What Everybody Ought to Know about Teenage Pregnancy

This is such a difficult topic to talk about. I can not speak about it from first hand experience, but it has hit close to home. I have had personal experience with relatives and friends who have had teen pregnancies. Some chose to abort. Some chose to let the child live. Some were forced by parents to abort. Some were encouraged and helped to give birth. Some gave the child up for adoption. Some began the life of a single mom. Some mourned the death of their baby. Some felt some comfort knowing a caring couple was raising their child.

Most teenage mothers-to-be never see what their child inside looks like. This is a picture of an 11 week old baby, about 2-3 months old. It is not just tissue, and a positive pregnancy test is a baby.

Of all the people that I have ever talked to about a teen pregnancy, the only people that suffer piercing regret and inner pain are the people who aborted their children. Countless mothers live under shame, condemnation and guilt. They go through life believing that God will punish them or when bad things happen to them that they deserve it or He is punishing them.

One dear friend believed she was given children with learning disabilities because she aborted a child. Another felt she could never be clean, loved or forgiven. One constantly wanted to punish herself and didn't think she deserved to live. One left a baby bed up 15 years...a sign to her that her child never got to be her baby. Another went down the road of promiscuity, drugs and alcohol feeling she would never be wanted.

I have talked to some friends and family that have been teen parents. None of them told me it was easy. When they look back at those years they wish they would have made better choices. They wish they would have not had sex that lead to the pregnancy.

All of these people were looking for love, acceptance, "a way out of a bad homelife", security, or "to hold on to a relationship". Some had sex for pleasure but the real need went much deeper. None of them ever told me that they wish they would have killed their baby. They love their child! They can't imagine life without them. They had to sacrifice and live a hard-knocks life in order to be a teen parent. The teens with family support and encouragement fared the best.

I have seen a video, a music video, sung and written by a child that was in a womb in 1979. He now hugs his mom and says, "Thank you!" He thanks her for letting him live! This is not an easy video to watch. I can't imagine how hard it would be to see it if I had an abortion.

One of my dearest sister-friends cried out, "Stop!" when she was on the abortion table....but she was ...too ....late....her ...child ...was...already ....killed. I think this is why this video hit me so hard. I can see my sister-friend as the mom in the video and my heart cries out for her, even right now, that her story could have ended the way it did for this teen mom and child in the video. I am not sure I could ever let her see the video...it would hurt her too much...I would not want to see her relive the pain and cry, again, for her child.

If you can, watch this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AqPRcF7ZC0. If you can't I am praying for you as I write these words that you will know deep in your soul that you are valuable, that God was there, that He cried when you cried, that He suffered your pain and that He can forgive you. You can be clean. You are acceptable. He, alone, can heal your hurting soul and restore your spirit!

If you need me to pray with you, let me know. It would be my honor and privilege. If you know of someone that has had an abortion, pray for them, comfort them, accept and love them. If you know a teenage mother, help her, babysit for her, encourage her, mentor her.

Open up your spiritual ears and hear the children crying, even now in a mother's womb, crying..."Let me live!" Stand up for this baby. Fight for this baby. Be a voice for the innocent and voiceless in our world.