Jasmine was excited to start her new job at a local retail store.
It wasn’t in the best part of town, but she was willing to work hard so she could save up enough money to move to a safer area soon.
She had high hopes for building a better life for herself.
Just weeks after starting her new job, something horrifying happened: Jasmine was sexually assaulted.
Several weeks after that, she discovered she was pregnant with her assailant’s child.
Having had abortions in the past, this decision was a “no-brainer” for Jasmine.
She searched online to find an abortion facility, and found one quickly.
She made an appointment for an abortion at their earliest availability, which was about two weeks.
She didn’t want to wait that long.
The next day, she looked again to try to find a facility that might be able to get her in sooner.
Thanks to your support of Heroic Media’s OAASYS Emergency Response ads, she was instead connected to OAASYS’s Pregnancy Help Center partner in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania!
When she arrived for her appointment, she shared her story with her client advocate – that her life “felt like a violent storm” with no hope for rescue.
She spoke of her history of abortions, along with a second-trimester miscarriage.
She talked about depression, her hopes for a better life, and her assault.
Her client advocate was quick to listen and offer gentle counsel.
It was clear that Jasmine was in a place of deep pain and would need an abundance of mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual support – especially after her most recent trauma.
With permission, her client advocate shared that Jesus is our Divine Savior Who has the power to calm the storms in our life and to carry us safely to the other side.
Toward the end of their discussion, Jasmine accepted the offer for a free ultrasound.
Shock immediately overcame Jasmine when she saw, what she described as, her “baby waving right at her!”
Suddenly she felt sadness…because there was no denying that the life that was growing inside her was still an innocent human life, even if the circumstances surrounding the baby’s conception were far from innocent.
For a moment, the memories of that horrific encounter slipped away as she stared and watched her baby wave.
She then felt a new conflict she’d never wrestled with before.
For the first time, abortion was no longer “an easy decision” for her…
She remained undecided as she walked out of the center that day.
Upon follow-up, her client advocate learned that Jasmine was still fluctuating.
On one hand, she felt she “couldn’t go through with the abortion”…
…But on the other hand, she “couldn’t have a baby”…
The center connected Jasmine with a safe house for pregnant women and offered pre- and postnatal support.
Eventually, Jasmine reached back out to inform her advocate that she’d settled on the decision to cancel her abortion appointment and keep her baby!
Seeing her baby on the ultrasound was the game changer for her.
She even accepted help relocating to a safer location, somewhere the assailant would not be able to further harass her.
Praise be to God for Jasmine’s courageous decision for life and the beginning of the path to healing – and for the critical role you played in helping make this possible!
You are heroic!
Matthew 8:27: “They were amazed and asked, ‘What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!’”
