Lairs Johnston may be most well-known among pro-lifers as the marketing director for pro-life group Save the Storks. But he revealed something else about himself in a new op-ed: he’s also the father of an aborted baby.
At 21, Johnston and his then-girlfriend found themselves facing a crisis pregnancy. They did what they thought was the best thing to do, and got an abortion. “I wasn’t ready for a kid, she wasn’t ready for a kid,” he wrote. “It’s kind of like the saying goes, ‘You only know what you know’ — and up to that point, all I knew is that kids draw on walls and ruin dreams.”
The decision to have an abortion was seemingly a positive one. Johnston’s career flourished. “Because I had my girlfriend get the abortion, I went on to do what society would consider ‘incredible things.’ I have over a billion views on YouTube, I’ve started careers for artists that are now making millions a year, I’ve even worked with artists I grew up idolizing as a kid,” he said.
“Truth is, I couldn’t care less about any of that.”
Johnston admits that he wouldn’t have experienced many of the career highs if he had encouraged his girlfriend to keep the baby — no fancy parties, no rubbing elbows with celebrities. But looking back, he’s come to realize that it wasn’t worth it. “I wish I knew how much better my life could have been with a kid in it,” he admitted.
Because of the abortion, Johnston said that he was left a broken, lost man. It was an encounter with a three-year-old boy named Judah that changed his heart, and made him realize there was more to life. He now works with Save the Storks to prevent abortions, to make the idea of abortion “unthinkable.”
“I want every woman walking into Planned Parenthood to know that kids don’t destroy dreams, they fulfill them,” he said. He added:
Whatever culture is telling you to chase is only going to leave you wanting more. Kids on the other hand, leave you exhausted, drained, broke, messy, but oh so fulfilled. Kids change your life in ways you didn’t even realize you wanted it changed. Kids remind you how the little things, when appreciated, make life more beautiful.
Save the Storks partners with crisis pregnancy centers to provide mobile medical units which will help abortion-vulnerable women have access to services and resources they need. To find out more about their mission, visit their website.
