Kari's Story: From Desperation to Hope

On a warm Tuesday morning, Kari came to Hope Clinic with an eagerness to find out

how far her pregnancy had progressed. Her urgency was palpable as she sought an

ultrasound to prepare for the upcoming abortion scheduled for Thursday morning.

Despite her determination to pursue an abortion procedure, prayer and pleading with

God persisted among all of the Hope Clinic staff during her appointment.

Kari was not only buried under the weight of an unplanned pregnancy, but she was

living in a desperate situation.

Her marriage had been tested in ways most couldn’t imagine. Just a year earlier, her

husband had returned from time away for work. But the joy of his return was short-lived.

Kari soon discovered he’d had an affair while away. Not long after, she miscarried a

baby they had just found out about. Then, one night, he told her he was stepping out for

an errand—and never came back. He took her car, left her to manage all the bills on her

own, and offered her no support.

Despite it all, Kari allowed him to come in and out of her life. But with time, she began to

realize the emotional and mental abuse she had endured for years. Through an online

trauma recovery course, she found validation and was able to put words to what she

had experienced in her marriage. She made the brave decision to leave the area, where

her support system of friends lived, and move to a paid-off home in a nearby county to

be closer to her family. It wasn’t ideal, but it was safe.

By the time Kari came to us, she had an abortion scheduled just two days away. A

family member had arranged the appointment in another state, and her family was

already planning a trip there. No one besides her family member, a close friend, and her

husband knew about the pregnancy.

She was exhausted—emotionally, spiritually, and physically. She has two sons, one with

a learning disability who needs regular therapy. She doesn’t have a job but dreams of

attending school for sonography and opening a “baby theater,” a place where parents

could come to see their unborn children through ultrasound. Her face lit up when she

talked about that dream. But when the conversation turned back to her broken marriage

and the “need for” an abortion, her tears returned.

Kari cried throughout much of our session. She shared how deeply her previous

abortion had affected her—how she was pressured into it and how the grief eventually

caught up with her. She said she knew God didn’t want her to go through with this one,

but she believed He would forgive her if she did. She felt torn, hopeless, and unworthy.

We talked with Kari about God’s heart for her. That He sees her. That He is not

surprised by this pregnancy. That He has a plan—a good one—for her and for this baby.

We showed her an ultrasound, and as soon as she saw her baby on the screen,

something shifted. Tears streamed down her face. She kept saying, “I can’t do this... I

can’t go through with it. I can’t do this to my baby. This could be my little girl.”

In that sacred moment, Kari’s heart changed. The image of her baby, alive and growing,

awakened something in her that fear had kept buried—hope.

She hugged our team multiple times and told us she planned to cancel her abortion

appointment. She said she was going to tell her family about the pregnancy. She

wanted to come back and continue walking this journey with us. “I want all my babies to

come here and meet you one day,” she told us through tears.

Kari isn’t walking an easy road. And she’s not walking it alone. She’s choosing life—not

just for her baby, but for herself. She is rediscovering her worth, her strength, and the

purpose God still has for her story.