Forty-seven years ago, Melissa Ohden was born alive in Sioux City, Iowa. The abortion failed. Today (Aug. 29) is her birthday, a day that wasn’t celebrated when she took her first breath.
She said, “So many people take for granted the fact that they have a birthday.”
Ohden said she celebrates that the Lord spared her life, but it doesn’t take away the fact that she suffered five days in the womb and that even after she was born she wasn’t celebrated.
“They didn’t see my inherent dignity and value,” Ohden said.
Ohden soaked in a toxic salt solution for five days before she was born. After her mom was induced into labor, a nurse rescued her and took her to the NICU — weighing only three pounds. She was adopted by two loving parents.
Ohden lived a normal life, until at age 14 she found out that she was a survivor of abortion.
She said, “I am not ashamed to say I didn’t want to be this person. It was a very lonely place to be.”
She said being a survivor bumps up against your identity.
“When we’re receiving the message from our culture that it’s a choice and a right, that is what causes such an identity crisis for us,” Ohden said.
But Ohden’s story doesn’t end there. Ohden later found out that her birth mother, Ruth, was never told that the baby had survived the abortion. Her birth mom didn’t know she was alive.
Melissa Ohden will be speaking at Night for Life, a pro-life event hosted by Piedmont Women’s Center. The event will take place on September 19, at 7:30 p.m., at Fellowship Greenville. Registration is free, but tickets are limited due to space. Individuals can reserve their spots here: https://piedmontwomenscenter.org/n4l/
Tami Howell, chief executive officer of Piedmont Women’s Center, said, “The purpose of Night for Life is to have our community of supporters and interested people hear incredible testimonies of lives changed, meet our incredible staff, choose to support us if they don’t already, and see what God has done through Piedmont Women’s Center this past year.”
Why should people attend this event?
Howell said, “As a believer, I strongly think that the issue of life is very sacred to God, and that He wants us to defend life at all stages. People should come to be inspired and challenged by what they see and hear about Piedmont Women’s Center, and to experience how God changes lives for generations to come through a decision of life for an unborn baby.”
Piedmont Women’s Center is a nonprofit organization that offers women free reproductive health care in the upstate of South Carolina. They have been serving Jesus through serving the community for 33 years.
More about Melissa Ohden’s story will be shared after the event.