My Heart Says No

‘I don’t want this abortion. My heart says no. I promised myself that my last abortion was the last one. I never wanted to be in this situation again’ said Amy, who was in her first trimester. Her cheeks sagged in misery, and her eyes bulged with sadness. I knew by the way she looked intently at the close-up picture of the unborn baby’s eyes that this was not her ‘choice’.
‘Did anyone urge you to have the last abortion?’
‘Well my Christian friends told me an abortion would be all wrong for me, and that Jesus will bless me if I continued the pregnancy. So during the last pregnancy, for a long time I decided to have the baby. But I ended up having the abortion because my boyfriend told me it was a sin to be pregnant.’
‘Really? What religion is your boyfriend?’ I asked.
‘Aalee is a Muslim, and he is very concerned that I become a Muslim too. He wants me to become a Muslim before we get married.’
‘And is that what you want?’
‘No. I’m a committed Gospel Christian, and Our Lord saved me. Our Lord wants me to have this baby’ Amy said and looked me right in the eye.
‘And yet, you’re planning an abortion...’ I said in a surprised voice.
‘I’m really confused, my friends in church tell me to keep the baby and that it’s a sin to abort. But my boyfriend tells me that the pregnancy is a sin, and that I won’t be in sin anymore if I abort...If I become a Muslim then the abortion won’t be a sin.’

We invited her boyfriend to accompany Amy for counselling.
Aalee became very concerned about the risks multiple abortions pose to Amy’s fertility, and has stopped pressurising her with the ‘pregnancy is a sin’ ruse.

I encouraged Amy to seek much support from her Christian friends who frequently quote the Ten Commandments when urging women not to have abortions. Amy is now beginning her second trimester, and we would be grateful for your sustained prayers for her pregnancy.

Mary O'Regan