Abortion hurts more people than most of us think.  I am both an abortion survivor and a sibling to a brother lost to abortion.  My mother has never been part of my life, when I was a year old she abandoned me and my father.

At the tender age of 20 I discovered the truth by overhearing a conversation about a dream my father had about a son playing. Knowing my father would never tell me the truth I went to a family member who informed me of the truth in secret.  Whem my mother's sister and mother found out she was pregnant they convinced her to have an abortion because my father was not as well off as they were and didn't want her with him. At the time abortions were not legal in Canada so she had to go to the US to have it done and my father did not find out until a week later when she returned.  My informant told me that it was a little boy.  I was very confused and shocked at first, then I cried for days.  I still cry when I think about this little boy because he was MY brother and no one had the right to kill him.  I often wonder about how many months he was and the procedure that was done to abort him.

I then had asked my informant what made my mother "want' me, and then my informants eyes filled with tears, and that's when I knew without words that I too was to suffer the same fate.  My informant said that this time my mother had advised one of her friends about having another abortion and that friend called my father and he managed to stop her from leaving Canada.  I knew then and there that my brother had begged the Lord God to spare my life.

I struggled with so much coming to terms with my feeling about not being wanted or welcome by my mother and her family and about my brother whom I could never see and could never visit in a cemetary because he was discarded. I had struggled with the thought of what happens to aborted babies and the Lord lead me to John Paul II's encyclical on life and when I read his words I knew my brother was in heaven with the Lord and this provided me so much comfort and assurance.  I knew that despite the fact we may not be loved by the one who bore us in her womb, the Lord loves us and His love is greater than any love and I am blessed to know that. The Lord has also blessed mw with many wonderful people who are a part of my life and have been there for me, from the family I have to my friends and even strangers who do a small and kind deed remind me of God's love.  Finding Priests for Life was also another blessing for me as it showed me that I was not alone in my feelings and that I was supported and loved.