{"id":321871,"date":"2024-11-19T16:48:55","date_gmt":"2024-11-19T22:48:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=321871"},"modified":"2024-11-19T12:43:09","modified_gmt":"2024-11-19T18:43:09","slug":"determined-abortion-light-lamp-changed-mind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/determined-abortion-light-lamp-changed-mind\/","title":{"rendered":"She was determined to have an abortion. Then, the light of one lamp changed her mind."},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

Amber Bradford was a bit of a late bloomer, graduating college at the age of 29. She knew she didn\u2019t want children, opting to get a pet instead as she focused on building a rewarding career in the nonprofit sector. But Bradford\u2019s carefully laid plans would be hindered when she discovered she was pregnant.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bradford told Live Action News, \u201cI had been dating a guy for six months who had custody of three children from a previous marriage. He was looking for someone to care for his children and I didn\u2019t want to be an \u2018instant mommy\u2019 so I broke up with him. Two weeks later, I was dealing with an unplanned pregnancy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She called her former boyfriend and told him she was expecting their child but reassured him that she would \u201ctake care of it.\u201d He didn\u2019t understand she planned to end the pregnancy, and was amid re-establishing a relationship with his ex-wife, so he was happy to be relieved of any responsibility.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI had been working as a nanny for my brother while attending night school and he had a sickly son,\u201d Bradford said. \u201cI saw how hard it was for my brother and how expensive it was to raise a child. I didn\u2019t want any part of that. I wanted to be a career woman who changed lives \u2013 I was selfish.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Further, Bradford had been living a promiscuous life \u2013 having sexual relations with various men without any entanglements. She knew she couldn\u2019t continue her lifestyle as her pregnancy advanced.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ironically, she had been raised in a Southern Baptist home and realized abortion was wrong but felt placing her baby for adoption would be worse than ending her preborn child’s life.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bradford said, \u201cAn abortion would be immediate and done. I wouldn\u2019t have to show any signs of being pregnant whereas carrying my baby to term and then placing my child for adoption would be so heartbreaking. Plus, I didn\u2019t want a baby to disrupt my life.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A simple lamp light steers woman toward a life affirming decision<\/b><\/p>\n

Yet, she didn\u2019t immediately schedule the abortion. Instead, she began to bargain. She would drive 40 minutes to her parents\u2019 home and if their lamp light was on, she would tell them about the pregnancy. If it wasn\u2019t, she would go through with the abortion.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI drove to my parents\u2019 home and stopped for gas, then I stopped again to get a drink just to delay my arrival,\u201d Bradford said. \u201cI knew my parents went to bed early. When I pulled into their driveway, I was stunned to see the light on. Something profound came over me. I knew then I was going to have my baby.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

When her parents answered her frantic knock on the door, she blurted out that she was pregnant, and began crying hysterically.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bradford said, \u201cThey were accepting and supportive. My stepdad suggested that we pray. I knew then that they\u2019d be with me for the long haul.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She understood she would need some type of assistance. Thumbing through the yellow pages, she found a number for the local pregnancy help center.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI took a pregnancy test there and it confirmed what I already knew,\u201d Bradford said. \u201cI went into a fog of depression. I couldn\u2019t continue having relations with men I hardly knew.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

At some level, she suspected her need to use men for sex was rooted in her desire to be loved, yet she didn\u2019t quite know why she felt that way. But the Holy Spirit had been whispering in her ear, trying to catch her attention.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Holy Spirit was telling me I needed this baby as much as she needed me,\u201d Bradford said. \u201cI was scared about the road ahead but luckily I had a wonderful best friend and the staff at the pregnancy support center who really came through for me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She was advised to find an OB\/GYN. During a routine ultrasound, the doctor asked Bradford if she really wanted her baby.\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI was horrified,” Bradford said. “My friend told me we were going to find another doctor and we did.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

At 14 weeks, Bradford began hemorrhaging and went to the ER where she learned she had placenta previa, a condition where the placenta blocks the cervix and can cause severe bleeding.<\/span><\/p>\n

Her friend and her mother stepped up to help Bradford with her cleaning job where she earned a much-needed $400 monthly.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was always tired so it was a blessing that they could help out when needed,\u201d Bradford said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pregnancy center instrumental in helping navigate wild, crazy months of pregnancy<\/b><\/p>\n

During this time, she regularly visited the pregnancy help center where she cashed in her Mommy Merit points to purchase diapers, clothes, even a crib and a mattress. Since she wasn\u2019t yet showing, she started dating again.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bradford said, \u201cMy dates didn\u2019t know I was pregnant. One of the guys I hooked up with became a good friend when I finally told him I was pregnant. He was very caring toward me during this time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The comfort and encouragement the pregnancy center staff provided Bradford was especially important since she had lost many of her friends.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThese people were lifesavers,\u201d Bradford said. \u201cThey never failed to cheer me up when I was down. They took a genuine interest in my welfare and by doing that, they literally saved me and my baby. These were crazy, wild months when I was immersed in self-pity, wondering why all this was happening to me. But they gave me the strength to get through it all.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s apparent that God\u2019s divine guidance was always operating in Bradford\u2019s life. She eventually married a kind man who accepted her daughter, Isabelle, now 17 years old. Together, she and her husband had a son. <\/span><\/p>\n

Today, Bradford is the director of the Seeds Women\u2019s Center in Minden, Louisiana. <\/span>\u201cI never thought I\u2019d be working at a pregnancy support center, but God told me He had something big for my life,” Bradford said. “All along, he was directing my path. I can relate to just about every woman who walks through our doors as a person who once struggled to choose life. I wouldn\u2019t be where I am today without the pregnancy support center.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Call on President Trump to pardon the FACE Act prisoners on his first day in office.<\/i><\/b><\/i><\/b><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Amber Bradford was a bit of a late bloomer, graduating college at the age of 29. She knew she didn\u2019t want children, opting to get a pet instead as she focused on building a rewarding career in the nonprofit sector. But Bradford\u2019s carefully laid plans would be hindered when she discovered she was pregnant. Bradford […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":798,"featured_media":321876,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[9455],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nShe was determined to have an abortion. 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