I was adopted at four months old by an amazing family of educators in Boulder, Colorado. My father was a professor and my mother had two master’s degrees. My parents were both academic and I grew up with very liberal beliefs. I was raised on intellectualism; so I did not grow up with faith. Unbeknownst to me at the time, I was also moved 17 times within the first four months of my life in foster care. This caused a lot of attachment issues from birth which eventually led to my being an addict as an adult. Although I struggled in school and with finding my place, I was blessed to have my best friend Jackie who was also adopted. Jackie and I remain best friends today. In our mid-thirties, Jackie did a search in the state of Colorado and found her birth family. After her experience, she encouraged me to find my birth mother too. Although when I was young I had been told a story about my birth parents, and my reason for being put up for adoption, I wanted to know the whole truth.

  My hope was that I would be redeemed, and renewed, and she would fill the void in my life I was experiencing. After a period of time, my birth mother was found. At first, she was freaked out and did not want to speak with me. Eventually, my birth mom had a change of heart and decided that she did want to meet me. When I first met with her, my mother pulled out a photo of all of my siblings together and I realized I was the only one missing. Out of the six children my mother had, I was the only one put into social services. She explained to me that I was a product of rape. This was heartbreaking for me to hear. At the time that I found my birth mother, I was a practicing addict. I had a very high-level job by day and I was very dysfunctional and drinking by night. When I went home that night I had decided that I was either going to end my life or get sober. I could not handle any more trauma in my life, even though the majority of it was my own making.

  Choices in life can make or break us. My mother knew this when she decided to have me despite being a victim of rape. I knew this the moment I decided to get sober. Shortly after I got sober I found the Lord and He was the one who redeemed, renewed and filled my emptiness. As a new Christian, I met my incredible husband in church. We got married in 1996 and became a blended family of five kids. Shortly after my adoptive father passed away and my adoptive mother moved in with us and found the Lord at 78 years old before she passed also. My birth mother and I still have a relationship to this day. The Lord redeemed our stories.

  I am not ashamed of what’s happened to me. My loving birth mom was a victim but, I prefer not to talk much about the past other than how it has shaped who I am today. The Lord has used my life in incredible ways.

I went from being an addict, a product of rape, and a pro-choice liberal to being delivered and set free through Christ

  Despite struggling in school, I attended my school’s vocational and technical program. I was able to have a successful career and even work in education. I was the director of purchasing for over 20 years without a degree. With the house that my husband and I had, I was able to pursue my dream of opening a foster care horse program. This was a program for foster children to ride horses who would not otherwise have had the opportunity. My husband and I personally fostered 11 kids and helped to transform their lives.

  I ran in the largest State Senate race in Colorado. During my campaign in Boulder when I stood for pro-life many people would bring up the very commonly used argument of women who pursue abortion due to rape. I always use this as an opportunity to share my story. I get to tell them that my mom was raped and I wouldn’t be here if she hadn’t chosen life for me. The babies have no choice in this matter, and they are babies (not just a clump of cells). It’s that simple. Because I have lived this it’s more predicated on my heart. It’s based on my own life. Babies are life. With new legislation being introduced to make Colorado the state for abortion in the nation, I feel that I can be a light in a dark place. Telling my story is important because people cannot argue with my experience. This is a war of light and darkness. Adoption is important to me because I believe all life is precious and matters.

  I’m currently a business owner and entrepreneur living the dream of helping and serving others. Although adoption is a complicated journey, I had an amazing family and I am thankful my mom chose life.

I am thankful my mom chose life