Sunday, April 17, 2011

It Wasn't Weed, And He Did Want It


While waiting for my train at a station in Manhattan one night, I heard a couple venting their frustration, and then, with one hand gesturing dramatically, he exclaimed, "Why don't you just abort it?" Walking past them a few feet and setting my bag down, I stated that I had something that he might want.
"If it ain't weed, I don't want it."
Unfazed, I gave an Expectant Mother Care pamphlet to each of them. She had hardly opened it, when she saw the aborted eleven-week old child and burst out crying. We waited together, and got on the train together. Through the next twelve train stops, hope sprang from her desperation, and his frustration.
I spoke with him, explaining that she needed him to love their child because of his love for her. I explained that couples who raised a child together had a closer relationship with each other. I could tell that he cared about her deeply, and told him so. He understood. He was a father now, and they were a family. He would not bow to the pressures of the situation. He would not coerce her into having an abortion.
I also explained that Expectant Mother Care was there to let them know that there are always alternatives to abortion. For starters, after a pregnancy test and counseling, we could provide a free sonogram so that they could see their child. He explained that neither one of them wanted an abortion. With my encouragement, he comforted her, whispering into her ear, perhaps apologizing or assuring her that he would be there for her. She didn't move, but kept her head down to hide the trails of her tears. It wasn't long before he came to me, "She wants you to talk to her." Stepping closer, I could see that, on the EMC brochure's promise that, "We'll Help!," she had made a box around that single word, exclaiming her cry for help. "That's what she wants," he stated.
I exchanged phone numbers with them, and had them go to an EMC center the next morning.

1 comment:

For Pete's Aiche said...

"A person in motion is more apt to be used by God's guidance" I remember being a moto of an old friend in Christ.