By practically universal consent, we are believed to be the product of human parents, born into matter by material means. That is what I was taught while I was growing up and how I thought of myself. I was a great believer in romantic love, or life according to the happy endings we often see in the movies. While in college, I started dating someone who showered me with attention. I grew to depend on the relationship for my happiness and self-worth.
I had been raised to uphold a standard of morality and to remain a virgin until marriage. In the college environment, that standard got muddled. After dating my boyfriend for two years, I became pregnant.
We sought counseling from a minister, who was thorough in advising us about our options. He warned that abortion would be the most devastating of them. So we planned to keep the pregnancy secret, elope, and have the child. But when pressed to make good on his part of the plan, my boyfriend backed out.
