The 10:00 Appointment

The young couple sat silently in their car outside the big, ominous building. They were each deep in their own thoughts, but they both knew that those thoughts were the same. Staring out the car’s windshield, the couple studied the building that sat conspicuously on the corner. Across the top in big block letters read Women's Clinic. That was more proper than Abortion Clinic. The imposing building was old and made of bricks which had faded over the years, turning them to a brownish-tan color. It was four-stories high and in the shape of a square, with dark windows in the same place on every level. The building was meant to be discreet, with no signs other than the two words across the top, but everyone who lived in the city knew what it was. The building looked especially depressing and intimidating against the overcast, drizzly sky and the dark clouds that threatened a storm.

In addition to random people who scurried by, there was a dozen or so people mingling outside the building; half of them carrying various signs of protest and wearing buttons or pins with Bible quotes, while the other half wore bright orange security vests and stood near the entrance to the gate that led to the building’s front doors. Their faces were serious.

Inside the car, 20-year-old Ricky grabbed the hand of Christy, his 19-year-old girlfriend, and gave it an affectionate squeeze. Both of their palms were clammy and damp with nervous sweat.

"What time is it?" Christy asked softly. Ricky checked his watch again, already knowing what time it was since he had been checking it every five minutes since they pulled up a half hour ago.

"It's 9:30." He said gently. "We have 30 minutes left to decide...." His voice trailed off and their eyes met, both wet with tears and filled with concern and confusion. Thirty minutes. The decision they had to make would forever change their lives- one way or another.

Christy had found out she was pregnant three weeks ago. She had made an appointment with an OB immediately and was told she was seven weeks along, which now put her at ten weeks. Glancing down at her stomach, she found herself once again thinking about what had been growing inside of her for the past ten weeks. The news had been a shock to both Ricky and Christy- they had always used protection, but this proved to be one of those 2% chances of the protection failing to work. They were both college students enrolled in four-year programs. They each lived in dorms and lived like any typical college student: broke, stressed, and working a part-time minimum wage job while trying to keep up with bills and studying. Neither Christy nor Ricky had any family who lived within a 3-hour drive, so that erased any chance of family being closely available to provide any type of help. It wasn't the most ideal situation to bring a baby into. Ricky and Christy had had long, serious discussions about where they were in life, what their options were, and what each option would entail. Because they had both called their parents with the news, they had their parents’ opinions as well.

Ricky’s mom, a spiritual and deeply religious woman who felt any new life would bring nothing but joy and happiness, strongly felt they should continue with the pregnancy. His mom also said that in addition to babies bringing joy and love, abortion went against the word of God. And most importantly, as she put it, Ricky and Christy should deal with the consequences of their actions. She also pointed out that if having a baby proved too difficult, adoption was an option. Ricky’s dad, hardened and also deeply religious, agreed that the pregnancy should be carried out for the same reasons as Ricky’s mom. However, he felt adoption was a lousy idea, saying there were already overcrowded orphanages and millions of unwanted children and babies waiting to be adopted. He also felt the child would grow up knowing it had been given away by the very people who were supposed to give the most love and provide the most protection.

Christy’s parents felt the complete opposite as Ricky’s. Christy’s dad, a successful lawyer who demanded nothing less than perfection in his life, and Christy’s mom, a highly respected Emergency Room physician, both lectured Christy about her carelessness and taking such chances that would ruin her life. They reminded her of how hard she had worked during her junior and senior years in high school to be awarded the scholarship that had gotten her accepted into the college of her dreams, as well as how hard she had worked so far in college. They reminded her of her carefully laid out plans for her future after college and how that would all be taken away.

But at the end of the day, only Ricky and Christy could make the final decision.

So here they sat, outside the clinic where they had preemptively scheduled an appointment, both knowing that if they went inside to that appointment, they may regret it, and their lives would never be the same. Both also knowing that if they were to drive away, they may regret it, and their lives would never be the same. Both thinking of what their parents had said.

Christy watched as a girl about her own age walked quickly towards the clinic. The girl stared at her feet as she walked and had a big hood pulled over her head covering her face. The protestors immediately approached her, trying to give her pamphlets and convince her to turn back, telling her it wasn’t too late. The security in orange vests were right there too, helping guide the upset girl into the building and shield her. As Cassie watched, she suddenly made up her mind. She turned to Ricky and told him with conviction her decision. He kissed her forehead and pulled her in for a hug. Their decision had been made.

What was their decision? Is that for us to know? Is that for us to decide? The decision was one made between Ricky and Christy; a decision to be made only by them because it was what they felt was right for them.