Editor’s note: If you missed our earlier post on Medical abortions made cheap and easy–and kind of legal please click the link here. This is a follow-up story from someone who recently found out she was pregnant–17 weeks into it!

By Amanda Mullins

Just two weeks ago, my husband and I found out I was pregnant.  We were ecstatic to say the least.  I had come off of birth control a little over a year ago (because of a revelation we had from the Lord that we were truly defeating the purpose of the banner we raise in the name of LIFE by preventing it with a pill).  We also felt that we were trusting a pill and not the Lord to determine when we would have children.  It was a humbling moment…but oh so freeing!

The amazing thing about this is that I am already 18 weeks pregnant right now!  After 2 home pregnancy tests in the last 3 months that both came back negative, we felt that I was truly not pregnant.  We began researching what this could mean.  We were told by many, “Well you know, pregnancy tests are supposed to be 99.9% accurate, so you probably really aren’t pregnant.”  I didn’t want to believe that.  We began looking into clinics and doctors to see which would be best to go to in order to help us figure out what may really be going on.  We chose a pro-life clinic in Birmingham named “Her Choice.”  What a wonderful experience.  I first went there seeking to get some advice on what to do next since I was, according to a $5 pregnancy test, “not pregnant.”  

Joy Pinto, the Director of Her Choice pregnancy clinic, was the one who I had the appointment with.  After describing to her that I had been late on my cycle for 3 months now, and had taken two home pregnancy tests that both came back negative, she explained how it was necessary for them to do one more “in-house” pregnancy test to totally rule out pregnancy.  So, I took the test and laid it on the counter to wait the recommended “two minutes” before seeing the results–expecting to see one line that would show it came back negative.

I walked away for a few minutes to make the time go by faster.  Breaking the silence, I hear Joy say, “Hey, Amanda…I have some good news for you…you’re pregnant!”

What?!?  I could not believe it!  I ran over to look at the test–sure enough, 2 bright red lines showed on the test window.  I started screaming out of excitement.  I could not stop smiling for hours.

Friends, I share this beautiful and exciting story only to show the reality of how misguiding a simple pregnancy test… or two… can be.

It turns out that I was 17 weeks pregnant at the time that I took the pregnancy test at Her Choice–completely through my entire 1st trimester, and over a month into my 2nd trimester!  

A reality that hit me very shortly after we found this out was this:  for nearly 3 months, I believed that I was not pregnant because of two simple $5 pregnancy tests telling me I wasn’t.  I never informed any doctor I visited during those months that I may be pregnant, simply because “the test told me so.”

Please realize this truth about 1) pregnancy tests, and 2) the extent of knowledge that a doctor has based on what you tell them based on the results you got back from one of these pregnancy tests–they are not 99.9% accurate.  I was told by my OBGYN that there are about 5% of women whose hormones do not escalate enough until later in their pregnancy for it to register through a store-bought pregnancy test. I have never heard this truth, nor have I read it on the box of a pregnancy test.  

I recently heard from a friend of mine about her experience in being prescribed a prescription drug by her doctor for some back pain that she was experiencing.  After doing some simple research, she discovered that this pain pill had some of the main ingredients that are present in abortion pills.  She quickly realized the gravity of what had happened, and how she could have easily been “served” an abortion by her doctor had she been pregnant.

Please be aware of what is in the prescription drugs that you are taking, especially if you are trying to get pregnant, or could already be pregnant.  Also be aware of the reality that each woman is different, and responds to pregnancy tests differently.  Please do not rule out that you may be pregnant based on a store bought pregnancy test.

Amanda Mullins is a graduate from Samford University with a bachelors in Religion, and a minor in Sociology.  Her and her husband, Clayton, reside in Birmingham, Alabama and are expecting baby Corban Bates Mullins on September 24th.  They defend LIFE for the unborn through prayer vigils, counseling at abortion clinics, and soon through the birth of their son.