It’s a bizarre fact, but in our society, in these times, supporting the right to life is controversial. And our staff and volunteers can, unfortunately, find themselves on the defense simply because they work to empower women to choose life for their unborn children.
One of our call responders experienced this in a most unexpected way—in the classroom.
Wendy describes her work experience as filled with blessings. “God utilized me as His instrument and inspired me with great strength,” she said.
Then she asked one of her professors for a letter of recommendation to include in her graduate school application. She handed over her resume, as the professor requested, to help her in writing the letter. And she was shocked by her professor’s response: “she did not feel comfortable endorsing our mission nor view on women’s rights, and questioned my ability to be ethical in the helping profession,” Wendy recalls.
“She stated that she knew about organizations of this type that were ‘non-empathetic” toward women in these situations.”
To hear a professor she respected and admired say such a thing was a blow.
“I felt rejected and discriminated because of my belief in life,” Wendy says. “I began to doubt myself and was ashamed to share [my work] with others, as I felt no one would understand me… and [I] feared to be judged again.”
But the very next day—the last day of her Human Growth and Development class—another professor lectured about fetal development. Not only was Wendy startled because of the topic (it was not the one included on the syllabus), she was stunned by the professor’s passion as she spoke about the initial stages of life.
That gave her the courage to approach the professor after class and share her devastating experience from the day before.
“She was surprised and upset to hear about my experience. This professor offered me so much emotional and spiritual support—and even offered to write me a strong letter of recommendation for graduate school,” says Wendy.
“It was then when I found the blessing in this difficult situation. God opened up new and greater doors for me. I had the opportunity to apply to Pepperdine University for their Clinical Psychology/MFT program and soon after, I was accepted!”
There’s a postscript to this happy ending. Wendy could not stop thinking about that other professor and her reaction to Options United and its work—but it was no longer devastating to her. Instead, it was more than a little sad. Wendy prayed for that woman, and then decided to take it a step farther.
“I emailed and thanked her for her honest response,” she says. “I clarified that I did not engage in any type of ‘unethical’ or ‘non-empathetic’ behavior, and that at Options United, we actually did quite the opposite in that we compassionately spoke and offered support to all women, regardless of their decision.”
It’s unfortunately not unusual for pro-lifers to be attacked for their beliefs—but the beauty of Wendy’s story is the reminder that God works through our struggles, and that together, we can continue to work to support women in need and protect the lives of the unborn.