humanlifereview.com
2026-09-18
It was a sunny spring day in Oklahoma, the kind of April Saturday that beats down on you, reminding you that summer is just around the corner. Elizabeth, followed by her boyfriend, stepped out of the car and looked up at the unassuming blue sign above her: Planned Parenthood.
In the waiting room, she kept her eyes fixed on her lap. No one knew she was here: not her mom, not her dad, not her best friends. Only her boyfriend, who was splitting the cost with her.
She wished the Planned Parenthood staff didn't know she was there either, that she could shut her eyes and banish the image of herself sitting on a hard plastic chair, eyes lowered, waiting to get an abortion.
Elizabeth told herself that having this abortion was the right thing, that it wouldn't bother her. As she was led back through the labyrinthian clinic to undergo the procedure, she thought, It's just a clump of cells. It's not a baby yet. There was something in her subconscious that disagreed. But that something felt very, very far away.