Pregnancy Center Helped Justin Bieber’s Mom Reject Abortion

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Sep 19, 2012   |   1:06PM   |   Washington, DC

Earlier this week, initial reports surfaced of the new interview Justin Bieber’s mom gave to the Today show’s Kathie Lee Gifford about how she chose life instead of abortion when pregnancy with the international music superstar.

Justin Bieber’s mother, Pattie Mallette, explained to “Today” about the sexual abuse she suffered before becoming pregnant and how she was determined to make it through a difficult pregnancy situation and give birth to Bieber. She said:

By the age of 17, Mallette became pregnant with Justin, and at the time, she was encouraged to abort the baby. Of course, Mallette said that was an option she couldn’t consider. “I just knew I couldn’t. I just knew I couldn’t. I just know I had to keep him,” she told Gifford. “And, do the best. I — you know, I didn’t know how I was going to do it. But I just knew that I couldn’t — I couldn’t abort. I had to do my best. I had to see what I could do. And I was determined to do whatever it took.”

More of the interview is out now and it reveals how a pregnancy center was instrumental in Mallette’s decision not to abort Bieber.

On its website, TODAY ran an excerpt from the book, which is published by Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group. What’s not mentioned there (but found in an article in the Toronto Sun) is that Mallette stayed at Bethesda Centre, a center for pregnant teens, in 1994. The 18-bed Center is run by the Salvation Army and in May, Bieber donated a portion of the sales of a new song to the $1.5 million campaign to save the shelter.

Bieber dedicated the song, “Turn to You,” as a Mother Day’s gift to his mother.

A spokeswoman for “Save Bethesda,” told the Sun that says she and three other women from the Centre were all staying at Bethesda at the same time Mallette was there.

“Pattie was just like any of the other girls. We were all in the same situation. Nobody knew this little baby, Justin, was going to become famous,” said Sarah Brooks.

Brooks said the Centre provides an alternative to overcrowded social agencies. “It offers hope, it offers opportunity. Without that centre, where will these girls go?” asked Brooks. Alas, the fundraising fell short and the Bethesda Centre has been closed, according to the Salvation Army’s webpage.

You can read the excerpt from “Nowhere but Up” at https://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/49065762/ns/today-books/#.UFii1Z1mTwM My guess is that you will be as impressed as I was at the courage of Ms. Mallette and the generosity of the Bethesda Centre.

In the February 2011 interview that made headlines, Rolling Stone magazine initially reported Bieber said: “I really don’t believe in abortion … It’s like killing a baby.”

And asked about whether he supported abortion in cases of rape or incest, the music journal indicated Bieber said,  “Um. Well, I think that’s really sad, but everything happens for a reason. I guess I haven’t been in that position, so I wouldn’t be able to judge that.”

But Rolling Stone issued a “correction” after initially publishing the quote and the correction makes it clear Bieber doesn’t really believe rape constitutes a reason to have an abortion:

“Um. Well, I think that’s really sad, but everything happens for a reason. I don’t know how that would be a reason. I guess I haven’t been in that position, so I wouldn’t be able to judge that,” is what Bieber actually said.

The magazine later issued another update of the quote — one that makes it clear Bieber believes the unborn child is a human being.

CLICK LIKE IF YOU’RE PRO-LIFE!

 

“I really don’t believe in abortion. I think it [an embryo] is a human. It’s like killing a baby,” Bieber actually said, with the magazine adding “an embryo for context when Beiber was apparently referring to an unborn baby through pregnancy.

The magazine admitted an “editing error” over the quote and said the quote initially released on its web site was “incomplete.” Media reports on the controversy indicate Rolling Stone issued the “correction” prior to handlers for Bieber contacting them about it.