Kynnedi Brown 

I was 17 years old and halfway through my senior year of high school when I found out I was pregnant. My boyfriend was leaving for basic training in a month and my parents were going through a divorce at the time.

I felt that telling them I was pregnant would be a burden on their lives. I was petrified at the prospect of having to tell all three of the most important people in my life that I would have to give up three track scholarship offers I had worked so hard for to raise a child.

For a while, I was in denial. I couldn’t bring myself to accept that I would be bringing a new life into this world alone.

I was seven months pregnant when I told my boyfriend. He was out of state in military training, so there was nothing for him to do. He was just as scared as I was, if not more so. His first reaction was to “get rid” of the baby. He wasn’t ready to be a father and had no interest in becoming one.

For a pregnant woman, that was a hard pill to swallow—I had already fallen so deeply in love with my baby.

At eight months, I finally told my mom I was pregnant when I came home late one night after a 14-hour day of work. Even though I was still playing sports, my mom noticed that I was gaining weight like I never had before. I just felt like I couldn’t bring myself to tell her myself.  

When the truth finally came out, my mother fell to the floor and cried. She asked my sister and brother if they knew about the baby, but since I hadn’t told them either, that just brought on more tears.

After that initial shock, my mom was concerned that my stomach was still so small even though I was eight months pregnant. I hadn’t taken any prenatal pills, I hadn’t been to a doctor, I didn’t know if the baby was healthy or even what gender he or she was. I only knew my baby was alive by every single one of the heart-filling kicks.

My mom and I started calling clinics to find out about our options. I was so far along that there weren’t many options but to have this baby. Because I was so far along and hadn’t had any prenatal care, I was considered high-risk and couldn’t find a doctor to take me into their care.

That’s when we found Ms. Brenda at Pregnancy Decision Health Centers. She was able to calm my mom down and give her enough peace of mind to sleep—which she hadn’t been able to do for days. Ms. Brenda told us we wouldn’t have to pay to be seen, and that was a huge stress-reliever for us, especially because we didn’t have insurance.

Ms. Brenda could see how terrified my mom was about the baby’s health. She took us to do some measurements of the baby, and everything looked great. She also gave us some information about PDHC and how they could help us.

At one point, we were considering adoption. We knew a happily married couple that wanted a child but didn’t have the option to have one naturally. Ms. Brenda was extremely supportive, telling us that adoption could be as open as we wanted. She also reassured us that making an adoption plan would bring untold joy to a family.

Ms. Brenda sent me home with information I needed to navigate my situation, and she made it clear that there was no way in this world she was going to let me do it alone.

Before we left, she let me pick out something for the baby from their mom store, and I picked a pair of little white booties that I still have today. Those booties were the first sign of hope to me that I could be a great mom to this baby.

Ms. Brenda left me feeling that no matter what decision I made, I would always have support and someone to talk to without being judged or viewed as another teenage statistic. Ms. Brenda and PDHC also referred me to an amazing ob-gyn who helped me through the last month of my pregnancy with the utmost respect and care.

That doctor is one of the most kindhearted people I have ever met, and I truly thank him for saving Rowan’s life and my own. At my first appointment, we met Rowan, my beautiful and very healthy baby boy. He was absolutely stunning.

Rowan has turned my life around a complete 180. He is the biggest motivation when it comes to school or working I remind myself that everything I do is for him to live an even better life than I did. Waking up to his enormous bright smile reminds me to never give up, and to push through when things get tough.

Without a doubt, he is the most blissful blessing that was ever given to me. Seeing him laugh, play, and walk all through our home is so captivating. They’re memories I will cherish for the rest of my life.

I’ll be forever grateful for Ms. Brenda. She always told me that in life, we always have a choice, and that I didn’t have to give up my dreams and aspirations just because I was bringing a new life into the world.

I have decided to continue on with college, I married my U.S. soldier, and have celebrated Rowan’s first birthday.

Without Ms. Brenda and PDHC, I truly don’t believe my son would be alive. Ms. Brenda loves every minute of her job and it truly shows. God has given her a gift and it is a blessing to be around her. Her job is to empower and change the lives of women, and when I met her, she did just that.

A year later, she still contacts me to check up on my family and offer to help in any way that’s possible. She gave me the strength to follow my dreams of being an ob-gyn, and reminded me to never give up, because God will always make a way.

Halie Hale

It was Friday, Feb. 13, 2015, a normal day like any other. I got out of school at 10:25 a.m., went to my internship and worked. When I got off work, I went home and waited for my boyfriend, Jordan, to get off work and come home.

It had been over a month since I’d had a period, so Jordan was bringing a pregnancy test over. I took it, and it was positive.

How could it be? I was 17, worried and scared.

I called Your Choice Pregnancy Resource Center and made an appointment, and thankfully, Jordan stuck by my side. My first appointment was Feb. 20. I walked in, filled out the forms, and was called to the back to see a nurse.

Another positive test.

But, before we took the test, the nurse opened her Bible and helped me to understand that—no matter what—God still loved me. Then, we looked at the different stages the baby goes through in the womb. What a miracle!

After our talk, where the nurse answered my questioned, prayed with me and helped to calm my fears, I went into another room to get an ultrasound. There he was: eight weeks in the womb, a tiny little peanut. I couldn’t believe my eyes.

I left feeling like I was on top of the world, but as the day wore on, I was worried about Jordan and I telling our parents. Still, I knew I would live, and it would be alright in the end. When we did tell my parents, my mom took it lighter than I thought she would, but my dad didn’t speak to me for a little while.

There were times I wanted to give up, but I knew God was with me, and so was Jordan. Our baby boy was born Sept. 10, 2015—three weeks early, but healthy, and I wouldn’t change it for the world. We named him Jordan Colin Hale, “J.C.” for short. He’s healthy, happy and our little miracle.

I hope that every pregnant, worried and scared teenage girl has the opportunity to go to a pregnancy center. I had a great, helpful, and unforgettable experience. Everyone was so helpful and kind.

Jordan and I got married Oct. 3, 2015. I was a senior in high school when I got pregnant, but I made straight A’s and graduated. Now, I’m going to college. To all the worried pregnant teenage girls, do not give up. A baby may change your life, but that doesn’t mean your life is over.

We’re active members of our church and we are putting God first in our family. I thank God for a place like Your Choice PRC. Without them, who knows what path I would’ve taken? 

Magalia Frazier

Having a baby changes everything—physically, mentally, emotionally and financially. Even though having a baby is challenging, it has its rewards too.

After you’ve had a rough day at work, for example, and you come home or pick your child up from school, their excitement at seeing you is the best feeling in the world. Or, when you child is ill and under the weather, all they really want is to be near you as a parent and have you nurse them back to health.

As a parent, it’s a pleasure to watch your child learn to put into practice an everyday activity you’ve taught them that will be useful to them the rest of their lives.

I’m enjoying every bit of this roller-coaster ride with my 4-year-old daughter. But, our journey together hasn’t always been gumdrops above the chimney tops. I’m taking the good with the bad, and I have Elizabeth’s New Life Center to thank for that.

I’ve come a long way—far from the verbally abusive relationship with my daughter’s father, far from the dependence on government assistance to take care of my child and myself.

It all began when I found out I was pregnant. I was terrified and didn’t know where to turn or what to do next. Both of us come from strict families with strong moral and religious beliefs, so we were both afraid of what they would say once it came out that we were pregnant.

So, we Googled places nearby to make sure that the home pregnancy test was correct. That’s when we found Elizabeth’s New Life Center in Dayton, Ohio. We scheduled an appointment where they verified that we were indeed pregnant. We received an ultrasound and heard her heartbeat—it was so strong and fast-paced.

I couldn’t believe I had a little person living in my body I was suddenly responsible to care for. I started to cry, knowing that as a mother at the age of 22, I would not have to explain this to my own mother.

I was in college full-time, working part-time. Things were going great until this happened. What would my mom think of me? What about the rest of the family? I knew I’d brought shame upon my mother and myself.

With all these thoughts running through my head, the only thing I could think of was to keep it a secret and see about an abortion. I Googled abortion clinics and found the clinic in Kettering, Ohio. We drove to the clinic together. As I spoke to the receptionist, she told me what to expect, including the fact I’d have to pay a $200 down payment, with the remainder due the day of the procedure.

After my boyfriend and I paid the down payment for the abortion, I had one more question for the receptionist: “What do you do with the babies after the procedure?”

“We throw the fetus in the trash,” came the reply.

In that moment, I remember thinking how inhumane that sounded. Whether or not I felt ready to raise a child, I knew my baby was not going in the trash. Even the thought made me sick to my stomach.

Our appointment was scheduled for a week later. Even though I did my best to hide my pregnancy from my mother, she knew something was wrong. A mother always knows her child. When I told her I was pregnant and that I had already scheduled an abortion, she said, “You cannot abort my grandchild!”

On the day of the procedure, I felt sick to my stomach, my knees were buckling and I could barely stand. I called the facility to see if I could cancel the appointment and get my down payment back, but the receptionist told me I couldn’t.

I had had a change of heart. Something had come over me. Plus, I wanted my money back to help take care of my baby—the baby I was going to now raise.

Almost immediately, I began searching for baby names and dreaming of the sex of my baby. When we found out we were having a daughter, I was excited and nervous at the same time—because I know girls can tend to be a bit much at times—but I was ready for all the loops I would endure with her.

Now that I had experienced this change of heart, I remembered Elizabeth’s New Life Center offered parenting classes to help me prepare for my baby’s arrival. I called and spoke with Meg at the center and signed up for classes right away. I went every week, whether my boyfriend came or not.

Nothing was going to keep me from providing from my child—not her father or anyone else. As my body started to change, I was excited to read up on the different weeks and stages of her gestational growth. I never missed a prenatal vitamin or a doctor’s visit. I was so proud to be a mom.

The staff at Elizabeth’s New Life Center and myself grew close. They called to check in on me and steered me to programs in our community that would benefit us. I received clothes, baby formula, socks, wipes, a car seat with a matching stroller, pacifiers, baby powder, baby shampoo, wash clothes and more.

On the day I gave birth, I called the nurse on duty at Elizabeth’s New Life Center almost 30 times. I had started labor and I was scared. The nurse helped to walk me through the early stages of labor, and never once grew impatient or irritated with me—even though I kept calling back.

When I went to the hospital later that day, to give birth to my daughter, Meg came to the hospital to meet my daughter. She brought along an Easter Bunny onesie with a matching hat and a card, and asked me if there was anything she could help me with.

Once my baby came, the relationship between her father and I broke down quickly. He became verbally abusive and had fits of anger where he would break things in our house that my friends and family had given us.

It has been hard to accept that I would need to raise my daughter as a single parent, but the support I’ve received from Elizabeth’s New Life Center has helped so much. I don’t know where I would be if I didn’t have them in my life. 

"This is one event Planned Parenthood could never dream of pulling off."

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday | December 12, 2016
Contact: Jay Hobbs, Director of Communications and Marketing
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COLUMBUS, OHIO – In what it hails as the most powerful pro-life event on Capitol Hill, Heartbeat International is bringing seven mothers—and their children—to Washington, D.C. this January to tell elected officials how they chose life with the help of a community-funded pregnancy center.

The event, “Babies Go to Congress,” takes place Jan. 26, the morning prior to the annual March for Life, and is Heartbeat International’s 15th such visit to the nation’s capitol since 2009. In the previous trips, 113 mothers and their children have visited a total of 265 offices—including those of both Democrats and Republicans.

In each visit, a mother who has rejected abortion with the help of a pregnancy help organization has the opportunity to tell her story, alongside both her child and the staff from the center that helped her choose life.

“This is one event Planned Parenthood could never dream of pulling off,” Heartbeat International president Jor-El Godsey said. “Pregnancy help centers empower women to make the healthiest choice for everyone involved in an unexpected pregnancy. This is a powerful platform for us to both show and tell the truth that pregnancy help centers are good for America.”

The group this year is made up of two mothers from Ohio, as well as one each from North Carolina, Missouri, Arizona, Texas and Wyoming. Though six of the mothers are bringing with them children 4 years old and younger, one mother—Nikki Pinkley from Branson, Mo.—is bringing her 14-year-old daughter to the event.

Together, Nikki and her daughter, Alexis, illustrate the positive life-long impact of that nation’s 2,600 pregnancy help centers.

Nikki was raised in the church and had recently graduated high school when she found out she was pregnant. Finding help at Options Pregnancy Clinic in Branson, she not only chose life for Alexis, but the staff at Options encouraged her to keep pursuing her education and career goals.

Today, Nikki is a closing in on a decade as a licensed professional counselor and is working on her doctoral degree in psychology.

“My hope is that every young woman facing an unplanned pregnancy will find the help she needs to face the challenges of being a single mom,” Nikki, who later married, said. “It’s not easy, but I am living proof that the future is what you make of it. Sometimes you just need someone to believe in you. I found the help I needed, plus a lot of inspiration at Options Pregnancy Clinic.”

About Heartbeat International

Heartbeat International is the first network of pro-life pregnancy help organizations founded in the U.S. (1971), and the largest network in the world. With 2,100 affiliated pregnancy help locations—including pregnancy help medical clinics (with ultrasound), resource centers, maternity homes, and adoption agencies—Heartbeat serves on all six inhabited continents to provide alternatives to abortion. For more information, see www.HeartbeatInternational.org.