When 14-year-old Nativida Etienne-Maule (“Vida”) went away to summer school, she didn’t bargain on becoming pregnant – and incredibly, wasn’t even aware of the baby growing inside her until her parents noticed a protruding “baby bump.”
Etienne-Maule told Live Action News, “I met a young boy and became intimate with him, not understanding the consequences. When my parents discovered I was pregnant, they took me to get an abortion. I had no choice.”
Her parents never again talked about the abortion and Etienne-Maule was left with memories of the suction machine sound as the abortionist swept her baby from her womb.
“It was such a horrific experience,” Etienne-Maule said. “I felt this tremendous pressure throughout the procedure.”
Still, she didn’t grasp the consequences of engaging in unprotected sexual relations. Just two years later, at age 16, Etienne-Maule met a man who was nine years older, and she became pregnant again. Her son was born at 31 weeks via cesarean (“C-section”), lengthening Etienne-Maule’s post birth recovery.
Etienne-Maule said, “It was such a challenging time as I was still in school. So, I was running to the hospital where my son was in the NICU between going to school.”
The high school administration pressured her to transfer to a school for unwed pregnant women, but Etienne-Maule refused.
“I wanted to put my best foot forward so I could graduate,” Etienne-Maule said. “I attended night classes and ended up graduating six months early at the age of 17.”
More abortions forced her to finally make a life change
Yet the abuse she endured from her son’s father spiraled out of control. When she tried to end the relationship, he terrorized her. Etienne-Maule underwent two more abortions in a desperate attempt to cut ties to her abuser.
Etienne-Maule said, “I didn’t know the reality of what I was doing; I was so disconnected during that time. I just wanted to end the relationship. I finally got an order of protection against him.”
Later, in college pursuing a nursing degree, she became involved with another man, and gave birth to their daughter. But the relationship fizzled when he relocated to another state.
“Newly single, I started working at a hospital and met a charming man who said all the right things; that he wanted to marry me,” Etienne-Maule said. “But when I got pregnant, he coerced me into having an abortion. I buckled under the pressure and afterward, felt like dirt. I didn’t want the abortion.”
It was a turning point for Etienne-Maule who suffered from depression and lost weight from the trauma of terminating yet another pregnancy. Etienne-Maule realized her poor decisions contributed to her four abortions. She knew she had to make a critical life change, prompting her to make a pact with herself that under no circumstances would she engage in sexual activity until marriage.
Etienne-Maule said, “I got my life together, got married, had two children, and attained my nurse practitioner’s degree. But life eventually got chaotic again and I asked God why all this drama was happening.”
Salvation brings a new beginning and a mission to further the pro-life message
She was directed to the book of Hebrews and for the first time, Etienne-Maule finally invited Christ to be the driver of her life.
“I wasn’t going to live for myself any longer, but for Christ,” Etienne-Maule said. “I yearned for a spiritual purpose that went beyond my nursing career. God was now in control, and I had faith he would lead me to where I could make an impact.”
She joined “Voices for Christ” where she connected with a group of believers, finding the love and support she needed to grow in her faith.
Etienne-Maule said, “It was during this time, I started to write. I never knew I had this desire or talent; I hadn’t yet tapped into this ability. Little did I know that it would open a new door for me to illustrate the ugliness of abortion in the most profound way.”
One day, as she watched an abortion procedure on YouTube, Etienne-Maule heard the cries of the babies whose lives were being callously ripped from their mothers’ wombs.
“I began to weep for these babies whose voices were being stolen,” Etienne-Maule said. “There needed to be a way to amplify the horror of abortion from their perspective.”
Appalled, Etienne-Maule begged God for forgiveness for her own abortions and as she did, she sensed God tell her that she needed to speak for those whose voices had been silenced.
Etienne-Maule told Live Action News, “I started dedicating time to write every day, from which my book, ‘Stolen Voices’ was born. The book is written from the viewpoint of the babies who never got a chance to live.”
Finding the right publisher for “Stolen Voices” was challenging, and for a time, she moved onto other priorities. A few years later, she felt God telling her it was time to focus again on abortion.
“This time, I found a publisher for my book,” Etienne-Maule said. “It was such a moving experience for so many people who read it.”
In 2020, God compelled her to travel to Washington, D.C., to the Supreme Court. With her, she took anointed oil. There, she stretched out her hands toward the stately judicial building — and as abolitionists joined her, decreed that Roe would be overturned. A year later, now affiliated with Urban Conservatives of America and CEO of Stolen Voices, she continued to take “assignments” God placed on her heart.
Etienne-Maule said, “I went to an abortion clinic in Houston regularly on Saturdays where I took the anointed oil and prayed until God told me one day the clinic would close. Within two weeks, it was shuttered for good.”
As an ordained minister and Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), Etienne-Maule continues to administer to hurting women via Saturday Zoom calls who are grappling with a past abortion or sexual abuse.
Throughout the years her children were growing up, she prayed that the generational curse of abortion would be broken and as a result, her young daughter — who was considering abortion — chose life for her own son.
“God gave me another chance to have children,” Etienne-Maule said. “All that I have accomplished is the result of my obedience to Him and walking by faith. I’m in this fight for the long haul and I’m not leaving until I do what I gotta do.”
