A mother who resisted pressure from her fiancé and family to abort her son has recounted how a pregnancy centre provided her with the vital support and encouragement she needed to fight for her son. She now works at the same centre in the United States.

Faith Dalton was 21 when she first became pregnant. Despite being engaged, her fiancé pressured her to have an abortion, telling Faith that he would not marry her unless she aborted their child.

“My fiancé said, ‘This just isn’t the right time, we should abort this baby and try again after we’re married’”, Faith recalled.

“He gave me every reason to get this abortion. ‘Abort this baby or I’m gonna get full custody when this baby’s born’, ‘I can raise this baby; you can’t financially raise this baby’, ‘You’ll never see child support from me.’ Just all those ridiculous things they say when they’re ultimately really scared.”

Her family were also “less-than-encouraging… They were like, ‘Your life is ruined.’”

“Anything you need, we will help you get it”

Not knowing what a “pregnancy centre” was, Faith stumbled across the Pregnancy Resource Center of Rolla, in Missouri, where she found timely help and encouragement to resist pressure to abort her child.

Faith’s first contact with a pregnancy centre provided her with exactly the safe space she and her baby needed. “I remember specifically: ‘Anything you need, we will help you get it.

“It felt really conversational, it was just about what I was going through, a place where I could really just vent it out — all the harsh comments my family was making, all the fears that I had, you know, and ultimately what I really wanted, which is I wanted to keep my baby.”

Faith’s son, Noah, is now five years old, and he also has a younger sister – and they all share the same birthday, 4 August. Noah’s sister is the daughter of Faith’s husband, Gabe, the CEO and co-founder of the same pregnancy centre in Rolla where she now works as a counsellor providing support to pregnant mothers.

Reflecting on her own experience of abortion coercion and the advices she gives to mothers in a similar situation, Faith said: “I would just say that you’re already a mother, and the choices that you make are going to determine what kind of mother you are… And choosing to be a mother is not the end of your life; it is actually the beginning of being more than you ever thought possible.”

Faith had faith that life is a good thing

SPUC’s Michael Robinson, Executive Director (Public Affairs and Legal Services), said: “Birthdays remind us that it is a good thing to be alive; and what a wonderful birthday present Faith has had – twice! – in the beautiful gifts of a son and daughter.

“While it is a sad fact that pregnancy centres are needed in society to support mothers who find no encouragement elsewhere, such pro-life initiatives save lives and souls – and in the case of Faith, even helped her to meet the pro-life man of her dreams.

“Such safe havens of love and support embrace vulnerable mothers like Faith who, all too often, experience pressure or coercion to abort their babies – a reality that is disgracefully ignored by pro-abortion ideologues who would rather have pregnancy centres shut down than work to secure a safe society for mothers.

“Indeed, dozens of pregnancy centres have been attacked in the US in the wake of the repeal of Roe v. Wade – a shocking indictment of where Western society currently is. 

“Despite pro-abortion violence, Faith’s story is nevertheless a beacon of hope, having faith that life is of course a good thing and must be protected, for the sake of babies, mothers and the soul of society.”