#dayoftears

My name is Tammy Hinchey. I’m 37 years old, a Christian, and I am totally pro-life. I have experienced the after effects of abortion. You see my sister, Tina Brown, shared her story and I wanted to express the impact that her decision has had on our entire family. 

Some say that abortion is “solo” and only affects the woman who’s making the decision for her own body. Apparently others are NOT impacted from her decision to end a pregnancy.  

I would like to point out that this is not accurate and is far from truth. My sister’s decision had a rippling effect on our entire family. That one decision opened up what would become a 20 year addiction for my sister. 

What does a person do when they can’t escape the pain, the reality, of a decision that ended a life? For my sister, it was to self-destruct.  And what about the family? We suffered too. 

I wish I could take each person considering abortion through the last 20 years. I wish could load them into my car, and let them watch, as I drove into a known drug dealer’s home trying to rescue my sister who’d been missing for days. I wish I could let them into a home where a husband’s tears and pain can so visibly be seen when he realizes his wife had lied to him one more time. I wish I could let them sit at my kitchen table with bright eyed little girls who would ask when their momma would be back. I wish I could take them into all the family arguments, the financial burdens, and the missing person reports. I wish I could let them into the fear that ripped into my very heart of knowing there was a good chance I’d lose my only sister. I wish I could push a rewind button and let them see the prayers and pleading that came from the very depths of my soul. I wish I could allow them to ease drop on the phone call that told me that my sister had just robbed a bank. I wish I could swing by and pick them up so they could ride with me to the state correctional center for a monthly visit. Why?  Because this is the life we have lived and are living. 

This is the life that followed one decision. Abortion is not a solo act. It will always impact others’ lives. 

 Today I rejoice that God heard my prayers and is now using this wrong to make so many things right. There’s a song that I dedicated to my dear sister because I firmly believe that her story, her upcoming book, and her desire to follow God will bring so much light into a dark world. That song is “The Words I Would Say” by Sidewalk Prophets” Here they are: 

My name is Shak Hill and I live in Centreville, Virginia. In 1993, my wife Robin became pregnant. All could see the visible signs of our son growing inside of her. But what no one could see was the tumorbreaking through Robin’s left pelvis. The pressure of every step and of every movement caused extreme pain.

“You need aggressive treatment,” the doctor looked at Robin with a sense of urgency mixed with sadness. “The only thing that is preventing us from saving your life is the fact you are pregnant.”

Normal procedures became challenging because of our son. He was trying to grow inside of his mother, but with every new development in his life, his growth meant added pressure on Robin’s body. With every kick reminding the world that he was coming, our son was causing Robin excruciating pain.

Robin knew that we have but one life to live. We have but one mission on earth. That is to Love God, to Know God and to Serve God. It could have been easy to feel sorry for herself. But Robin did none of that. If her last act on earth was to give life, then that was as close to serving God as she would need to be.

The doctor continued, “We need to terminate the pregnancy. Please think about it overnight and let us know your decision in the morning.” With that, he left. Nothing would be done that night, but they needed to have an answer by morning.

Robin would not need that long. As much as I was supposed to be the strong one, it was Robin who stepped up. I had slumped over onto her gurney, half sitting, half kneeling, half holding on for dear life. We didn’t really talk. The words the doctor told us what we had known was true.

Robin looked over at me and in a tender voice asked, “Shak, will you raise the children?”