Author: SherryAnn

I am a Pro-Life Speaker in Maryland. I was conceived in rape and saved from an illegal abortion. I am also a blogger for Save the 1. I am married to a minister and we attend Bethel Apostolic Church in Havre De Grace, MD. I enjoy inspiring others and sharing my faith with them.

20 Week Pain Capable Bill by Sherry Hensley

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This morning I woke up with a very heavy heart. A few days ago, I read an article on Lifenews.com about the 20-week pain capable bill, which would make it illegal for abortions after 20 weeks because the baby feels pain.  What bothers me greatly is that this bill has the rape, incest and special needs exceptions in it. Congresswoman Renee Ellmers suggests that a woman should only let her doctor know about the rape and no one else.

When I read this, it did not set well with me. I immediately thought about Norma McCorvey, who lied and said that she was raped so that she could have an abortion. I thought if the rape does not have to be reported, this could happen again and could cause more abortions instead of less.

I was conceived in rape, and I had a biological great-aunt who wanted me to be aborted. I thank God that my birthmother said no and did what was Biblical and chose life.

Coming from someone who was conceived in rape, I pray you will take a minute to hear what I have to say. If you were not conceived in rape and had a family member that wanted you aborted, would you put yourself in my shoes for a minute? Should I have to pay for the crime that my birth father did? I don’t think so, as I was the innocent one. My birthfather should be the one who had to pay since he is the one who committed the crime.  Society likes to call people conceived in rape, “the rapist child, monster’s child, a product of rape and an evil seed.”  They are wrong, and since I have been sharing my story, I have got in contact with others who were conceived in rape. They are precious people with a caring heart and are making a difference. They were created in the image of God. I have also read the stories of women who were raped and having their baby brought them healing.

Even though my birth mother placed me for adoption, she told me I have always loved you and that I was the beginning of her healing process.

The devil is the one who wants to steal, kill and destroy. Jesus said I have come to give you life and life more abundantly.

Sherry Hensley Pro Life Blogger

 

Babies conceived in Rape are created in the image of God.

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My heart grieves when I read these stories about babies being aborted every day or reading about babies being found in the dumpster. Very disturbing and heartbreaking.  I have been reading about the 20 week pain capable bill that they want to pass here in the United States. You can say that is a good thing and a step in the right direction to stop abortions after 20 weeks. Let me tell you they are trying to reintroduce this with the No Rape reporting which can mean that a woman can say she was raped and have an abortion up to the day of birth. Heart wrenching!! And to me that is making the situation worse instead of better.

It is heart breaking that the child that is conceived in rape has to continue paying for the crimes of the rapist. Babies conceived in rape are innocent they have done absolutely nothing wrong. You can’t tell the difference of a child conceived in rape and the child conceived out of love.

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The woman who was raped needs love and support and she needs to be believed. She does not need people telling her to have an abortion. Having an abortion will only add to the trauma.

There are so many women that have made the decision to have their baby and having the baby did not remind them about the rapist but that child brought them healing and love and saved the life of the mother.

My birth mother who was raped has said, Yes Rape is horrific and traumatic, but what is more horrific and traumatic is the killing of the precious little life growing in the womb.

Babies conceived in rape are created in the image of God and God has plans for them.

Jesus Christ said in Mark 10:14 But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.

Lets continue to fight and pray and God will get the increase.

 

 

 

The Refuge

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Psalms 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Saturday Night I was thinking and I asked my husband what he thinks about when he thinks about a refuge. He said safety, protection. It took me almost 7 years to realize how awesome the word Refuge is in my life. A lot of you know that I was conceived in rape and my birth mother kept me safe and protected me from an illegal abortion.

When my parents, my husband and I met my birth mother we went to eat at a restaurant called The Refuge. It really is Amazing. She kept me safe and it was 35 years after I was born that I met her and we ate at the Refuge. It really made that reunion all the more special and meaningful.

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Eating at The Refuge. My dad, My husband, myself, My birth mother and my half-brother. My Mom took the picture and that is why she was not in the picture.

 

Fight for the Unborn

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Aug2013This has been the most amazing week that I have had since I started to share my story.  This week I shared the story with Lifenews.com on Sunday Night to share it with them. Monday while reading an article about abortions in cases of rape and incest, I shared the short version of my story and also gave the link to the long version of my story someone who read it told me, “Sherry you are living testimony of the good that has come out of a horrible situation. God continue to bless you and your birth mother as well.
I have learned so many wonderful things since I have become involved with pro-life. I had never spoken or known a child conceived in rape. I was always so focused on the victim. My mind has been expanded and I thank God. Now I know better and thank God I never had to make such a decision as those brave women did. God bless you all.”

I just share it and tell it God gets the glory. Monday afternoon I received an email from Lifenews.com and they shared the story on their website and a few hours later it hit their Facebook page.

Yes when I take a stand for the life of the unborn I get a lot of negative because I was conceived in rape. Also this week I read a story and was in the conversation as was told that my religious beliefs where meaningless in the conversation.  When I get stuff like this I tend to just laugh it off instead of cry about it. The important thing is to keep sharing it.

Standing up for life is Biblical and one day people will know as to how important my religious beliefs are.

What happened this week is just the beginning of greater things to come in the fight for the unborn.

The impact of one person

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Image2aAs most of you know I was conceived in rape and saved from an illegal abortion and then placed for adoption.  I am finally getting back into the swing of things since getting back from my father-in-laws funeral in West Virginia. When we got home my husband was very sick so I took care of him. I thank God that he is doing so much better.

Sunday Night I decided to share my story with www.lifenews.com. I had no idea that they planned to share it or even post it. Yesterday I received an email from them and they posted it on their website and a few hours later it was on their Facebook page.

This is what I posted on Facebook with the current numbers.

As I woke up this morning I am overwhelmed with what God has done through the night. When I shared my story with lifenews.com I had no idea that they where going to post it or even share it. Well they posted the story first on their website and a few hours later it hit their Facebook page. This morning I was curious to see how many people it has reached and the number of people blows me away. Facebook is saying that 535 people liked it and 31 people shared it. That is mind-blowing. On lifenews.com website 671 people shared it on their Facebook pages 97 people shared it on twitter and 14 people shared it on Google+. Talk about the ripple effect this can have.

Lets think about this. If 671 people have 200 friends on their Facebook pages it went to 134,200 people. If 97 people on twitter have a 100 people it went to 9,700 and if 14 people have 50 people in their Google+ circles it went to 700 people. Through this it could have reached 144,600 by now.

It really is amazing as to what God is doing. I give him all the glory and honor. I just share it and tell it. God gets the increase.

Feeling Special

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Sitting here thinking this morning about what our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ did for us on Calvary.I tend to feel special at easter time partly because my birthday is very close to easter and at times it will fall on Easter.

I always think about Thank you Lord for dying on the cross for my sins. It does not stop with the cross, but there is an empty tomb. Do you know of anyone else who died on a cross and buried in a tomb and rose themselves up from the dead? The only person that I know is Jesus Christ.

When I found my birth mother I found out that I was born during Holy Week in 1973 and when I got in contact with her it was the first day of Lent in 2008. I know how special it was for me to start having contact with me the beginning of Lent in 2008 and so it was special for me.

What really is mind-blowing is find out that God died on the cross many years ago for a little baby girl who would before she was born help her birth mother heal from something that is horrific, traumatic and her birth mother protected her from an illegal abortion and that baby girl was born during Holy Week is 73.  What the enemy wanted to destroy God turned around for Good.

Redemption

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Sherry Hospital2b
Picture my birth mother had in the bible all these years.

This morning waking up from sleep I was thinking about an email that I received this past Thursday after I had shared the short version of my story. The person’s response was a beautiful testimony of redemption.  I was thinking about that and my mind went to the story about Hosea. Hosea married someone who was a prostitute. Hosea loved her and she had a hard time with that and so she went back out into what she came from. It made Hosea’s heart sad, but he continued to love her and went out and bought her back.

Society looks down on women who have been raped.  It is sad that these women their own families won’t believe them and there are families that won’t even acknowledge the children. I know my birth mother went through where she could not talk about me to family. She kept a photo in her bible all these years of me and eventually the day came when she could talk about her birth daughter. God saw that many years later I would be reunited with my birth mother and know God is using both of us in different ways to share the story.

Society also looks down on the children conceived in rape. It is heartbreaking that society calls them products, evil seed, and the monsters child. It is sad that society will say that the child conceived in rape will turn out like the rapist, sad when society says that children conceived in rape are not beautiful.

Growing up I struggled with feelings of feeling worthless and when I found out I was conceived in rape I felt numb and I said ok, how do you deal with this?  What did I choose to do? The day I heard that I was conceived in rape I chose not to become angry or bitter about my birth father. Yes I was mad and very upset so I prayed. I had to pray for several days and the more I prayed I calmed down.  Over time and God using a minister in my church and a 3 part series called Conceived in Rape I-III last august on Family talk with Dr. James Dobson to have the liberty to share my story.

What society does not say is that the baby that is conceived in rape is very healing for the mother. I found it very amazing that we have a God that will use babies to bring their mothers healing. When I found out that I was the beginning of my birth mothers healing process I was amazed and told God that is so amazing you used me even before I was born to help my birth mother heal from something that is a horrible, traumatic and horrific crime.

Sitting talking with my husband today about this over lunch and he said to me our Heavenly Father could have given up on us a long time ago, but he didn’t. God wrapped himself up in flesh came to earth as a baby and grew up to die for our sins. He paid the price. He bought us back with the blood he shed on Calvary a true story of redemption.

 

Grafted in the Vine

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I am so amazingly blessed as to what God is doing since I started to share about how I found out I was conceived in rape. The other day I have the privilege to share with someone who follows my blog that I was adopted and shared with them the story about finding out I was conceived in rape. They never realized the depth of adoption. I think it blew them away.

Well I have been thinking about the passage in Romans 11:17 If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, 19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” 23 And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!

These verses have been going through my mind and thinking about God’s chosen people the children of Israel. Well the Children of Israel turned their back on God, so God started dealing with the gentiles and when we come to God and repent, receive his spirit in us and are baptized in the name of Jesus Christ he then adopts us and we are grafted into the vine. He has given up the spirit of Adoption and we can call out to his and call our Heavenly Father Daddy. I am so very thankful that I have been grafted into the vine and that God has chosen me to be able to share my story and people’s eyes are open, hearts are changed, lives are saved.

Re-homing should not be an option

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Just reading articles today to what to give my opinion on I came across an article on Adoption.net about the Republican Lawmaker Justin Harris from Arkansas and his Wife were formally foster parents to 3 sisters. The oldest one was giving them problems so was return to Department of Human Services. The younger two they ended up adopting. Well problems still continued so less than a year later the younger children went to live with a Family friend of the Harris’s.

This breaks my heart because at least one of the younger sisters was raped.  There is much more the story and you can read the full article at www.adoption.net.

Going to give my input. There are a number of Children in the Foster Care system. A lot of them are there because they came from homes where there was abuse, drugs and probably issues like a child that has special needs.

Children in the foster care system are dealing with issues and they need love, care, and compassion just like the rest of us. They actually need more love, more care, more compassion, more kindness, more gentleness.

Adopted Children also need more love, more care, more compassion, more kindness, more gentleness. When a couple adopts a child that child is there’s legally, they have the same rights as biological children, they need to love that child, need to work with that child, and if the child has issues you get the child help.

I am adopted and I am in a few adoptee groups online and I have read the stories. Adoptees can feel like they have been rejected. I would be lying if I said I never went through that. I did feel that way several times in my life. My birth mother took care of me for a week while in the hospital and then I was in foster care for 6 weeks and a couple of days before I went to my adoptive home.

If you are planning on adopting talk with others who have adopted, talk with adoptees, seek Godly counsel and talk with several different agencies before making the final decision.

Adoption is a wonderful thing and I am blessed to be adopted.  I am glad that my parents didn’t go pawning me off to someone else just because I had my moments. They showed me love and worked with me and loved me as their own.

So my opinion when a child is adopted re-homing should not be an option.

My view on adoption

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Growing up in the Christian home that I was raised in, I grew up being very conservative and that was my decision, not my parents but mine.

Being an adoptee I struggled with things that others may not struggle with. There was a time in my life that I had absolutely no contact with my mother for various reasons. I had to set boundaries and I had to seek forgiveness. Today, My mother and I have a great relationship. I am thankful for the upbringing that I had.

Yesterday I read an article on http://www.Lifesitenews.com about a British woman who became a surrogate mother for her homosexual son. She gave birth to her own grandson.  As I continued to read the article I thought, how much longer will you put up with this Lord? We truly are living in the last days.

Children need to be in a home where there is a mother and a father that love them. I always say that Adoption saves. Truthfully I don’t know what my birth mother would have done if adoption would not have been an option. I am so glad that God came up with the idea of Adoption.

I am for adoption, but I am not for adoption that does not line up with the word of God for families. God’s plan for families is a Father and a Mother and children.