Rough and Tough part 1

She came in to our clinic in Brooklyn, one Tuesday morning. You could see the pain and emotional scars that come with a hard life. They were written all over her face, in the clothes she wore, and in every move she made. Her body language clearly said ‘Stay away from me. I am rough, and I am tough, and I will mess you up!’
Right away I could identify with her, with that mask that she wore. I was very familiar with this, for I too used to hide behind that facade. I knew there was someone on the inside of this rough exterior who had suffered, life had not gone the way she had planned. I knew that I had to get to that person, if we were going to save this baby.
No case is the same. There is no cookie cutter fix, no cure all for the woman in a crisis pregnancy. You must get to the root of the problem. What is the reason that she is considering letting a doctor take the life of her child?!! Oh Sure, an education in fetal development, the abortion procedure and the risks and complications, is of great help! But what is the underlying pain? What is it that is giving her that sadness in her eyes? What is it about the situation that makes it all seem SO HOPELESS to her? Find the answers to these questions and you start from there.
At the core of that rough shell, there was a young mother who had given all for everyone else, and all they had done was take. She had been selfless and they had been selfish. Somewhere in all of the giving she had forgotten to give to herself. It had gone too far, and now in order to reclaim her sense of self, she was about to take very drastic measures.
“Every one thinks I should keep the baby! My mom, my boyfriend, my friends, all of them! I’m always doing EVERYTHING for everyone else! I want to do this for me!” she cried. “ I don’t think I will be happy if I keep this baby!”. But would aborting make her happy? Does it ever really make a woman happy? I have seen it cause nothing but grief!