Heather’s Story

At 24 Weeks, a Bad Dream Becomes a Blessing

Tears streamed down Heather’s face. How could this be happening to her?

In her late 30s, Heather was pregnant.

She and her husband already had two children. Both kids were now teenagers. Heather had been looking forward to this stage of parenting… It meant she could finally start focusing a bit more on herself.

Since realizing she was pregnant, she’d been telling herself that this unintended pregnancy was simply a minor blip.

She figured she was no more than six weeks pregnant. It was still early enough for her to get an abortion. All she needed was an ultrasound to confirm her early pregnancy.

Heather had been looking forward to this stage of parenting.

But, at her local pregnancy clinic, a Save the Storks partner, Heather stared at the ultrasound screen in shock. She wasn’t at six weeks. The beautiful baby girl she saw, sucking her thumb and kicking, was 24 weeks old.

It felt like a bad dream. She didn’t want to raise another child.

Would she still get an abortion, traveling to a state that allows abortions after 24 weeks?

It took Heather an hour to gather her thoughts. But, before she left the clinic, her patient advocate prayed with her and offered resources and helpful information so Heather felt genuinely cared for and informed about all of her options.

It felt like a bad dream. She didn’t want to raise another child.

When her patient advocate followed up the next day, Heather shared that she and her husband had made a decision.

Even though they could travel out of state to get an abortion, they believed this baby was meant to be part of their family.

“We want to name her either Zoe or Ava,” Heather shared.

What happened next left Heather amazed. Her patient advocate responded, “Both of those names mean ‘life.’”

What a beautiful name for a child whose life has been saved and treasured.

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