Kingsley Halbert is alive today because of the Mississippi abortion ban.
And although his parents are struggling financially, Lationna Halbert and her fiancé, Kendall, believe their son’s life is a “blessing,” according to In These Times.
Halbert told the news outlet that she has mixed feelings about abortion, and she does not believe lawmakers should ban it. However, her state’s laws also are the reason why her son is alive.
In July 2022, the West Jackson, Mississippi mom said she discovered that she was pregnant again. Already the mother to a 4-year-old and working a low-paying job, she said she wanted to be married, have a better job and live in a better home before having a second child.
“I cried, I cried, I cried,” she told In These Times. “I just wanted everything to be better than what it is now. We were not ready to have a baby.”
After talking with Kendall, her boyfriend at the time, they decided to make an abortion appointment. However, when Halbert called Jackson Women’s Health, the only abortion facility in Mississippi, no one answered.
In early July, Mississippi began enforcing its abortion ban, which protects unborn babies by banning all elective abortions. The law forced the abortion facility to close, and state leaders estimated 5,000 more babies will be born this year as a result. State lawmakers also increased support for pregnant and parenting moms. This spring, they voted to expand Medicaid to mothers of newborns and create a website with resources to help pregnant and parenting families in need.
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Pro-life charities, including pregnancy resource centers and maternity homes, also have been working to reach more families, offering free diapers and clothing, pregnancy tests, counseling and other baby items.
But, for Halbert, in the middle of the initial crisis, an abortion seemed best. She said she felt “stuck” and did not want to put off her plans to go to cosmetology school.
She looked into other places to travel for an abortion but, because many southern states now protect unborn babies’ lives, the closest place she could find with an appointment was Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Halbert said she could not afford to travel so far or leave work for so long, so she and her boyfriend began preparing to welcome their second child, according to the report.
Here’s more:
In December 2022, Lationna was still trying to get clothes, a car seat and a stroller for the coming baby. They didn’t have the money. (It is not clear if she visited a local pregnancy resource center. Many provide these things for free.) “It is stressful,” she said at the time. “I am so terrified.”
But Lationna and Kendall found ways to mentally adjust to the idea of having a baby together. After they realized they couldn’t afford an out-of-state abortion, they had a long talk, and Lationna “had a coming to terms” in realizing “this baby’s still going to grow.” She prayed and she talked to her mother, who told her she had to face her responsibilities. She tried to see it as “just another blessing.”
Halbert said she enrolled in Medicaid, which covered her prenatal care, and Kendall began working a side job on the weekends.
Then, another surprise came at Christmas: a proposal. After Halbert unwrapped the ring, Kendall bent down on one knee and asked her to marry him.
“I started crying,” she remembered. “I didn’t think he wanted to.”
A month later, their son Kingsley was born. Since then, the family has been working slowly and steadily to overcome their struggles. Halbert described how she persevered through postpartum depression, especially while Kendall worked long hours and she stayed home alone with the baby.
She does not know if she will ever go to cosmetology school now. But her mother and aunt have been helping to watch the children, and she recently returned to work. Halbert said she plans to get her tubes tied, too, because they do not want more children.
The report portrayed the family’s situation in a bad light and implied that things would have been better for all of them if Halbert had gone through with the abortion. But they would not have been better for Kingsley, a beautiful little boy who now has the opportunity to grow and thrive.
Human beings have an amazing ability to overcome difficult circumstances and thrive, and that is what his parents are doing daily. They are working hard and dreaming big for their family because they realize their sons’ lives are valuable.
“We just got to make things work,” his mother said.