It is always a great blessing for me to come into contact with fellow abortion survivors. It is a continued blessing for me to share their stories, if they are so inclined, with all of you. Today, I would like to introduce you to Dawn Milberger from Spring Branch, (in the heart of the hill country) Texas.
As Dawn shares on The Abortion Survivors Network website,www.theabortionsurvivors.com/survivortestimonies, she has been called to speak publicly about her personal survival of several attempts to abort her through induced miscarriage, the beautiful dynamics of adoption openly discussed and lived out in her forever (adoptive) family, and the journey of forgiveness through which she offered forgiveness to her birthparents, along with learning to understand and accept the powerful forgiveness from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for her participation in an abortion, having driven a college friend to an abortion clinic.
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Her birthmother confessed that a friend of hers, a nurse, gave her injections on two occasions (of a substance that Dawn is not aware of the specifics of), in an attempt to induce miscarriage.
Still whirling from her birthmother’s statements, her birthfather began to confess his actions towards her in the womb as well. He said, “I need to ask for your forgiveness, too, for I purposefully played with your birthmother’s pregnant stomach as a punching bag in order for you to be miscarried and gave her rough piggy back rides to make you drop.”
Despite their actions towards her, to this day, Dawn considers both of her birthparents “very brave and somewhat heroic,” as they “didn’t have to share their actions but felt like they needed to confess them, risking emotional rejection and other repercussions” from her. Their years of self-torment taught Dawn that abortion, whether “successful” or not, does affect everyone involved. Their genuine humility in seeking forgiveness from Dawn taught her how to reach out to seek forgiveness in her own life’s situations, regardless of the possible outcome in doing so.
As I also shared in my recent article about survivors, a strong faith is a common bond that many survivors share, and as Dawn, herself, states, her “entire testimony is not only compelling but full of proof of the unmerited grace and providence of our Lord.”
As an adoptee, Dawn hopes that her personal testimony about adoption will encourage individuals to view adoption in an entirely new light, as a blessing, not a burden.
Dawn has been receiving infusion treatments for 21 years for neuro-muscular issues that she was born with, and doctors suspect may be from the injections her birthmother was given, and does use a wheelchair to travel, as it is hard for her to walk long distances, but she is passionate about reaching out to others with the truth about life and the gift of adoption, encouraging others to forgive and seek forgiveness, and ultimately lead others to Christ, and doesn’t let her health issues slow her down in sharing her message.
Dawn has founded Gotcha Ministries of Central Texas. To learn more about Dawn or her ministry, please visit The Abortion Survivors Network website or like the Gotcha Ministries of Central Texas on Facebook.