My mom was 19 years old when she became pregnant out of wedlock. She had been a faithful churchgoer in the Catholic church all her life, and was a frequenter of prayer meetings. Her entire family was Irish Catholic and also very religious, so that a pregnancy out of wedlock was a big shame to the family as well as to the church. She had recently graduated high school and was greatly looking forward to college to build a career for herself, but felt that a young child would make this endeavor impossible economically and logistically.

My father’s family was also Irish Catholic, so that shame and pressure came from both sides. At the time, my father was dealing with a severe drug problem making him unable to perform the duties of fatherhood.

Also, my mother had a painful childhood that had caused her never to want children (before my birth, I should say), and was afraid that she would be an incompetent mother (she wasn’t). Her pregnancy advanced as did plans for a wedding she did not want. A late-term abortion would have been a quick and discreet answer to all the problems facing her.

I believe that the contact that my mother had with a Carmelite nun guided her in her courageous decision to keep me alive. The guidance of the church was vital in reminding my mother of the obligation she had to foster the life that God had created within her, even though the situation seemed to point to a less problematic life without this child.

I praise God for this woman of God who was an encouragement to my mother, even though it was clear that the pregnancy was a result of a lapse of judgment on my mother’s part. The nun did not judge my mother; she loved my mother. She also loved me, without ever knowing me.

I was a Youth Advisory Delegate on the Health Issues committee at the 215th General Assembly of the PC(USA). My heart was broken by the refusal of the majority of the committee to urge that pastors would advise women to choose an option which kept mothers like mine and children like me, alive. I pray that the pastors who address these issues with their congregations will heed the call God gives us to protect his children. I’m one of the survivors. I want to add my personal pleading to the church to give babies—even in problem pregnancies—a chance.