Amy Simmons and her husband struggled for years to conceive. The couple underwent fertility testing but doctors couldn’t pinpoint a physical reason for Simmons’ inability to become pregnant.
Simmons told Live Action News, “People started asking us if we would consider adoption, but at first, we didn’t want to go that route.”
The couple was approached by several people who asked if they would adopt a child from someone who was pregnant.
“We had one person who told us her cousin was pregnant and asked us to become parents to the child, but we just didn’t feel any peace about it,” she said.
Then, just before Christmas one year, a woman at the church Simmons attended mentioned that a 17-year-old girl was pregnant and wanting to place her baby for adoption.
Simmons said, “[The woman’s] granddaughter was friends with this young woman and upon learning of her situation, we felt excitement about the possibility of adopting her baby.”
Journey toward adoption
In early January, Simmons called the teen’s grandmother. The timing was fortunate as the family was planning to contact an adoption agency.
“The young woman’s grandmother and I talked for quite a while,” Simmons said. “We discussed our Christian journey. I immediately connected with her. I knew I had to meet the birth mother.”
The teen arrived at Simmons’ home accompanied by her boyfriend. At the time, she was three months pregnant. The get-together was awkward at first, but Simmons tried to make the young couple feel comfortable.
Simmons said, “As we got to know them, we just knew in our hearts that we were going to adopt their baby.”
Throughout the course of the pregnancy, Simmons and her husband remained steadfast in their desire to raise the young woman’s baby as their own.
“We went along to the doctor appointments, and got to hear the baby’s heartbeat,” Simmons said. “We were there at the 22-week mark when we found out we were having a boy.”
READ: Birth mother describes positive ‘ripple effect’ of open adoption: It ‘blesses lives’
One day while shopping at Babies R Us, Simmons encountered the grandmother walking toward her. She informed Simmons that her granddaughter was dilated and was in the hospital.
Simmons said, “Apparently, she was a high-risk pregnancy and there was a possibility that the baby could be born blind. To minimize the chance the baby could be born prematurely, she was required to stay bedridden for six weeks.”
But God had other plans. Without any medical explanation, the young woman’s cervix closed on its own and she was able to go home and get rest in her own bed.
“We had such admiration for the birth mother,” Simmons said. “She was such a trooper, determined to bring her baby into the world.”
When the young woman went into labor, the baby came quickly.
Simmons said, “We weren’t supposed to be in the delivery room, but we were invited in, and the birth mother allowed my husband to cut the baby’s umbilical cord.”
The hospital staff graciously provided a room two doors down, where Simmons and her husband spent some time with their new son, with whom they fell in love immediately. They took him home the next day. Because it was an open adoption, the biological mother and her grandmother were frequent visitors at the Simmons’ home.
A secret revealed spurs woman’s crusade to promote adoption
It was the end of a normal visit one day when a comment jarred Simmons’ world.
“We were standing on the front porch when it was casually mentioned that early in her pregnancy the birth mother had scheduled an abortion,” Simmons said. “She went into the clinic, signed in and sat down, but then felt compelled to leave.”
Stunned, Simmons said nothing, absorbing how different the outcome would have been had her son’s life been ended.
“It just reinforced for me the value of my son’s life,” Simmons said. “I loved watching my son grow up, looking at his future and all that he will become and do. He has such a big personality, loves life and is gregarious. It’s heartbreaking to think he might not have been here.”
Reflecting on that time, Simmons can see that adopting her son was God’s plan all along. For a time, she felt like a “fake mom” for not being able to birth her own children, but God spoke to her and wiped away the lie that she wasn’t a “real” mother to her son.
Simmons said, “He just spoke to my spirit, and I felt peace about it. I feel now more than ever the need to shout from the rooftops about the value of every life. We want our son to know how loved he is, how valuable he is.”
One day, her son was pretending to interview her and asked about her thoughts on abortion.
“I feel that someday God will use my son in the pro-life movement where we will work together side-by-side,” Simmons said.
Going through the painful journey of infertility and knowing there are so many couples who want to become parents has made Simmons a strong advocate for adoption.
Simmons said, “There are many people like us who, for some reason, cannot have children of their own. They want the chance to raise and love a baby. I urge women to find resources to help them choose adoption. I’m so grateful to the birth mother. She gave us the opportunity to have this amazing family and I will always honor her for such a selfless act.”
