Being a mother at any age has its challenges, but being a young, single pregnant woman can sometimes feel so daunting that abortion seems like the most sensible alternative. For New Orleans Saints Saintsations cheerleader Sarah Bass, experiencing an unplanned pregnancy at 19 was extremely difficult. She told New Orleans’ WGNO, “It was a very isolated time. It was very dark. It was hard not to talk to somebody. We all want a relationship with someone, to speak to someone, and to vent to someone. I didn’t have that when I was pregnant.” Choosing life was what she wanted to do, but she says it wasn’t easy due to “a lot of negativity in my life.”
Workplaces, college campuses, and high schools can put a great deal of pressure on women to choose abortion for the sake of job advancement or their educational futures. But Sarah has made it her goal to establish a place of support for those women who, like her, have experienced unplanned pregnancies and have chosen life for their children. To do this, she started her own Embrace Grace single moms’ support group. The Embrace Grace organization offers a network of groups nationwide to support unmarried young mothers, with baby showers and judgment-free weekly support meetings.
She wrote on Facebook, “I want all single moms to have a place to be free and a place to feel loved, and I want them to know they’re loved, they’re enough, they’re worthy, and they’re not alone. God doesn’t make mistakes, He plans our paths perfectly… and He waits with anticipation for us to conquer all our dreams.”
Sarah told WGNO, “I decided that I wanted to help other young girls and other teen moms and hold their hand and walk with them and let them chase their dreams, because that is what they want to do, not because they feel like they have to show anybody that they can.”
Sarah’s daughter, Evelie, is now eight years old.
