Colombian teen mom chose life, and her son became her motivation to succeed.

Monica King felt hopeless. She was 17, unmarried and pregnant, left to fend for herself when her child’s father abandoned her.

Fresh out of high school, Monica didn’t have the stability and the financial means to raise a child. She was worried because her small, conservative, Catholic community would ostracize her if they knew that she got pregnant outside of marriage. So she leaned on to her family for support, who at first found it difficult to accept the news of her pregnancy. 

“It happens to every single woman that finds themselves in an unplanned pregnancy. What is going to happen? We become selfish in that moment — my freedom, my future, my life. I won’t be able to study. I won’t be able to accomplish what I want to do,” Monica says.

Despite her struggles, Monica chose life. Her son, Sebastian, was born in December 1988. He is now 34 years old, working as an architect in California.

‘A son becomes your motivation’

Choosing life was not easy. Monica sacrificed a lot to raise Sebastian and had to leave her town to escape the shaming from her community. She moved to Bogota, the capital of Colombia, and lived in an apartment with two of her sisters and their children.

For about a decade, Monica worked hard as a single mom to care for her child. Many early mornings and late nights were spent to balance life as a mom, worker, and college student.

“I don’t have any regrets whatsoever at all because, look at my son, he’s thriving,” Monica says.

Monica would leave her apartment at 4 a.m. to take Sebastian to a babysitter. She would work until 5 p.m., oftentimes with no food to eat at work. The three-hour commutes during the day were followed by many chores at home, like washing cloth diapers and sterilizing baby bottles. Monica would go to bed around midnight, only to repeat the same routine the next day.

When Sebastian was 6 years old, Monica took university classes. This was no easy feat because that meant her Monday to Friday evenings were spent attending classes and doing homework. She would take Sebastian with her to her Saturday classes.

Even though her days were long and tiresome, Monica didn’t give up.

“A son becomes your motivation, becomes your drive,” Monica says. “He became my soul, my heart, the desire to succeed, the desire to be somebody.”

Light of faith in the darkest moment

Monica stopped attending masses when she first became pregnant. However, she later decided to go back to church and met a priest who treated her with grace and kindness. Her faith was rekindled and became her light during a difficult time.

“Thanks to my Catholic faith, my strong belief that the Blessed Mother has always walked next to me, holding me, supporting me, and showing me the way. She has been with me in my darkest moment,” Monica says. 

Monica’s faith has grounded her and helped her be the best mom she could be for her son.

“If it wasn’t for the fact that my faith is very rooted in me, I don’t think I wouldn’t be able to accomplish everything that I have accomplished with my son,” Monica says. “My son has been my biggest rock, so he’s my star … That’s my son like a star right there, guiding me and cheering me up.”

‘A baby does not stop you from reaching your dreams’

In 1999, Monica married and moved to the U.S. with her son, who was later adopted when he was 10 years old. After her husband passed away in 2011, Monica spent eight years traveling and decided to go back to college in spring 2019.

At 52 years old, Monica will be graduating from Fresno State University this May as magna cum laude with a bachelor’s in accounting. She’ll be taking her first of four Certified Public Accountant exams in July and hopes to work as an accountant in the future.

“A baby does not stop you from reaching your dreams,” Monica says. “You might have to take a detour, but if you want to do it, you will accomplish it. You will make that dream come true.”

Pro-life advocacy

Since 2019, Monica has been working as a sidewalk counselor for Right to Life of Central California. She prays in front of a nearby Planned Parenthood facility and spends a lot of her time talking to young women who are planning to get abortions. In her job as a counselor, Monica gets the opportunity to share her unplanned pregnancy story and see other women choose life.

Monica’s job as a pro-life advocate is met with death threats, screams, and people swearing at her. But still she finds her work fulfilling.

One of Monica’s most memorable moments serving as a sidewalk counselor was when she talked to three pregnant women in front of Planned Parenthood. After Monica shared her story and spent some time listening to them, all three women changed their minds and chose life. Their babies and families are thriving, and one of the ladies stays in touch with Monica.

“Even with all the incidents that have happened to us on the sidewalk, we just keep smiling. We keep fighting. We keep speaking up. We keep doing the job,” Monica says.

Pro-life advocates like Monica often encounter couples during their outreach who regret getting an abortion and sometimes struggle to forgive themselves for what they did many years ago. Monica encourages women who find themselves in unplanned pregnancies to talk to their families and find people who can encourage them and give them sound advice.

“What we don’t think about is the baby. We are giving life. We are blessed because we can give life,” Monica says. “It’s traumatic and it can be difficult, but talk to someone who can give you the best advice. Aborting a baby isn’t the best advice because you will regret it later.”

As Monica continues her pro-life advocacy, she looks to her son as her greatest pride.

“He has a good soul. He’s a great human being. I adore him. He’s my son, he’s the love of my life, he’s my everything,” Monica says.