{"id":303293,"date":"2023-12-12T10:44:08","date_gmt":"2023-12-12T16:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=303293"},"modified":"2023-12-11T15:57:13","modified_gmt":"2023-12-11T21:57:13","slug":"childhood-trauma-abortion-heartbeat-turned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/childhood-trauma-abortion-heartbeat-turned\/","title":{"rendered":"Childhood trauma led her toward self destruction and abortion, but a heartbeat turned the tide"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

When she was just five years old, Christa Elisha experienced sexual abuse at the hands of a family member. She didn\u2019t clearly comprehend the horror of what was happening but knew something wasn\u2019t right. Sadly, her early teen years would be marked by abortions, drug abuse and homelessness due to unresolved trauma from the abuse.<\/span><\/p>\n

Elisha told Live Action News, \u201cIn my family, there were never discussions about sex; it was as if my parents wanted to preserve our innocence forever. I think this lack of open communication set me up as easy prey for predators because of my naivete.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

At 12 years of age, Elisha developed an infatuation with a 20-year-old man who took advantage of her childish crush, and she became pregnant.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI had no idea I was pregnant,\u201d Elisha said. \u201cI\u2019d only had one menstrual cycle, but my mom knew; she gave me a pregnancy test to confirm it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A family member offered to take Elisha to another state to get an abortion, but she refused.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Elisha said, \u201cI knew inherently that it was wrong and decided to carry my baby to term. I thought if Mary, Jesus\u2019 mother could give birth at 15, I could do it at 13.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Tragically, Elisha\u2019s baby, whom she named Gabriel, was stillborn. Because her pregnancy had been shrouded in secrecy, she wasn\u2019t permitted to have a public funeral and had to bury her baby in an unmarked grave.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI had never experienced childbirth or death before and I was devastated,\u201d Elisha said. \u201cThere was no healthy outlet for me and as a result, I wasn\u2019t able to properly grieve.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Aching inside, she ran away from home, was eventually remanded to a juvenile detention center, and was evaluated at a psychiatric hospital.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Elisha said, \u201cIt was recommended that my aunt get custody and I go to a different school since I was in class with the brother of the man who fathered my child.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n