Happy Endings
Here you can read stories by women who found themselves in crisis due to an unplanned pregnancy. With help and guidance they were able to choose life for their baby and avoid the life shattering consequences of abortion. In some cases they may have walked out of an abortion clinic or the abortion was botched and the baby survived the abortion.
Read: Jean's Story, Gianna's Story, Melissas's Story, Jason's Story, Michael's Story, Angela's Story, Coach Clyde Christensen's Story, Monica's Story, and Anonymous from Niagara.
Melissa Ohdan’s Story - Survivor of a saline abortion.
Melissa’s mother was 18-22 weeks pregnant when she made the decision to end her daughter’s life by means of a saline abortion. But something went wrong (or maybe right). Melissa was born alive weighing only 2 lbs, 14 oz. A nurse at the hospital took pity on the tiny new born and got her life saving treatment. Not surprisingly, her parents put her up for adoption.
Even after this horrible start, Melissa Ohdan calls herself “lucky”. She was adopted by a wonderful couple. They were willing to raise her even though the doctors said she might suffer from mental or physical disabilities on account of the abortion. Melissa knew growing up that she was adopted, but her parents concealed the abortion from her. Then one day during a sibling squabble her older sister said “At least my parents wanted me!” The angry statement made no sense since both girls were adopted, so 14 year old Melissa asked her mother for an explanation.
Knowing about the abortion changed Melissa’s life forever. She describes her early reactions as shame and embarrassment. At the same time, she felt a pressing need to know the details, to understand what had driven her mother to do such a thing. She spent eleven years searching for any records of the abortion with no result. The hospital where she’d been born denies she was ever a patient there.
Perhaps the most striking thing in Miss Ohdan’s story was her desire to connect with her biological parents, despite what they had done to her. More than anything else she said she wanted to let them know that she was alright and wasn’t angry. Dealing with her own pain over the years had convinced Melissa that her biological parents must also have suffered greatly with the knowledge of what they had done.
Eventually Melissa found her biological father. She was shocked to discover he'd been living in her city all along. She wrote him a letter, a very difficult letter. He never responded. Some time later her father died, on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
Melissa was contacted, however, by her biological grandfather. Although her father never responded to her letter he'd kept it in a drawer where it was discovered by the family after his death.
From her grandfather Melissa finally began to learn a little of her history.
Although her biological-father had never told his family about the abortion, he did once confess that when he was a freshman in college he’d done something that he was “very ashamed of.” Melissa was comforted to discover her father had not abandoned her mother; rather, her parents told him never to see their daughter again. Perhaps most stunning of all was the revelation that her biological mother had had two more children and Melissa had two half sisters living. She said she was still hoping to meet her sisters some day (her biological-mother has still never responded to Melissa's attempt to meet her.)
In April 2008 Melissa gave birth to her daughter in the same hospital where so many years before her parents had tried to end her life. She named her daughter Olivia, which means “Peace”. Having a child gave her an additional prospective on her own story. She realized that had the abortion been successful the tragedy would not have ended with her. Her daughter would never have had a mother, would never have had a life. This thought incensed Melissa and compelled her to further action.
Ms Ohdan now travels around telling her story in support of the pro-life cause. She is also a spokesperson for Feminists for Life whose motto is:
“Peace begins in the womb.”