.”
If you have a similar situation or if you had an abortion in your past that still haunts you, you can come to the Center to speak with someone about your situation.