Today (Wednesday, April 27), a reporter asked me and my family why we were at the Virginia March for Life. I didn’t have much to say then, but now that I have had time to reflect, I would like to share my story.
Of course, I have a pro-life story. I’m alive! But being the third child of a member of Feminists For Life doesn’t seem as remarkable as the stories in my life that aren’t mine to tell.
My son is the result of a pro-life story that started about 27 years ago when his mother chose life. My husband’s mother, unmarried, in medical school, chose life for her son. She chose to raise him even though it would be hard, even though the situation was not ideal, even though she had no money and a lot of student debt.
She had every reason to make a different choice, but she chose life. My son would not exist today if she had not chosen to give my husband life. She is now a very happy grandmother.
Because of what my husband learned from his mother, he told me that he wanted a good foundation for us before we had children. We had our son after we were married and had moved into our first house. I am raising my year-old son, Benjamin, as his mother, at home, because my husband made responsible choices, and because he learned from his mother’s story.
My niece is a fantastic 12-year-old girl. She is a pro-life story, too. She was born to her mother at 20 years old, while she was unmarried and in college. My brother, her father, didn’t have a job. But they chose life. My brother stepped up, like a man, and worked any job he could to support them.
They got married. Eventually they had two more children, and they are doing well today. They came to the march with me. As her godmother and her aunt, I could not imagine my life without my niece. She is the best and smartest kid I know.
Pro-life stories like ours happen every day. They are ordinary people making extraordinary sacrifices for love and for life. A choice for life is a choice for joy.
We march today to tell men and women who aren’t sure, who are scared and feel alone, that it gets better. Choose life. Choose love. Choose joy.
Laura Belchak is a member of St. Rose of Lima and the Korean Martyrs Parishes, Hampton.