Rachel’s Story

National Review: A Message to Struggling Mothers: Abortion Is Not Your Only Option

Article appeared in National Review | By: Rachel Hackett | Photo Credit: Adobe Stock (stock photo)

One May afternoon when I was seven months pregnant, I quickly packed my four children into the car and wound up lost and anxious in a Food Lion parking lot.

I rapidly called every place I could think of in hopes of finding somewhere to go, including domestic-abuse shelters that I had frequented, but I had no luck. Finally, a voice on the other line told me that if I waited a few hours, she would have a safe place for us to stay.

Before I knew it, I was driving up to the doors of Mary’s Shelter, a home for pregnant women in crisis. While I did not know what to expect when I arrived, I never anticipated a fully furnished home, complete with groceries and everything my little family would need.

We were immediately flooded with more warmth and genuine love than we had ever experienced. For the first couple of weeks, I constantly found myself checking over my shoulder and barring the door each night, holding my breath in fear that we would be found and forced back into the lives we had escaped. Slowly, over time, I realized that I was breathing again. We were finally safe, and loved, and the smiles on my children’s faces confirmed that I had made the right decision.