A 17-year-old Rwandan woman gave birth to a daughter just one day after a pro-life organization offered her the resources to cancel her abortion.
Human Life International Rwanda, a nonprofit that teaches high school students in the country about the benefits of abstinence and educates them on the dangers of abortion and some contraceptives, ministered to the girl named Laurence, who faced with an unplanned pregnancy. Laurence reportedly was pressured by the baby’s father to abort her daughter, but she wanted to keep her baby.
When she approached Human Life International staff with her predicament after seeing one of their presentations in her school, they spoke to Laurence about her unborn daughter and ensured that she would have help with medical bills, baby supplies and navigating a leave of absence from school.
Dr. Brian Clowes, the ministry’s director of education and research, said her story is an example of the many young women in African countries such as Rwanda who have been led to believe that abortion is their only way out.
“We are strongly reminded of the biblical wisdom of Proverbs 18:17, which says, ‘He who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him,'” he said. “This is the task of all of the pro-life groups all over the world: to offer life-affirming options that the groups marketing abortion deliberately do not mention.”
Aloys Ndengeye, director of Human Life International Rwanda, said Laurence “is now happy being a mother, and she is thankful to Human Life International for saving her baby, a girl she named Keilla. Saving a life which was set for slaughter — it is the greatest treasure.”
The ministry and pro-life groups in the country continue to face opposition from the Biden administration and other outside groups. Those promoting abortion as “health care” in Rwanda include the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the dissident Catholics for Choice, the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), UNICEF, Center for Reproductive Rights, Safe Abortion Action Fund, and International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF).
The ministry’s chapter in the nearby country of Malawi made headlines last fall after a group of school students reportedly chased away representatives of an international Planned Parenthood affiliate and burned the boxes of contraceptives they provided.
–Dwight Widaman | Metro Voice