The morning of June 26, 1994, I woke up not feeling quite right. I was 25 weeks pregnant with the third of our four daughters. It wasn’t until later that evening when I started feeling the contractions that my husband, Forrest, took me to the hospital. When we arrived, the nurse tried to comfort us by […]
At the age of 16, just a few days before my 17th birthday, I went on my very first date. I was thrilled. He played football and was popular. We ate and saw a movie. I still had some time left before my curfew, so we drove around our rural area for a little while. […]
On Sunday, July 26, 2015, a dear relative of mine, Richard M. Hejza Sr. (nicknamed “Captain”), departed this life, after having been hit by a car. He was an extraordinary man who shaped my values, and I’m writing this as a tribute to his life. Richard was conceived in rape under circumstances which exacerbated the situation. His […]
Today is my birthday. I’m not at all ashamed to tell my age because it’s very relevant. I was born July 22, 1969 — exactly 10 months before the hearing date in Texas in Roe v Wade, and exactly 3-1/2 years to the U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion throughout the U.S.. I was conceived when […]
This past week has no doubt been an emotional week for many American women. Statistically speaking, {supposedly} one in three of us have ended an “unwanted” pregnancy via abortion. This means that last Tuesday many of us woke up not to images of a beleaguered, controversial corporation caught in a scandal, but to a reminder […]
The South Carolina legislature is working to pass a 20-week abortion ban that will not include rape or incest exceptions; however it will have an exception. Dr. Robert Ridgeway, democrat representative, said their committee decided to add exceptions only for “fetal anomaly.” “Ridgeway, a trained medical doctor, said that the fetal anomaly exception should be […]
7-month pregnant gang rape survivor denied a late-term abortion by the Gujurat high court in India. With those kinds of news stories, we regularly see organizations like Amnesty International and Planned Parenthood International utilizing such stories to demand the legalization of abortion through all nine of months of pregnancy – not only for rape, but […]
“I thought I was a broken person.” That’s what I explained to my husband just after I told him my story. My mom married my stepfather while she was still pregnant with me, so it wasn’t until years later that I found out he was not my biological father. I never knew my biological father […]
After passing the U.S. Senate 99 to 0, our model legislation from Hope After Rape Conception — the Rape Survivor Child Custody Act (H.R. 1257) — was signed into law by President Obama on Friday! Our co-founders from HARC, Shauna Prewitt and Analyn Megison worked very hard on this, working closely with House sponsor Congresswoman […]
Six years ago while on a trip home to visit my parents, I had the privilege to take a four-hour drive and meet a woman who I have come to know and admire her for her selfless love, her strength, and her act of courage in the middle of adversity — my birthmother. Growing up, […]