She Had an Abortion Scheduled, But One Call Changed Everything

By Jay Hobbs
National Right to Life

The phone rang at a call center in Columbus, Ohio, this Thanksgiving weekend. On the other end of the line, a woman and her young daughter were in tears, barely audible as the consultant at Option Line (www.OptionLine.org; 1-800-712-HELP) answered the phone.

Choking back tears, the mother, “Karen,” told the Option Line consultant the situation. Her daughter, “Beth,” was pregnant, and the baby’s father had intimidated Beth into making a decision she really had not intention of making.

At her lowest point, Beth felt she had no choice other than abortion, so she set an appointment at a nearby abortion business. The night before the appointment, Beth had second thoughts and finally told her mother what was going on.

That’s when Karen reached out to Option Line—a 24-7 pregnancy helpline that answers over 1,000 cries for help every day of the year. Time was of the essence. There was no time to wait around for an answering machine.

On the phone with Option Line, Karen struggled to gain her composure. With Beth by her side, Karen said she’d support her daughter no matter what decision she made, but with time winding down to her appointment, she couldn’t stand the thought of losing her first grandchild to abortion.

In the course of the conversation, the Option Line consultant asked to speak with Beth directly, and Karen handed the phone over to her daughter—praying silently her daughter would find the help she so desperately needed.

Terrified over the threats and bullying she’d received from the baby’s father, Beth felt her future was in the balance. If she canceled the appointment and chose life for her child, she’d be giving up a relationship with her boyfriend and—far worse—be forced to sacrifice her career goals all at once.

Those fears—which the abortion industry so commonly exploits—had compounded to effectively rob Beth’s ability to make a decision on her own.

All of that changed in just one phone call to Option Line.

By the time she and her mother hung up the phone, Beth had canceled the abortion and scheduled a new appointment: this time at a local pro-life pregnancy center, where she could get a free pregnancy test, free ultrasound, free material aid and the chance to connect woman-to-woman with staff and volunteers ready to help her through every point of pregnancy and well on into motherhood.

“We were so thrilled Beth called that night,” Nafisa Shamsher, the director of Option Line, said. “No woman should be so afraid or coerced that she feels she has no choice other than abortion. What a blessing it was to come alongside Beth in her journey.”

National Right to Life continues



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Pregnant, need help or know someone who does?  

National Hotline: Call 1-800-712-HELP or Text 'HELPLINE' to 313131.
In Southeast Penna:  Call the Community Women's Center at  215-826-8090

If you or someone you know is suffering after abortion, confidential non-judgmental help is available.  Call Project Rachel's national toll-free number 888-456-HOPE (4673) or visit hopeafterabortion.org.