Today I have a very special interview to share with you. I recently had the very big honor of interviewing Abortion Survivor and International Pro-Life Speaker Melissa Ohden. Now many of you may already know Melissa and her work in the Pro-Life cause, but if you don’t you are in for a wonderful story that you won’t ever forget! Her story will absolutely amaze you! And for those of you that are familiar with her story I hope that you will find out some new things about her and be able to catch up on some of the work that Melissa has been involved in recently. 

Melissa is a very special lady indeed she is the survivor of a saline infusion abortion. Now if you are like me up until just a few months ago I didn't even know that there was such a thing as an abortion survivor, even with me being pro-life my entire life. I never knew that there were actually babies that survive the abortion procedures. It’s hard to say but I thought that the abortionists made absolutely sure that there was no way that the baby survived. But surprisingly and thankfully there are those who have survived the abortion attempts on their lives, although they are few and sadly far between, and Melissa is one of those rare children. This amazing woman now travels around the world telling her story and educating others about abortion from a perspective that is very powerful and not often heard, that of the child. She is being a voice for all of the other children who are victims of abortions. Melissa truly is a voice for the voiceless.

Melissa it is such a pleasure to have you here with me today! Thank you so much for being a guest here on Voice for Hope!

Your story is truly so powerful when first heard it I was so moved by it. It touched me very deeply and I think anyone that hears you speak is forever changed.

But for those that haven't heard your amazing story would you please tell us about yourself.

If someone was to pass me along the street today, they would never guess that thirty-five years ago, I was aborted unsuccessfully and survived. On the outside, I look like your typical working mom-wife, incredibly busy with home and community kind of woman. But on the inside, I’m a woman who survived what most people could never understand, who has come to thrive in the face of it, and has ultimately overcame my own emotional and spiritual struggles related to being an abortion survivor and living in a culture that has embraced the culture of death for far too long, and has now been blessed to overcome all of it and boldly stand up and speak out for the unborn and all who are affected by abortion.

My husband, Ryan, and I live in Sioux City, Iowa, with our four-year-old daughter, Olivia. Non-coincidentally (because nothing in my life is a coincidence, it’s a God-incidence), we live in the very same city where my biological mother had her abortion at St. Luke’s Hospital in 1977. I didn't grow up in Sioux City.  I grew up in a small town about an hour and a half away from here and moved here in 2002 to finish my Master’s degree in Social Work. Truly, I had no idea how coming back here was just all part of the healing process for me and a really integral point of me coming forward publicly as a survivor. 

I grew up always knowing that I was adopted....from my smallest age, I can remember always knowing and feeling very loved. Not only by my adoptive parents but by my biological parents. I knew that they loved me so very much that they had made an adoption plan for me when they weren’t in a position to care for me. I didn’t feel unloved or unworthy because of that....on the contrary, it made me feel very loved and worthy to have that  plan made. When I was 14 years old, however, that all changed. My world, as I knew it, came crashing down. The truth about me being an abortion survivor came to light, and I was devastated. 

The medical records that I obtained in 2007 after years and years of trying to obtain them, stated that my birth mother thought that she was less than five months pregnant when she went in for the abortion in August of 1977. However, the fact that I lived after the abortion failed, and I weighed a little less than three pounds (I was 2 lbs. 14 oz.), points to the fact that she was much further along then what she realized. In those same medical records, in fact, one of the first notations by a doctor was that I looked like I was about 31 weeks when I survived.

My mother was an unmarried college student when she underwent the saline infusion abortion that was meant to end my life. This type of abortion procedure is not done anymore, but was a routine abortion procedure back then. Time and time again, I meet nurses and sometimes even doctors who recall the parts that they played in saline infusions and the children like me that they delivered who were sometimes blackened from the saline solution, sometimes were born alive like me, sometimes were “successfully aborted” and born dead. Their remembrances of these children wound me.

The saline infusion abortion actually involved injecting a toxic salt solution into the amniotic fluid surrounding the pre-born baby in the womb. The intent of that salt solution was to scald the child to death from the outside in...hence, those medical professionals’ memories of the blackened children. From all accounts, it was a terribly horrific procedure for a child to be subjected to, being burned alive in the womb. Likewise, I would believe it to be an incredibly horrific procedure for the woman to endure, feeling her child thrashing about in the womb, as they are being killed. This thrashing about is actually discussed in medical journals and such when reviewing this procedure.

So, here the toxic salt solution was delivered and I soaked in it for five days. The saline infusion typically takes place over 72 hours, but somehow, my mother’s abortion took place over a long period of time. I was delivered on the fifth day of the procedure, and from what I've been told by my adoptive family, who received their information from the social worker who handled my adoption, the medical professionals initially believed that the abortion succeeded in ending my life. Their words were “we laid her aside, because we didn't believe she would live.” I was then cast aside to be disposed of later. 

By the grace of God that day, I didn't suffer the same fate as so many of the millions of other children subjected to the saline infusion.  Because that day, as a nurse was tending to my birth mother after the abortion, she heard the weak grunting noises and upon inspection saw the tiny movements that I was making there in the hospital room, and they realized that the abortion had not succeeded in ending my life. Thankfully, medical intervention was then initiated that sustained my life.

In addition to weighing a little less than three pounds, I suffered from severe respiratory and liver problems, seizures....I required multiple blood transfusions, and I was too weak to suck from a bottle, so I was fed through IV lines in my head. I was transferred to a large hospital across the state where I then was in the NICU for three months. 

Although the doctors initially didn't believe that I would continue to live for very long, I gained enough weight and really quite quickly overcame the obstacles that I was facing. I am one of the most blessed people in the world to have survived the abortion and then be healed and have no long-term health consequences as a result.

That is wonderful! Thank God that you are completely healthy now and have no health problems or after effects of the abortion that is nothing short of miraculous! I have seen and heard about a few other abortion survivors but not many maybe five or so that I have read about. Do you know approximately how many abortion survivors there are? And all the other survivors that I have heard about have had other physical or health problems because of the abortions they survived. It’s truly amazing!

Miracles do indeed happen everyday, don’t they?! I live in this skin, and honestly, there are some days where I am just as awe-struck as everyone else by what has happened in my life. I truly believe my gift of not only survival but health was no accident. It not only enables me to do this work, but it also communicates so clearly to people that this is what all of the other children would be like if only they had the chance to live. I wasn't just a clump of tissue or a blob of cells, I was ME when I was aborted...just me at a different stage of development. 

Since I came forward in 2007, I have regularly heard from other abortion survivors, and the overwhelming response is, “I thought I was the only one!” I felt that way for a number of years, too, until I stumbled across Gianna Jessen’s story in 1997. It changed my life to find out that there was someone else out there who could relate to what it’s like to be a survivor, and it gave me the strength I needed to eventually come forward.

I know of a little less than 100 other survivors, most from the U.S., but some from Canada, Australia, Europe, and Africa. Many of those survivors who are public with their stories have been affected long-term by the abortions they survived. What I've found in my work, however, is that there is a larger majority of those who, like me, do not have long term health issues as a result. Many of these survivors have lived their lives without ever telling anyone at all or at least anyone outside of their immediate family/husband or wife about being a survivor. I can understand that....I knew that I could live a “normal” life outside of the public eye, but I couldn't stand the thought of some day standing before God and saying, “I’m so sorry that I never felt strong enough, able enough, to do what you saved my life for.” God’s calling on my life was so strong that I knew that I had a particular purpose. People can visit www.theabortionsurvivors.com to read more about some of the other survivors who are public, even those who aren't but just want to share their stories, and also read more about the prevalence of survivors.

You said that you were born at St. Luke’s Hospital. Now is that a religious affiliated hospital? I have heard of other "religiously" affiliated hospitals recently doing abortions and just blows my mind. I never would have thought about hospitals performing abortions especially hospitals that are suppose to be religiously affiliated with churches.

St. Luke’s was not a Catholic hospital, but I think what is hard for many to understand, and certainly took me a long time to understand, was that abortions take place in hospitals.  Particularly when it comes to late term abortions, many people want to think that they are highly restricted and only occur for those “exceptions” like rape, incest, fetal abnormality or life of the mother. What people don’t realize is that the only restriction to late term abortion in the U.S. is location. Late term abortions take place in hospitals, by and large. For years I couldn't wrap my brain around how a facility that is supposed to be saving lives was actually where lives were being ended. 

It's unbelievable. It should be against everything that a doctor and hospital stand for to have anything to do with abortion. They are suppose to be in the profession of saving lives and helping people not take lives and leaving the mother's scarred for life, it's terrible.

You were adopted by a wonderful family can you tell about them and did they take you home from the hospital when you were released or did foster care place you in their home later on?

When I was released from the NICU at approximately three months, I was delivered directly to my family.  As my mother recalls, although they were so pleased to have me with them, they were rather scared that they would drop me because although I weighed five pounds then, I was still tiny and fragile. The good news is, they never dropped me! Or so I think. J

What was it like being adopted growing up?

My parents are amazing. I would not be the person that I am today without them. They have loved and supported me every single moment of my life. And adoption was just a normal part of our family and our lives. I have known ever since I can remember that I was adopted. Our parents, (and I say, “our,” because I have an older sister who is also adopted and is four years older than I am), did a great job of making it known to us even as young children that we were adopted but loved. Loved by them and by our biological parents who made adoption plans for us when they were in the position that they couldn't care for us.

Truly, adoption was so normal in our family that when our parents finally became pregnant after fifteen years of infertility, we couldn't understand why they did! Why would you want to have a biological child when you could adopt another amazing child like us?! We used to joke with my brother that our parents “had” him but CHOSE us!

Can you tell us how you found out that you were the survivor of an abortion?

I was fourteen when I found out that I was an abortion survivor. My parents never intended for me to find out, but when I was fourteen the truth came to light through my older sister’s own unplanned pregnancy. I can only imagine how she must have felt as a teenager facing those life circumstances, but I am so grateful that despite her own fears and worries, she told our parents about her pregnancy, because it was then that our parents decided to tell her the truth about my life, my survival.

It was 21 years ago, on a cool, Fall night, that my sister alluded to the fact that there was something that I didn't know about my life and my family. That very same night, my mother uttered the words that forever changed my life and now the world: “Your mother had an abortion during her pregnancy with you and you survived it.”

I can’t even image what that must have been like for you. Did you have emotional problems after you found out about the abortion, did you have to go to therapy? How did you deal with it?

I was blessed with a wonderfully supportive family, friends, church and school, which certainly helped me work through the reality of my life. Yet I still struggled. As a teen, I battled an eating disorder, alcohol abuse and made my fair share of poor decisions when it came to dating. Although this is common for many teens, I knew where my problems were rooted. I was trying so desperately to avoid feeling the pain that I did, and wanted to run away from myself and all that was so hard.

Ultimately, it was my faith and just good, old fashioned maturity that saved me from myself and helped me on the path to healing. Obtaining my Master’s in Social Work and being a therapist helped me in continuing to heal from my own experiences.

I have heard that some survivors have nightmares that they think might have been related to when they were aborted. Have you ever had any nightmares or anything like that?

I went through years of insomnia and nightmares that focused on me being powerless and overwhelmed. I faced a lot of phobias during those years, too, which I have also been blessed to overcome.

Now you like many other adopted children did search for your biological parents. I was wondering did you ever want to search for them as you were growing up before you found out about your birth? Or did that happen more after you found out the truth?

I had always had an interest in searching for my birth family, but learning about the abortion attempt definitely added to that interest. I wanted to know the truth about why it happened, but more importantly, I wanted them to know that I knew about the abortion and I had forgiven them for it and loved them in spite of it.

Could you tell us a little about your search for your biological parents?

The journey of looking for and finding my birth family is rather long and complicated, but the brief story is that I found my birth parents back in 2007 when I obtained my medical records (which I keep a copy of on my website so that people can freely read about the abortion procedure). I sent my father a letter and never heard back from him. Sadly, my father died about six months after I contacted him. Although it has been very difficult to have lost him, in his passing, he gave me the gift of his family. They had never known about the abortion or my survival and adoption. It was by finding the letter that I had sent him that they learned his great secret. I now have a relationship with my grandfather and great aunt, which I am so thankful for.

I have never found my biological mother, because she married someone else after the abortion took place, and I know only her maiden name. Since I couldn't find her, but had found her parents, my maternal grandparents, I reached out to them asking for them to contact her on my behalf. I never expected to hear back from them, but I did, within just a few days. We exchanged pictures and letters, but 2007 is the last that I've heard from them. I pray for my family, including my mother, that we all be healed from the ripple effect of that abortion 35 years ago, and I believe in my heart that my mother knows that I’m alive and well, despite the fact that my grandparents stated that they were estranged from her and therefore wouldn't be contacting her for me. 

Can you tell us about your life now?

I am very, very blessed. I married my high school crush, Ryan, back in 2005. I have to say crush, because we weren't high school sweethearts….I was madly in love with him and he didn't know that I existed! Ha.  We became friends after high school and were friends for years before we started dating. I couldn't do this without Ryan. He is the most understanding, supportive husband and father. Olivia, our passionate little pro-lifer, is 4. She’s amazing. I've never met a child like her before! For her fourth birthday, she wanted a full set of fetal models, since all she has are the littlest ones.

How did you begin to start speaking about what happened to you and get involved in the Pro-Life cause?

I spent years healing, working to obtain my medical records and find my biological family before coming forward, and it all came together in just a matter of months in 2007. The first time that I spoke publicly in years was in 2007 at a Capitol Hill briefing for Feminists for Life of America, who I was a College Outreach Speaker with from 2007-2009. I knew that speaking and being involved in activism was what I was called to do, but I’ll be honest….for years, I was fearful of coming forward. Now, I can’t imagine doing anything else BUT this.

What is it like to do what you do now speaking all over the world? How many different countries have you spoken in now?

Since 2007, I have spoken all across the U.S., Canada, and Australia.  I truly enjoy what I do, and I feel incredibly grateful to not just be working to make a difference but to also come into contact with some really amazing people---fellow survivors, pro-lifers. I try to give all that I can to the cause for life, but I certainly receive a lot in return, too.

People like to say that abortion is a social issue or a political issue and truthfully a lot of people act like it’s nothing more than a personal opinion now a days, but it’s really a human right’s issue I believe personally. What do you think about that and how would you describe abortion to others being the survivor of one?

In a world that often talks about abortion as a choice and a right, I always have to ask where my choice and my right was 35 years ago when I was aborted. Where are the choices and rights of the thousands of girls who are aborted every day? It’s so easy to talk about choice and rights until you recognize that if it is just a choice and it is a right, then anyone else could have been aborted just like me.

What do you say to those people that ask you…but what about the exceptions…what about rape and incest or the life of the mother, what about abortion in those situations?

I believe that most of the time, the support for exceptions comes from a very well-intentioned place in people’s hearts…they don’t want to see women suffer or be traumatized, they can’t bear to think of children being in pain or abused, etc. 

Yet who are we to decide such things? Who we to decide who should live and who should die? Should circumstance or situation dictate whether the child should live?

Women’s own experiences and research tell us that abortion isn’t the answer in the “hard cases.” Abortion doesn't undo trauma like rape and incest, it often induces more problems. We know that for many women, their child has brought them healing in the midst of such difficulties.

Have you seen the movie October Baby? It is a fictional story I know but it is loosely based on the life of abortion survivor Gianna Jessen. I was wondering if you had seen it, and if so what did you think about it?

I have seen October Baby many times, and still cry every time that I watch it. It’s a wonderful movie and it was beautifully done. I have been very pleased with how people have responded to the film overall, and how many people have been touched by it, especially post-abortive men and women and other abortion survivors. The message of forgiveness is powerful.

You recently did an ad for the Susan B. Anthony List that tells of Barak Obama’s extreme stance on abortion. It has been seen on TV during the Democratic National Convention and during the debate and it’s been viewed over 345 thousand times on Youtube. Can you share with us a little about that?

The SBA List ad has now been viewed well over 400,000 times on YouTube and aired in Missouri, Ohio, Virginia, and Florida, in addition to being aired in the Charlotte area during the Democratic National Convention and in the Denver area during the Presidential debate there.

I really had no idea what the impact of the ad was going to be in terms of the election and in educating people about abortion, survivors, and President Obama’s voting history when it comes to lives like mine, but I knew that I was called to do it. So many people are uneducated about the issue, and it was important to me that they become educated and be motivated to vote in this election. 

For those that haven't had a chance to see the ad you can view it below. And since that ad was released the Women Speak Out PAC, the super PAC of the national pro-life Susan B. Anthony List has also released another ad featuring Melissa and Jill Stanek on Obama's stance on abortion. Please watch both of these wonderful ads and share them with all your family and friends and please post them on all your social networking sites. These ads need to be seen by as many people as possible before the election!






You have a beautiful family and your daughter Olivia is so cute! Has she asked you any questions about why you do what you do? I have seen her with you at some of the speeches you have given and I was wondering if she was old enough to start asking questions about it yet?

Our daughter, Olivia, is four, and she is the most amazingly beautiful child, inside and out. She’s been raised in the movement, and certainly, we live our pro-life beliefs, so she is very knowledgeable and is kind of a staple at events with me. If she had her way, she would be at every event!

She has recently started asking more questions, but up until now, her description of my work is that “Mommy talks about ‘bortion’ and saves babies.” If you ask her about abortion, she states that “it’s bad because every baby should live and every baby deserves a family.” 

She not only spends a lot of time with me doing pro-life work, but she spends a lot of time pretending to give her own speeches and interviews, and is pretty well known for being the girl who wanted a full set of fetal models for her fourth birthday!

That is wonderful! God bless her heart I think that is awesome! A possible future pro-life speaker in the making! 

Is there any other news of upcoming things that you are going to be involved in or anything else that you would like to share?  

As we approach the solemn 40^th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, there’s lots going on that I will be involved in and working on. I will be speaking at the Pro-Life Youth Rally with a number of other pro-life leaders. I will also be speaking at the Cardinal O’Connor Conference there. There is the likelihood that I will have some BIG news to share about the March for Life and survivors’ presence there soon.

I am working on getting my first book, From Surviving to Thriving the Journey in Overcoming published. I hope to have it out in the next six months. I will also be starting on an anthology of the lives and stories of abortion survivors, which we hope to get published in 12-18 months. 

I am currently working on plans to further build the ministry of The Abortion Survivors Network and establish both a healing ministry and further enhance the relationship building and support for survivors.  There are plans to create a film that features stories of those survivors who wish to share their story publicly.

I’m always involved in something J.  The Voice of John is a wonderful pro-life film coming out in November that I would encourage people to watch. I am included in that film along with many others.

That is wonderful! Congratulations on all of your upcoming projects! I can't wait to read the books and see the new films. You can learn more about Melissa and find out where she is going to be speaking next and keep up with her upcoming projects at her website http://www.melissaohden.com/ . You can also follow her on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/melissaohdenfan and Twitter https://twitter.com/melissaohden. And please be sure to visit the Abortion Survivors website at www.theabortionsurvivors.com to read about other survivors and learn more about them.

Melissa I want to thank you again for being my guest here at Voice for Hope and for taking the time out of your extremely busy schedule to do this interview. It was truly an honor to have you here. Keep telling your story and changing hearts and minds and saving lives by being a voice for the voiceless! God bless you and your beautiful family. You are inspiration and beautiful reminder that all life is precious!