At age 21, Lauren Eden was shocked to learn the full story of her premature birth at just 26 weeks. Her mother nervously explained to her that she had made multiple appointments at various abortion facilities before finally undergoing the first stage of the two-day D&E second-trimester dismemberment abortion procedure — which led to Lauren’s early delivery.
That same day, Lauren also learned of 15 miracles that saved her life before birth.
Failed attempts to have an abortion
Together, her mother and father told Lauren the amazing story of her survival. Her mother, an 18-year-old college student, had first made an appointment at a facility where abortions were committed up to 12 weeks. Lauren’s father was a senior in college and wanted to keep the baby, but Lauren’s mother felt abortion was the best choice. So as he drove her to a friend’s house — who would be taking Lauren’s mother to the abortion facility — Lauren’s devastated father prayed for God to intervene.
As he drove, a large cloud of fog settled right in front of the car — something he had never seen before or ever saw again. He couldn’t see where he was going and eventually had to turn around.
When Lauren’s mother arrived for her second appointment attempt, an ultrasound revealed that she was measuring just over 12 weeks, and the staff wouldn’t commit the abortion. She was referred to another facility that committed abortions up to 13 weeks.
Lauren Eden, abortion survivor, as a child. Do not reprint.
But Lauren’s mother was late for that appointment, and when she arrived at what she thought was the address of the abortion facility, she was on the wrong side of town. She called the facility from a pay phone but they told her it was too late to come. When she rescheduled and went in for another appointment, the ultrasound revealed she was measuring larger than 13 weeks, and the staff there, too, refused to commit the abortion.
“She then went to a clinic in Dallas, and it was less than a week later. They did abortions up to 15 weeks and when she went into the clinic I was measuring over 15 weeks gestation. They wouldn’t do the abortion,” Lauren told Live Action News.
Lauren explained that the abortion business referred her mother to its sister facility on the other side of Dallas that committed abortions up to 21 weeks. When she arrived there for the abortion, the staff did not carry out an ultrasound but used the one done at the previous facility. They told Lauren’s mother that she was in the second trimester and would need a two-day D&E dismemberment abortion.
This procedure involves dilating the cervix with laminaria on day one. On day two (sometimes day three), the child is dismembered. Her arms and legs are pulled off, and her skull is crushed as the abortionist removes her from the womb piece by piece.
After inserting the laminaria, Lauren’s mother was sent away to wait for the laminaria to work. She was told to take Tylenol for any pain she experienced.
“She was in a lot of pain and she got scared,” explained Lauren. “My dad felt the Lord calling him to call her, so he did. He asked to pray with her and my mom told him that if he would drive to Dallas and meet her at the clinic the next morning that she was 90% sure she wouldn’t go through with the procedure.”
Saving Lauren
Lauren’s father raced to Dallas at four in the morning, trying to get there before Lauren’s mother arrived at the facility. When he made it there a few minutes after the appointment time, the staff wouldn’t give him any information. He paced and prayed, and as he did, the elevator door opened, and in walked Lauren’s mother. She had overslept.
Lauren Eden, abortion survivor, and her family. Do not reprint.
“She told the abortionist she wasn’t going to finish the abortion and he told her she was fully dilated,” said Lauren. “She was told she was endangering her life and mine if she didn’t go through with it. She said she was willing to take that chance.” After all, her baby was definitely going to die if she allowed the abortionist to finish the job.
The following day, Lauren’s parents drove home to Little Rock and as they were driving, her father told her mother that he had tried to file an injunction to stop the abortion. He couldn’t get the injunction, but God had worked to change her heart.
The couple went to a pro-life doctor who put Lauren’s mother on bed rest. With no place to go — because even their parents had told them to abort their baby — Lauren’s mother moved in with a couple from her boyfriend’s church. The wife, Janna, took care of Lauren’s mother, spending the days with her own toddlers and caring for and praying with Lauren’s mother in the evenings.
Lauren Eden and her family. Do not reprint.
“Janna was the first true example of the hands and feet of Jesus that my mom had ever seen in her life,” said Lauren. “She made a difference in my mom’s life and heart.”
When Lauren’s mother woke up one night in labor, Janna took her to the hospital, where they were told there was a 95% chance the baby would not survive and that if she did, there was only a five percent chance that she would not suffer brain damage. Lauren’s father and Janna both stayed in the room and prayed. Her father believed that God didn’t get them this far to lose Lauren now.
Lauren was born at about 26 weeks, still inside the amniotic sac. She was taken to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) immediately after birth — and though her mother had planned to place Lauren for adoption, she changed her mind when she saw her tiny two-pound, six-ounce daughter.
God’s miraculous interventions
Against all odds, Lauren thrived. She did not have the brain damage doctors had predicted and had few complications. She spent 53 days in the NICU, fighting to get stronger every day. Her parents decided to marry and had two more daughters.
Today, Lauren’s parents have been married 40 years and have five grandsons.
“I truly believe that God intervened in a miraculous way in my life and my parents’ lives,” said Lauren. “He rescued me from physical death and rescued my mom spiritually. All the answered prayers and miracles — 15 miracles in all — that God did along the way. I give God the honor and the praise because He rescued me.”
Lauren said that her mother never intended to keep the abortion attempts a secret, but she was afraid Lauren would hate her for it. Then, when Lauren was in college, she made the big decision not to go into broadcast journalism because she realized it wasn’t God’s plan. After telling her mother, her mother was struck with the thought that she needed to tell Lauren the full story.
“She decided to tell me,” said Lauren. “It was interesting timing because I had just been asked the week before to share my testimony at a huge youth event. And I had said, ‘What testimony? I don’t really have a testimony.’ And he said, ‘God’s telling me you should share. You should pray about it.’ God had just orchestrated all of it. … God made it really clear that day that He was calling me to be a voice for the voiceless.”
Though initially shocked by the news that she was almost aborted, Lauren was in awe of how God had intervened so specifically in her life. She became confident that He had a plan and purpose for her. “I knew immediately that I had to forgive my mother because I could see that she was struggling with carrying that baggage for 20 years,” said Lauren.
Now, with her mother’s blessing, Lauren is sharing her story full-time after connecting with Melissa Ohden of the Abortion Survivors Network. Through the organization, she has received healing and speaker training and she recently shared her story of survival at the Georgia State Capitol.
“I do want to be a voice for the voiceless,” she said. “So many people don’t realize abortion survivors exist. We’re such an important voice that needs to be heard.”
