This week, Linda, the amazing director of our Brooklyn center is on her very well-deserved vacation. No one could ever fill her shoes, but I have been trying to hold down the fort while she is away.
Today, I counseled a girl I'll call Krista. She came in with her friend, and it turns out she was already well into her second trimester, and her situation is one of the most difficult I have encountered. Her boyfriend is extremely abusive, she is living with her aunt (who is pushing very hard for her to have an abortion), she is unemployed, she just had an abortion in January, and was formerly addicted to painkillers and has only been clean since February. Wow. I could tell that she didn't really want to have another abortion, but really truly felt that it was the only solution to her countless problems.
However, that mindset soon changed when she realized just how extremely dangerous an abortion at her stage of pregnancy would be. Her certitude began to crack, but she still didn't see a way out of her problems. When I told her that we could help her find a safe place to live, and help her find a steady job, she soon realized what she had to do.
We went to have the sonogram and it sealed the deal. She was able to see her daughter's little heart beating and her little hands waving, and even her friend shed some tears. As they were leaving the office, Krista said "I can feel her jumping around in there. There's no way I'm gonna get rid of her."
Today, I counseled a girl I'll call Krista. She came in with her friend, and it turns out she was already well into her second trimester, and her situation is one of the most difficult I have encountered. Her boyfriend is extremely abusive, she is living with her aunt (who is pushing very hard for her to have an abortion), she is unemployed, she just had an abortion in January, and was formerly addicted to painkillers and has only been clean since February. Wow. I could tell that she didn't really want to have another abortion, but really truly felt that it was the only solution to her countless problems.
However, that mindset soon changed when she realized just how extremely dangerous an abortion at her stage of pregnancy would be. Her certitude began to crack, but she still didn't see a way out of her problems. When I told her that we could help her find a safe place to live, and help her find a steady job, she soon realized what she had to do.
We went to have the sonogram and it sealed the deal. She was able to see her daughter's little heart beating and her little hands waving, and even her friend shed some tears. As they were leaving the office, Krista said "I can feel her jumping around in there. There's no way I'm gonna get rid of her."
No comments:
Post a Comment