Choosing life is the greatest gift. That’s the message Ashley Nadine shares in Live Action’s latest video story.
Ashley shares her emotional story of being trafficked as a young girl. When she was 14, Ashley went to a party with a friend — a situation for which she was not prepared. While there, she met an older man whom she recalls “swept me off my feet.” Though her parents tried to keep her from him, she went on to spend more and more time with this man. Though she thought he loved her, he eventually made it clear that she would be working for him.
“I had never heard of trafficking before, I didn’t know it was a thing,” she says. “I definitely just thought I was in a relationship with someone that I loved.”
She speaks extensively of being broken, with her traffickers manipulating her mentally, physically, and emotionally. This situation continued from the ages of 14 to 19; all the while, she was attending school and hiding the abusive situation from her parents. Then, she discovered she was pregnant.
“When I first found out, my immediate response was abortion,” she said. Not knowing what to do, she shared the news of her pregnancy with a friend named Amanda — and that decision ended up changing her life.
After hearing Ashley’s news, Amanda broke down in tears, a response that made Ashley realize that Amanda actually cared.
“I felt so unworthy,” Ashley said. “So to feel that worthiness in that moment that she exemplified was life-changing.”
Amanda told Ashley that if she kept her baby, God would provide for her and protect her. With this encouragement, Ashley decided to have her child.
“I went from darkness into the light. I have to change, I have to get out of here. I can’t do this. It was an immediate response.” She then shares something she can’t explain — going home, she found a book on her dresser called “God’s Promises to Women,” and for the first time, she read a scripture verse that proclaimed, “Ask and it shall be given to you, seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened” (Mt 7:7).
Bolstered by the Word of God, she decided to ask Him for help. Within weeks, the trafficking ring was busted and several of the pimps were sent to jail. Realizing that God had indeed protected her, Ashley said, “I’ve never been the same since that moment.” Through tears, she relates that if she hadn’t spoken to Amanda, she would have likely gone through with the abortion.
“I hope this reaches somebody,” she says.
Ashley notes that abortion is traumatic, especially for women who are caught up in trafficking, but believes that her daughter, Leila, helped to heal a lot of her trauma.
“For anyone who’s in a really dark place, when you feel like there’s no hope, I want to say that there is hope, and you really don’t have to stay. You do have a choice to get out. Your child could actually be your saving grace and can be something that God uses in a positive way, because that’s what happened to me.”
She adds, “Keeping Leila is the best thing that ever happened to me.”
