{"id":304195,"date":"2023-12-27T09:56:40","date_gmt":"2023-12-27T15:56:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=304195"},"modified":"2024-01-02T13:24:32","modified_gmt":"2024-01-02T19:24:32","slug":"abortion-unplanned-pregnancy-heartache","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/abortion-unplanned-pregnancy-heartache\/","title":{"rendered":"After years of regret and heartache, Michelle broke her silence on abortion"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Michelle Hurford grew up in a loving household, dutifully going to church services with her mother. But she ran with a rough crowd, indulging in drinking, partying, drugs, and casual sexual encounters. She was just 16 when she became pregnant.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hurford told Live Action News, \u201cI was shocked to find out I was pregnant and had no idea who the father was or what I was going to do.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She called her mother in a panic from a pay phone at school. A short time later, Hurford\u2019s brother arrived to bring the anxious teen home. When Hurford revealed why she was distraught, her mother wanted to know who the man was who had impregnated her and what she wanted to do.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI watched a girlfriend face an unplanned pregnancy and have an abortion,\u201d Hurford said. \u201cBack then, it was a way to get out of the situation so I, too, thought of abortion as means to \u2018fix\u2019 a \u2018problem,\u2019 not understanding it was killing a child.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Concerned an unplanned pregnancy might cause dishonor to the family, Hurford\u2019s parents agreed she must end the pregnancy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hurford said, \u201cAt the time, we were Christians in name only, not really practicing our faith. We were more worried about what people would think.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

On the day of her abortion, Hurford was confident she\u2019d breeze through the surgery, furthered reassured by staff who told her not to worry; it was a simple, brief procedure.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was such a \u2018know-it-all\u2019 at that age, thinking it would all be over in a matter of minutes,\u201d Hurford said. \u201cBut hearing the suction machine<\/a> tear my baby out of my womb was terrifying. Then, unceremoniously I was pushed into a hallway with a half-dozen other women, wondering what just happened to me. I felt like herded cattle.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

READ: Holly\u2019s body was drained of blood and dismembered. No investigation has occurred.<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Like a turtle retracting into its shell to hide from the world, Hurford holed up in her bedroom for four days, grappling with the horror of what she had done.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hurford said, \u201cI didn\u2019t want to discuss my abortion with anyone. I just bottled up my emotions and tried to move on. You just didn\u2019t talk about it; you kept it hidden. My parents were shattered, appealing to God for forgiveness for their part in my decision.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A second pregnancy<\/b><\/p>\n

Two years after her abortion, Hurford married. When she became pregnant, it should have been a joyful event, but Hurford struggled as she was still suffering from the buried trauma of the abortion.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was so scared that I called my mother sobbing,\u201d Hurford said. \u201cShe reassured me that pregnancy within marriage is normal and helped me understand I was capable of being a good mother, despite my doubts.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Still, the circumstances around Hurford\u2019s first pregnancy haunted her, and she was unable to stop thinking about the baby she hadn\u2019t wanted. She questioned God if she would ever see her child. As if in answer, one night a vivid dream came to her. Walking across a field, she could see two figures underneath a tree. She recognized the taller person as Jesus standing alongside a young boy about eight years old with brown hair and bright blue eyes. The child smiled at her.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hurford said, \u201cAs I drew close, Jesus laid his hand on my shoulder and told me that my child was with Him. I woke up in such peace, knowing my baby was in the best place. Eight years had passed before I was able to move on and forgive myself.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A state constitutional amendment ends years of silence<\/b><\/p>\n

Now the mother of two sons, and a grandmother as well, Hurford was ultimately able to heal from the shame and grief through God\u2019s grace. Yet she remained silent, unwilling to publicly share her testimony to avoid reviving the heartache her parents had suffered.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy father especially was the rock in our family, and I didn\u2019t want to hurt him again by dredging up the past,\u201d Hurford said. \u201cBut then, in the fall of 2023, a constitutional amendment was on the ballot in Ohio, which, if passed, would enshrine the right to abortion expanding access through nine months of pregnancy. I was compelled to speak out to prevent more innocent preborn babies from dying.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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