Text of Oral Testimony given before the Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee of the Food and Drug Administration at its Public Meeting of July 19, 1996.

I would never have thought that I'd be sitting here with "Jane Roe" and "Mary Doe," the two people that in 1973 we thought were responsible for this disaster of abortion in our country.

I had an abortion when I was a single mother and my daughter was 2 years old. I would do it again. But you know the Greek myths when you kill a relative you are pursued by furies? For months, it was as if baby furies were pursuing me.

I am in favor of the parental notification bill because of the irreparable damage I experienced due to the decisions I made as a minor. When I was 17 years old, I determined that I was mature enough to make my own decisions, and didn’t need my parents’ advice on how to live my life.

We confess that we are sometimes weary of living in a world where right is called wrong and wrong is called right.

Shortly after his conversion to Christ in 1784, British parliamentarian William Wilberforce began his battle for the black man’s freedom.

If Roe v. Wade is reversed by the Supreme Court, abortion will still be widely available in America, since many states will legalize it immediately. 

Even in this world I’m optimistic about the opportunity to impact and influence all kinds of people. I’ve seen joy and peace in the lives of many women who’ve had an experience of forgiveness after their abortions and many women who, as a result of intervention, spared the lives of their children. 

When one of my students in an ethics class at Multnomah Bible College paraphrased Scripture on the subject of children, it inspired me to do the same. One of these statements is from God (Psalm 128:3-5), the others from a godless world. Can you choose which?