Vanessa’s daughter, Ameera, would not be celebrating her second birthday in February if not for the abortion pill reversal. Known to have been able to save 64-68% of pregnancies, the treatment successfully reversed the abortion that Vanessa was coerced into getting when she was a junior in college.

‘HE SAID THE ONLY OPTION WE HAD WAS ABORTION’

Vanessa had just celebrated her 22nd birthday when she found out she was pregnant. Even though her pregnancy was unplanned, she felt excited about becoming a mom. But her then-boyfriend of five years didn’t feel happy about the pregnancy.

“We were not exactly ready, but I was very excited. When I told my ex, he said the only option we had was abortion,” Vanessa recalls.

Despite wanting to keep the baby, Vanessa was coerced by her then-boyfriend and his family to get an abortion, whom she was living with at the time. Her then-boyfriend would use different tactics to pressure her to go to the abortion clinic.

“He would start getting in my head, and I felt a little trapped at first … I was just scared. I didn’t know what else to do because he was all I knew for five years. I was very connected with his family, but I felt trapped and didn’t know what to do. I felt alone when everyone in the household was against me, but everyone else in their family was having babies,” Vanessa says.

Vanessa’s then-boyfriend was adamant about going with her to Planned Parenthood. He wanted to make sure she would take the first abortion pill. The staff waited to give Vanessa the ultrasound photo until after she had taken the pill because they thought it would have made her too emotional to go forward with the abortion.

“They let me keep the picture of the ultrasound. My ex wanted to throw it away, but I kept it. They wouldn’t play the heartbeat,” Vanessa recalls.

A LIFE SAVED

Students for Life of America featured Vanessa’s story on YouTube as part of their Almost Aborted campaign.

After taking the first pill, Vanessa regretted her decision and started to panic.

“I couldn’t live with myself. I was a mess,” Vanessa says.

When her then-boyfriend went to work, Vanessa did some online research and found out she could save her daughter’s life if she went through the abortion pill reversal within 24 hours. She was connected to Hope Clinic for Women where she received a free ultrasound and got to hear her daughter’s heartbeat.

Vanessa started the reversal treatment that day with the help of the clinic, which saved her baby. She had to take progesterone pills as part of the treatment and do weekly ultrasounds to monitor her baby’s health.

By the time Vanessa was 18 weeks along, she got a restraining order on her then-boyfriend so he would stop pressuring her to get an abortion.

“He would say things like, he was going to end his life — just really getting to my head. He would make calls to Planned Parenthood saying, since I was 18 weeks at the time, that there would only be one or two procedures,” Vanessa recalls.

Once the restraining order was in place, Vanessa moved to a different state to start a new life with her baby.

“I felt so free and I could finally have her,” Vanessa says.

Vanessa went back to college when her daughter was eight months old, thanks to a program at her university that helps pay for the tuition of student-moms. The program also provides free daycare. Vanessa uses her breaks wisely to get her schoolwork done, and she works part time on days she doesn’t have classes.

All of her hard work is coming to fruition as she graduates with her degree in sociology and social work this spring. She is currently a registered behavioral therapist and works with autistic adults, but she is considering going into counseling in the future.

“I can’t really imagine how life was before being a mom, but it has impacted me. I’ve grown a lot. I have an amazing support system out here. I finally found myself and the things I want to do in life, so that goes along with motivation.”

Vanessa’s encouragement to those facing an unplanned pregnancy:

“My encouragement would be to basically know all your resources, especially those who took the first abortion pill. There’s still a chance to save your baby. It’s not the easiest thing, but there are people who are here to support you

Written by Loren Ward.

Writer’s Note: A pseudonym was used to protect Vanessa and her daughter. Learn more about the abortion pill reversal here.