Priscilla Hurley knows well the devastation and trauma caused by generational abortion. She was 19 years old and in college when she discovered she was pregnant. Her decision (directed by her parents) to abort her child would open the door to a terrible secret. Hurley told Live Action News, "It was during the late sixties when the sexual freedom revolution was taking off," and Hurley said she "was very needy at the time, looking for validation through sex." Her mother took Hurley to get a test to confirm the pregnancy. Hurley's father arranged for the procedure, a dilation and curettage (D&C) under a general anesthesia. Not long after her abortion, Hurley said her mother casually told her, "By the way, I tried to have you aborted." Hurley said, "I had always felt like an unwanted child while growing up and suddenly, I understood why." As Hurley dug deeper, she found that her mother was married at the time with four other children when she became pregnant with Hurley soon after giving birth to her sister. A tragic accident turned her life upside down when her husband, an experimental test pilot, was killed in a fiery crash when the fuselage separated from the plane he was flying over the Pacific Ocean. Hurley said, "My mother was now a widow who wasn't working at the time. She worried about having another child to care for, so according to my grandmother's diary, she traveled to San Diego to visit friends then to Mexico to have the abortion. She was gone for 10 days, leaving her other four children with my grandparents." Yet when she returned from Mexico from what she thought was a successful surgery, she discovered she was about four months pregnant during a doctor's visit. "She thought she had taken care of her pregnancy," Hurley said. "I'm not completely sure, but it's possible she was carrying twins and one was aborted while I was not." Angry with what she saw as abandonment by Hurley's father, her mother kept the trauma of the experience hidden. She eventually remarried a caring man who adopted Hurley and her four siblings. Hurley said, "I felt invisible throughout my childhood, afraid to voice an opinion. Now, the pieces were coming together to paint a picture of a distraught woman who was angry with her husband for 'abandoning' her. She had a tough time loving after his death and the abortion." For Hurley, going back to college after terminating her pregnancy resulted in free reign to "act out" by drinking and partying. "I was dealing with the destructiveness of my abortion and from learning about a deep, dark family secret," Hurley said. "I was so desperate for love and attention that I got swept up in the seedy side of college life." Hurley's life took a turn when her father arranged for her to spend time at a work camp in Mexico. A few years later, when a former high school boyfriend reached out to her, a new connection was forged. Hurley moved in with him and completed her college studies. Hurley said, "It wasn't long before I was pregnant again. It was after Roe and my boyfriend wanted me to have an abortion and I acquiesced." This time, Hurley was alert and screamed at the sound of the suction machine, knowing what it represented. "I felt angry and betrayed," Hurley said. "I didn't know what to expect." Yet despite the anguish of her experience, Hurley soon became active in promoting abortions. Hurley said, "My boyfriend introduced me to two women who worked at a clinic that performed abortions. These women made it seem like the entire process was more compassionate than what I had been through. So, I accepted a position as community liaison." She became focused on "keeping a pulse" on what was happening with abortion rights, convinced that keeping the freedom to have an abortion was in the best interests of women everywhere. "The clinic was a dark place," Hurley said. "We had been told not to use the word 'baby' and performed abortions up to 12 weeks. I was in the room during abortions and even saw baby parts preserved in containers. The director of the clinic likened killing a baby to killing a fly; that is how deceptive the nature of abortion is." But Hurley soon realized that while women were told the procedure wouldn't be painful, the truth was far different - and that's what bothered her the most. Life went on as usual until a life-changing car accident was the catalyst that put Hurley on a new path. She suffered a broken neck and spent several months recovering. She relocated to Alaska, and for the first time had Christian friends, though her old behavior still lingered. Hurley said, "I met a local man and got pregnant a third time. But this time, I refused to have an abortion." She gave birth to a son and four months later Hurley gave her life to Christ. She married her son's father and had two more children. But the marriage eventually ended, and she raised her three children alone, but knew God was guiding her through every passage of her life. "For the first time, I discovered my own humanity that I could never see through the eyes of my mother," Hurley said. "My mother was always distraught; she was never free from the shame of what she tried to do." She is grateful for God's patience with her journey and for bringing her to a deeper realization of the inhumanity of abortion. A veteran Health Educator with experience in family planning, pregnancy counseling, maternal-child health, and abstinence educations, she launched
The Choice To Choose, a "mission to prevent trauma caused by ignorant or careless sexual decision making, through Encouragement, Empowerment and Education." Hurley said, "My reconciliation came through the
Abortion Survivors Network. I also went through the
Forgiven and Set Free program for post-abortion healing. Additionally,
And Then There Were None ministry for former abortion industry workers has provided great support. Abortion exploits vulnerable women, but today, I've chosen to be a passionate and strong advocate for the truth."
