A Helpful Story: Dealing with an Unplanned Pregnancy

You confide to your aunt that you have thought about keeping your baby, and instead of listening as you had really hoped, she responds, "you can't keep that baby! Where's the money going to come from? You think you can support a baby on your income? Ha! You need to just get an abortion and forget this ever happened."

The very thought of ending a tiny life because you weren't ready puts a pit in your stomach you know will never subside. How could she think that? Easy: it's not her body, or life.

But this is your baby … and your choice.

Rachelle, 28, joined American Adoptions two years ago. When she was 17, she found herself in the same situation - unexpectedly pregnant. She and her boyfriend, Clayton, were excited about graduation and applying for college when they learned the news. Rachelle got an abortion. It's been more than 10 years, but still feels an extreme sense of guilt and has since become clinically depressed, requiring regular counseling.

"Every single day of my life since I took away that baby's life because of my selfish wants, I have cried, hard … usually in the shower, Rachelle begins to explain, with tears in her eyes at the very thought. "It's when I'm getting ready for the day that I begin to envision my baby and what her life could have been if it weren't for me."