{"id":196256,"date":"2019-02-18T15:14:43","date_gmt":"2019-02-18T21:14:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=196256"},"modified":"2019-02-15T15:59:03","modified_gmt":"2019-02-15T21:59:03","slug":"abandonment-abortions-hiv-chose-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/abandonment-abortions-hiv-chose-life\/","title":{"rendered":"After abandonment, two abortions, and an HIV+ diagnosis, she still chose life"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Many women think they have no choice but to have an abortion<\/a> due to their circumstances, but with support and access to better options and resources, women can be empowered to choose life. In a Facebook post<\/a>,\u00a0Paola Bonzi, founder and director of the Mangiagalli Center for Helping Life (Centro di aiuto alla vita Mangiagalli) in Milan, Italy, reflected on a woman she helped 30 years ago who reached out to her again.\u00a0Bonzi’s story was shared and translated on Aleteia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

One of the very first mothers they helped had arrived with one goal in mind. \u201c’I\u2019m pregnant and I want to have an abortion. I\u2019m an artist \u2014 I act, I paint, I specialize in miniatures,’ she said with a look of pride, perhaps to earn our respect,” Bonzi recalled in her post. \u201c’The father of the child I\u2019m expecting abandoned me at the news of the pregnancy, leaving me alone with the rent to pay and without any resources to live on. How could I manage with a child? I can\u2019t do it!’\u201d The woman, named Gabriella, had spoken to another employee of the center, Matteo, who listened and offered her food. Bonzi and Matteo heard Gabriella’s story as she told them she had two previous abortions, and was navigating difficult family relationships. Bonzi said the interview initially was challenging, but after an hour of listening, she did something that changed everything. She showed Gabriella photos of the process of fetal development throughout a pregnancy.<\/p>\n