April | Janet | Mariana | Saieeda

 

April

I am the mother of four children, 5, 7, 12 and a 16-year-old girl. I'm writing because no mother or her daughter should go through what we went through - what my daughter still has nightmares about.

My daughter April came to me when she was pregnant. After she missed her period twice, I became worried and we talked. I got one of those home tests and well, she was pregnant. We both decided she wasn't ready and I couldn't take on another kid. So we looked through the phone book and found a place called a "Crisis Pregnancy Center." They were very nice on the phone and said "Oh yes, come in, we do abortion counseling, free testing and after-abortion counseling!"

So the next day we went together. They gave her a test just like the one she used at home and they said it would take an hour, which seemed strange to me, but I figured maybe this test took longer because it would tell them how pregnant she was. Then they asked us what we wanted to do and my daughter and I said we decided the best thing for her to do was have an abortion and how much would that cost?

The two ladies said "please wait a minute" and left us - I figured it was to get us some information. But they came back with a doll and scissors. Now this doll was one of these cabbage patch dolls and the scissors were big and sharp. The ladies got mean-looking and handed the doll and the scissors to my daughter and said: "This is what your baby looks like now and we want you to start cutting her up because that's what will happen if you get an abortion - so start cutting!"

I was so shocked I couldn't move for a minute and my daughter looked so sad and then she started screaming. Well, this brought me around real fast and I grabbed her and threw the doll at those ladies and got her out of there fast! I later found out it wasn't a real clinic after all, which just makes me so mad.

My daughter cried for days, couldn't sleep or eat. Well, it took four weeks altogether, plus the school counselor and school nurse who taught her about just how big her baby was and that an abortion wasn't like scissors ... she was so scared. With the correct medical information, April decided that she did want to have an abortion.

But we had another problem because now April was 14 weeks pregnant and I couldn't afford it. See, I raise my kids alone and work two jobs, but I only had enough money for a first trimester abortion. The school nurse explained to me that up to 12 weeks the abortion costs $275, but after that it goes up every week. They told me I would need another $200. Well, I can't tell you how hard it was to get $275 together, she might as well have said another $2,000! I called the abortion Funds in Texas and was told they were out of money. But they told me about the Women's Reproductive Rights Assistance Project (WRRAP), a Fund that helps women and girls all over the country. The clinic called them for me. I prayed all that night.

The next morning the clinic called to tell me that the Fund had $200 for us and we could come in tomorrow! I got off the phone and cried and thanked God for these people I never met. I know this decision was hard for all of us, but I know as a mother it was the right choice. April is only 16 and still in high school. She needs to grow up herself first. I sent WRRAP a thank you card from me and April along with $10 dollars to use for someone else's daughter. I pray no one else's child ever has to be handed a doll and a scissors and I also pray that an abortion Fund will be there the next time someone else's mother has nowhere else to turn.