Paul: In 1975, I was an 18 year old senior and Maureen a 14 year old freshmen. Suspecting that Maureen might be pregnant, she underwent a pregnancy test at an abortion clinic offering free and discreet pregnancy testing. Home pregnancy kits were non-existent.
When we were told the test was positive, we walked out to the elevators. Maureen started to cry for fear of telling her parents.
An abortion worker heard Maureen and coaxed us back in. We were told that Maureen’s parents need never find out, since abortion did not require parental consent. That pretty much clinched the deal.
Maureen: Having an abortion had nothing to do with not wanting to become a mother, even at 14. Like so many, I felt like I had no other choice.
The night before the abortion, I was rubbing my abdomen and talking to my soon-to-be dead child. I told my child that I wish I could keep him or her. Nevertheless, I regrettably underwent a procedure that brutally ended my precious baby’s life. I felt remorse and sadness for months.
Paul: Within a year, Maureen was pregnant again. The consensus in Maureen’s family was for her to abort, but Maureen refused. We married on Maureen’s 16th birthday and were blessed with a beautiful baby girl shortly thereafter.
Maureen: Soon after her birth, I was gazing at my daughter’s precious little face and began to cry. My tears were for the baby that I aborted. I knew that I had taken a life of something just as precious. I truly understood that I was a mother of two. One child was alive and the other dead.
Paul: Eventually, we confessed the abortion and were recipients of God’s love and mercy. Unfortunately, the after-effects of abortion, like depression and anxiety, still plagued Maureen off and on until she underwent post-abortive healing nearly 20 years after the abortion.
We’ve rallied around our other 4 children for so many years and did our best to give them a loving home and good upbringing. It is to Mary Catherine’s memory that we now rally around her in hope of eliminating the heinous act of abortion.
Though Mary Catherine lived only 8 short weeks, she will never be forgotten. For a child is a child no matter how small.
Paul & Maureen: That is why we’re Silent No More.