"It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish" - Mother Teresa

My name is Sarah Williamson, and I am going to tell you how I justified abortion in just nine months. All it took was nine months to understand the biggest controversial debate in America. Nine months to justify abortion.

You see, anyone can declare themselves "pro-life" or "pro-choice." The decision is yours, based on every rationalized and logical explanation of your idea of life and mere existence. You see, I officially declared myself "pro-life." I had read all of the statistics; I had written numerous high school papers arguing against abortion; I had, on many occasions, defended the unborn life. But, you see, I had never been faced with the decision to have to choose or to not have to choose abortion... not until May 2014, when I, a 17-year-old, became pregnant. It was almost instant– that moment that I rationalized abortion. I had defended the unborn life, at every stage of its existence, and now, I was logically rationalizing in my head how the unborn was a fetus–a "blob" no bigger than my smallest fingertip. This was not life; it was a formation of my own mistake.

Yet three months later, I was still pregnant. I denied my unborn child. I regretted my unborn child. And three months later, I still was not defending my unborn child. That is the ugly truth. However, the only way to justify abortion is by starting with the ugly, utter truth. At least, it be your own truth–my truth. The truth was, I did not want this baby. I wanted the picture-perfect life that I had planned for myself since I was in my first years of high school. I wanted it to be all about me. At times, I blamed God for allowing me to create another life when I was not even responsible enough over my own life. That is what "pro-choice" people do–they blame everyone and everything but themselves. The ugly truth was, God was not punishing me, and He certainly was not punishing the seed He Himself sewed into my womb. It was not the fault of some failed birth control or the sex education I did not receive as a student. There was no one to be blamed. The only way to justify abortion is to deny the works of a greater being. Even the atheists have to believe in something greater than themselves. Friedrich Nietzsche, a well-known philosopher who lacked a belief in God, quoted: "That which does not kill us makes us stronger." When you justify abortion, you are killing off a part of your own self. If that which does not kill makes you stronger, then choosing not to abort is choosing to enhance your life.

I chose life. At 17 years old, I chose the life inside of me to live. It was hard; however, it was never going to be easy. I said yes to the life of a baby boy. When that baby boy was born, I was not the first to hold him. I was not the second to hold him, or the third, or the fourth, or even the fifth. I was the last person to hold my now physical, touchable son. I had spent ninemonths justifying abortion. After nine months, I realized that abortion cannot be justified. Not logically, not rationally, not emotionally and not legally.

I spent nine months justifying the murder of something that I thought I could never want. But God gave me two roads, "and I took the one less traveled by." Today, there is nothing more in this world that I love more than my son. Today, my biggest fear is losing the one thing that I thought would be so easy to let go of. My son is that same blob that I considered illegitimate. My son is proof that the unborn deserve to live. My son is proof that even through your struggles, you can come out on top.

Today, I am a college student studying for law school. Today, I have everything that I need, and my son has everything that he needs...and more. Today, I look back on my nine months of pregnancy, and my only justification for abortion is that there is none.

If you, or someone you know, is thinking about abortion, take five minutes out of your day to pray. Listen to "Oceans" by Hillsong United and "His Daughter" by Molly Kate Kestner. You don't have to try and justify abortion or give yourself reasons why you should not abort. God will speak through you; He will show Himself through you. I promise you that.

Leviticus 24:17-18: "Anyone who takes the life of a human being is to be put to death. Anyone who takes the life of someone's animal must make restitution– life for life."