Grammy Award-winning singer, Alicia Keys, has spoken out with a moving pro-life testimony, describing why she rejected abortion and chose life for her child. Reflecting on her pregnancy, Keys wrote: “How could I take away the potential for this beautiful child?”

“A powerful message that I should go on with the pregnancy”

In an interview, Ms Keys described how she was overwhelmed when discovering she was pregnant with her second child – and even considered an abortion. Both Ms Keys and her husband had embarked on busy career paths during this time.

Ms Keys was doubtful whether she could continue with her pregnancy. However, it was when she reflected on her unborn child’s potential and value that she decided to reject abortion and let her child live.

In her upcoming book, More Myself, Ms Key’s wrote: “I wasn’t ready for this, which was what I told the doctor. The music I was creating felt more important and urgent than just about everything. I'd have to put off its release for at least a year if I chose to have the baby.

"While I was struggling over my choice, I went into the studio one evening and began listening to ‘More Than We Know’. The lyrics are about how we're capable of so much more than we can ever imagine. My eyes filled with tears. How could I take away the potential for this beautiful child, this light that could touch others in ways I couldn't dream of. For me, the song was a powerful message that I should go on with the pregnancy.”

Ms Key’s son, Genesis was born in December 2014.

“A lack of support can push women towards abortion”

Eden Linton, SPUC Youth and Education Officer said: “Ms Keys should be commended for bravely sharing her personal testimony.

“However, her story highlights just how easily women can be pressured towards abortion. During her crisis pregnancy, Ms Keys had a successful career, financial stability and a promising future. The fact that someone in that secure position felt drawn to abortion, allows us to realise how easily women, facing severe instability, could also be drawn down the same path.

“It is not difficult to imagine how a woman facing a lack of support, financially, socially or emotionally, could be scared into having an abortion. This highlights how women do not necessarily always undergo abortion through ‘choice’, but often because of a severe lack of choice and support, which pushes them towards making a tragic choice that isn’t really theirs. “