{"id":189360,"date":"2018-10-07T09:44:15","date_gmt":"2018-10-07T14:44:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=189360"},"modified":"2018-10-08T13:46:41","modified_gmt":"2018-10-08T18:46:41","slug":"nine-adopted-abortion-survivor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/nine-adopted-abortion-survivor\/","title":{"rendered":"When I was nine, I learned I was adopted… and an abortion survivor"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

(Life Defenders<\/a>) I remember being a happy child. I had simple joys then. Some toys, some sweets, my playmates, a VHS tape of The Sound of Music, my beloved dog and\u00a0my\u00a0doting parents made me feel the luckiest kid on earth. But an experience suddenly burst my happy bubble when I was about nine years old. It was the 16th<\/span>\u00a0of January, a big feast in our\u00a0small town is being celebrated. It was\u00a0Sto<\/span>. Nino\u2019s fiesta<\/span>\u00a0(Feast of the Child Jesus). I remember being glad because there were no classes\u00a0that day. Therefore I was allowed to watch\u00a0The Sound of Music<\/span>\u00a0even if it wasn\u2019t Friday.<\/p>\n

I also remember seeing my mother with a somber expression. She went upstairs to the master\u2019s bedroom but before she did, instructed me to follow her after a couple of minutes. I did as I was told. I entered the room having no idea that my life was about to change. My mom smiled at me but I noticed the smile did not reach her eyes. I smiled back and tried to cheer her up with a tight hug. It was then that I realized she was crying.<\/p>\n

READ: Survivor of multiple abortion attempts: ‘I thank God for keeping me alive’<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s the matter?\u201d I asked her.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnak\u00a0(child), do sit with me on the bed.\u201d<\/p>\n

I obeyed. She took a deep breath and looking into my eyes started to say:\u201c<\/b>Do you remember the story we used to tell you about our friend\u2019s daughter?\u00a0Our friend who adopted a baby who survived abortion, and then the baby grew up to be a bright young woman?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, that story!\u201d I smiled a bit, remembering the story I\u2019ve heard a number of times from both my parents. I always loved that story and admired the strong young woman who survived abortion.<\/p>\n

With another deep breath, my mom continued. \u201cDona that is your story. You are that bright, young girl.\u201d<\/p>\n

I thought I must have misunderstood my mom.<\/p>\n

\u201cI beg your pardon?\u201d I asked, my voice just barely over a whisper.<\/p>\n

\u201cDona you are the abortion survivor. Your biological mother had an abortion\u00a0but you survived. And then God gave you to us. And now you\u2019ve grown into a bright young woman,\u201d\u00a0she explained.<\/p>\n

There was a lump in my throat. I lost my voice. My mind was reeling to process everything.\u00a0This means I am not my parents\u2019 daughter. This means my whole life has been a joke\u2026 everything\u2019s make-believe. Oh, God the times I disobeyed my parents! How could I disobey them when I owe them so much!<\/span><\/p>\n

My thoughts went haywire.<\/p>\n

READ: Abortion survivor and Gospel singer Fred Hammond says ‘God had a plan’<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cDona are you okay? Please be okay. Remember that we love you very much. It doesn\u2019t matter if you are adopted. We love you just the same. Nothing will change.\u201d I\u00a0heard my mom say, but she seemed far away because I could barely hear her.<\/p>\n

She was wrong. Everything has changed. I have changed. I felt like a different person. I looked at my hands. It was strange that I felt like I was another person. But I knew I needed to say something. \u201cI\u2019m okay,\u201d I said, trying to convince both my mom and myself that I was. My mom hugged me. I realized I was crying albeit silently. Tears were flowing down my cheeks.<\/p>\n

I asked my mom for details. I wanted to know what happened. She said that she didn\u2019t know\u00a0my biological mother. But according to the birth attendant\/abortionist\u00a0(not a medical professional, traditionally called\u00a0hilot<\/span>\u00a0in the Philippines), my biological mother was a young woman, some weeks pregnant. \u201cI want to have an abortion,\u201d she said, and the\u00a0pilot<\/span>\u00a0obliged, for this was her \u201cjob\u201d (abortions are done secretly because it is illegal in the Philippines).It was not specified what specific type of abortion method was used but whatever it was, my biological mother bled and they thought the abortion was a success. But after a while, my biological mother realized she still felt the symptoms of pregnancy — body malaise, nausea and\u00a0vomiting.<\/p>\n

At last she obtained a pregnancy test kit and was shocked to learn that she was, after all, still pregnant<\/i>! She went back to the abortionist and demanded\u00a0to\u00a0have another abortion.<\/p>\n

By this time, I was already a five-month-old fetus in my mother\u2019s womb. \u201cThat\u00a0would already look like a baby (not a fetus)\u00a0when I do the abortion now. I cannot do it. Let\u2019s just have a compromise. Wait until you are to give birth. I will deliver the baby and you can just leave it here. Anyway I am sure it will die soon,\u201d was what the abortionist said. My biological mother agreed.<\/p>\n