Teen mom chose life through adoption, engaged in humanitarian work during pregnancy, and now helps young mothers who are facing unplanned pregnancies.

At seven and a half weeks pregnant, Brylee found herself alone inside Planned Parenthood for an abortion. She saw her little daughter on the ultrasound screen, and the two hours she spent at the clinic filled her with dread and anxiety.

“I was overwhelmed with so many emotions, and I didn’t want to do it. But I felt like I had to,” Brylee recalls.

Holding on to her convictions

Brylee was 18 years old, fresh out of high school, when she found out she was pregnant. She was aimless at the time and had no clue what she was going to do with her life. Brylee was ashamed of being a teen mom, and her long-term boyfriend believed abortion would be the best option. 

Unsure of what to do, Brylee decided to schedule an abortion appointment at Planned Parenthood.

“When I found out I was pregnant, I was really scared. I didn’t know what to do,” Brylee says. “It was just not me being ready for that responsibility. I’m so young, and I don’t know what my purpose is in life.”

Even before going to Planned Parenthood, Brylee knew she was making the wrong choice. A pro-life protester outside the facility begged Brylee to not go through with her appointment, urging her to save her baby.

“I felt like I had to go in there to test my own conviction,” Brylee recalls.

After two hours at the clinic, Brylee was sent to a room where Planned Parenthood staff gave women mifepristone to start the abortion process. The doctor kept telling Brylee she wasn’t ready to be a mom, that she would ruin her future by keeping her baby. 

But Brylee had faith that there would be a way to do both — to choose life for her baby and still pursue her dreams.

“It was very demeaning. What do you mean, I can’t do it? Of course, I can do it,” Brylee says. “That’s the side of modern feminism — the idea that young women can’t have children and still be successful. That’s incredibly offensive.”

Brylee knew in her heart that terminating her pregnancy was wrong. She didn’t want to move forward with her abortion, so she placed the pill in the side of her mouth and threw it out in a bathroom.

Choosing adoption ‘was a completely selfless act’

As a single teen mom, Brylee knew she couldn’t go through her pregnancy alone. She sought help and moved to San Diego when she was five months along. Brylee received housing and maternity support through Lamb of God Maternity Home, a ministry that helps women facing unplanned pregnancies and are considering adoption.

Meeting her daughter’s adoptive parents was a surreal experience. Brylee had just arrived at the maternity home, and she knew the adoptive parents were the right ones for her daughter the moment she met them.

“It was like love at first sight,” Brylee remembers. “I was like, this is my couple. These are the parents that my daughter belongs with.”

The adoptive parents were extremely supportive of Brylee. They were able to build a relationship with each other as Brylee proceeded with the open adoption.

“I do everything for my daughter,” Brylee says. “Adoption was never the decision that I would have chosen to make for me, but I had to make that decision for her. It was a completely selfless act.”

Finding her purpose through humanitarian work

Shortly after moving to San Diego, Brylee worked hard to invest in her future and served alongside surgeons in Mexico. She visited Mexico twice a month from when she was five to eight months pregnant, where she and the surgeons provided free cataract removals.

Medicine was not in the cards for Brylee, but engaging in medical humanitarian work empowered her to seek more opportunities in her life to do something meaningful and fulfilling.

“I feel like that really helped me because it gave me a purpose. It helps you to be grateful for what you do have,” Brylee says.

After three months of service, Brylee came back to San Diego where she gave birth to her daughter, Marleigh, exactly two days after she turned 19 years old. It was one of the hardest days of Brylee’s life, but she knew that choosing adoption for her daughter was the best option. Brylee still gets to see her daughter and continues to be involved in Marleigh’s life.

“It was this bittersweet feeling of we had grown to love each other so much,” Brylee says. “From the adoptive parents’ side, they explained to me like they didn’t understand how they could be taking someone’s baby who they loved so much. They were excited for her, but they were also really grieving for me.”

A month after giving birth, Brylee continued her humanitarian work in Mexico. This resulted in her applying at the University of Utah, where she is now a pre-med biochemistry student. Brylee aspires to use her education to work in the medical field, caring for both moms and their babies.

Brylee is also working as a weekend manager for Lamb of God in Salt Lake City, where she counsels women like her who are experiencing unplanned pregnancies.

“I’m actually glad that I did go to Planned Parenthood because I learned a lot from that experience,” Brylee says. “Instead of feeling guilty about finding myself in that position, I just want to use that for understanding why other women find themselves in this position and how we can get them out of it.”

Brylee encourages women to persevere if they find themselves facing an unplanned pregnancy. She says that choosing life isn’t easy, but it is the right choice.

“I just want to give my daughter that example of what a strong woman, a strong mother, can do and can be, even through the adversity of life, because I want her to grow up knowing that I can get through anything,” Brylee says. “She came into my life at the perfect time because I was going down a path and she’s my motivation.”