(Secular Pro-Life) A pregnant Rosie the Riveter is the mascot for Project Rosie, a pro-life campaign dedicated to assisting pregnant and parenting college students in Michigan. Project Rosie is a nonprofit group created by Protect Life Michigan, and it travels to different colleges all across Michigan in an attempt to help pregnant college women choose life.
I met with Project Rosie in the Eastern Michigan Student Center entirely by chance. It was towards the end of November, and I was hurrying back to my dorm room to study for an exam and to try and figure out what I was going to do with my life, and with the life growing inside of me. I had found out that I was pregnant only three weeks earlier, and with no money, no job, and a relationship that could be described as rocky at best, it was seeming more and more like abortion was the only option. Then I ran into Project Rosie. The group was handing out cards and explaining how they could connect pregnant or parenting students with resources that would allow them to keep their baby and finish school. I approached the table hesitantly.
“Hi,” I said, “I’m Anna and I’m six weeks pregnant.” What followed was hugs, love, and good wishes. They were the first people who didn’t respond to my pregnancy with a disappointing, “oh,” or start lecturing me about how the responsible thing to do would be to get an abortion. I left that table with plans to meet with the Protect Life EMU student organization group leader, and a huge box filled with gifts for me, and for my baby.
READ: Getting pregnant in college wasn’t the end of my story, but the beginning
This group leader met with me every week, and walked me through the decisions of abortion, adoption, or parenting. While I ruled abortion out pretty quickly, it seemed for a while as though an adoption was the way to go. I picked out a nice couple and even met with them once or twice, but the day I felt my baby kick I knew I couldn’t go through with it. Once I decided to keep my baby I was scared to tell the group leader. Sure, she had been supportive so far, but would she continue to support a young, 20 year old college student who honestly had no business raising a baby? And yet she did. Throughout the entire process, Project Rosie never once judged me or told me what to do. At a time when everyone else was giving me their opinions and telling me what to do, they were the only ones who truly listened to me, and always asked what would be best for me.
Project Rosie has three main goals: to reach, to empower, and to support. Project Rosie reached out to me, empowered me, and continues to support me and countless other girls to this day. Project Rosie’s website provides information to resources available at or around every college in Michigan. They don’t just care about saving a baby’s life, they care about saving the woman as well.
Before Project Rosie, I wasn’t sure what I should do and I did not see my pregnancy as a blessing. It’s been a year since I first met them and I now have a beautiful 4 month old baby girl to show for it. Both she and I will always be thankful for the wonderful people at Project Rosie.
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published at Secular Pro-Life and is reprinted here with permission.
