By Pamela Seal
Diocese of Lake Charles
LAKE CHARLES — Pro-life advocate Rebekah Hagan wanted to feel relief after swallowing an abortion pill in 2013 to make her unplanned pregnancy “go away.” Instead, all she felt was instant regret. What happened next would eventually lead her on a path of mercy, hope, and compassion for other young women who think abortion is their only option.
“By the time I had gotten to my car, it was like Satan blew all the candles out and said, ‘Gotcha! There you are in your guilt and your grief’,” Rebekah recalled as she sat alone and thought to herself, “What did I just do?”
youngest speakers on the issue of abortion pill reversal,
shared her story during the 31st annual New Life Counseling
Pro-Life Banquet on October 4 in Lake Charles. Seated at right
are Bishop Glen John Provost from the Diocese of Lake Charles,
and Father Joseph Caraway who serves on the Board of
Directors for New Life Counseling.
(Photo credit: Morris LeBleu / Diocese of Lake Charles)
Now 27 years old and mother to four children, Rebekah shared her story of teenage pregnancy and abortion pill reversal at the sold-out event of 800 supporters during the 31st annual New Life Counseling Pro-Life Banquet on October 4, 2022, at the Lake Charles Civic Center.
“I was raised Baptist in a devoutly Christian family, but by the time I was about 15-16 years old, I started making some adult-like decisions and thought I could do whatever I wanted,” Rebekah said. “Sure enough, I ended up pregnant at 17, the summer before my senior year of high school.”
The thought of ending her pregnancy never entered Rebekah’s mind even though she knew being a teen mom did not fit in with her plans to attend college.
“Abortion was never discussed in our home, but I knew it was wrong,” she said. “There was something inside me that said I could raise my child, so I chose life, my son, Eli.”
Rebekah managed to graduate high school early, give birth to her son, and enroll at a state college in California where she lived at the time.
“Things were starting to look up for a girl like me who got pregnant as a teenager,” she said, until about six months later when things took a turn for the worse.
“The relationship that I was in all those years, with my son’s father, became reckless. There were a lot of secrets, a lot of abuse, and addiction,” Rebekah recalled, “until finally I decided I would leave and be honest with my parents about what was going on.”
Rebekah was grateful for the grace she received from her parents and was ready to move on, until she learned the unexpected happened, again.
“A month before my 19th birthday, I found out I was pregnant. Eli was not even a year old yet,” she said.
But this time was different. She was convinced that abortion was her only option. After all, she had already given birth to one child from an unplanned pregnancy; she had just escaped an abusive boyfriend; and her father warned that she would be kicked out of their house if she got pregnant again. (Side note: Her father only said that to scare Rebekah into not getting pregnant. He never thought she would seek an abortion.)
“As I stared at a positive pregnancy test, I told myself I had to end this right now before anyone finds out, especially my dad,” Rebekah recalled. “In my mind, abortion was the logical and compassionate choice for everyone.”
A search online pointed Rebekah to a clinic in Sacramento, California, where she could have a medication abortion, which she said is very common and is marketed as safe, convenient, less expensive, and easier to hide.
“After a series of appointment delays for various reasons, I walked into a Planned Parenthood clinic on March 13, 2013. I’ll never forget that day as the nurse held the little cup with the abortion pill telling me that the process is all very natural, and it would all be over soon,” Hagan explained. She was seven weeks pregnant at the time.
“I swallowed the first RU486 abortion pill in front of the nurse after being told it would end my pregnancy. I was then sent on my way with other medication to take the next day to expel the pregnancy,” she said. “There was never any explanation about what was really happening to the baby.”
As Rebekah sat in her car, it occurred to her that the next day, March 14 — the day she was told to finish the abortion — was Eli’s first birthday.
“It would forever be a day that I brought one child into this world and ended the life of another child,” she said with remorse. “I immediately prayed and asked God if there was a way out of my situation to please help me find it, and if not to please help me forgive myself.”
Meanwhile, another online search led her to AbortionPillReversal.com where she found a doctor who gave medication (progesterone treatment) to counteract the abortion pill that she took. After doing so for several weeks, Rebekah carried her son full term.
“On October 20, 2013, I gave birth to Zechariah, which means, ‘The Lord remembers.’ Looking back, I can see God in every single part of my story,” she said. “Zechariah is perfectly healthy. He’s not just surviving, he’s thriving. He’s hilarious, he’s super smart and witty, and he wants to be a pediatrician.”
Rebekah said it took a lot for her to say yes to God, but she is so glad she did since her life has turned out better than she could have ever imagined. She eventually met and married the man of her dreams, Kramer Hagan, and gave birth to two more children, Lydia and Jonah. Their family now lives in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Rebekah is one of the first women to ever undergo the Abortion Pill Reversal Regimen and has turned her story into a mission to equip and encourage others.
“In a moment of panic, I chose my life over my child’s life because I thought it was a quick fix. I am so glad for the second chance that abortion pill reversal gave me,” said Rebekah. “I never have to wonder who Zechariah would have been but instead get a chance to watch his life unfold right before my eyes.” She went on to say, “There are resources and organizations out there to help others, people who want to walk this journey with you.”
New Life Counseling Going Mobile
Tabitha Dugas, Executive Director of New Life Counseling and New Life Medical Services — a pregnancy resource center in Lake Charles — said the overturning of Roe v. Wade earlier this year has changed the landscape of abortion.
“For the most part in years past, we knew of locations where abortions were taking place,” said Tabitha. “Now, the location of an abortion could be anywhere. The biggest strategy of the abortion industry is the selling of the abortion pill known as RU486 online.”
Tabitha said there are approximately 70-plus websites selling abortion pills continuing into the second trimester.
“This is the new battle for all of us who call ourselves pro-life,” said Tabitha. “The question is this: In a Post-Roe America, how will we respond?”
In an effort to remain pro-active in the fight to save lives, New Life Counseling announced its newest mission to reach abortion-minded women who have not heard of its services nor have transportation to its center.
“It with great anticipation that I announce tonight that New Life Counseling is going mobile,” Tabitha said. “Our mobile medical unit will allow us to offer all the services we currently provide at our clinic in areas that do not have similar services — in Jennings, Kinder, DeRidder, and Sulphur.”
The same free and confidential services offered include pregnancy testing, STI/STD testing and treatment, OB ultrasounds, options counseling, and parenting/pregnancy classes. Abortion Pill Reversal is also offered free of charge to clients.
“Going mobile allows us to extend the mission of the center into communities to meet women and men where they are,” continued Tabitha. “Our goal is to navigate the mobile unit for Mother’s Day 2023.”
For more information and a list of services offered by New Life Counseling and New Life Medical Services, located at 631 East School Street, visit www.newlifecounselinglc.com and https://newlifemedicallc.org; or call 337-474-7003.
