Pro-lifer who talked a woman out of abortion slammed for not taking in the child herself

Pro-lifers are often criticized for seemingly being concerned about the fate of a child for only as long as the fetus is inside the womb. Recently, Twitter user Hayley Farless tweeted the screenshot of a Facebook post by pro-life advocate Jamie Jeffries which comes across as a textbook example of this very mentality. In the post that was reportedly shared on a private Facebook group called Are You Even Pro-Life, Jeffries talks about how a few months after she convinced a woman not to have an abortion, she was now being asked to take the child into her own home.

The post reads: I talked a mom out of abortion in February. Her baby is 6-months-old now and was just removed from her family's custody by DCS (unfortunately it was probably a justified removal). But this family put ME down as the next preferred placement for this baby. Dude me?!?!? No. No no no no no no no no no! I do way too much for this work already, a 6-month-old will break me, destroy my marriage and physical health. I just can't!! Sharing the screenshot of the post on Twitter, Farless wrote: This is real. This is a real-life post by an anti-abortion activist. You can’t make this shit up.

Farless' tweet quickly went viral with many Twitter users calling out the supposed hypocrisy of it all. How many times does it have to be said, they're not pro-life. They are pro-birth. Pro-life would mean believing in affordable healthcare, affordable housing, food assistance, free schooling, etc, commented RC Not The Cola. JFC! So they knew the kid deserved to get taken away by the state but still encouraged a pregnancy? She should have to pay for that child the rest of her life, Lazy Smurf tweeted.

Soon enough, news of the viral tweet and the backlash to her Facebook post reached Jeffries too who, as it turns out, is an avid pro-life advocate with quite a few followers online. She reached out to Farless with the whole story of the child in question, Baby Z. "Maybe know a story before telling it. I'll be sure to pass along your concern for his wellbeing when I see him and his family tomorrow," she messaged Farless, along with a link to another lengthy Facebook post addressing the online backlash.

Jeffries claimed that although she couldn't take in Baby Z herself, she'd arranged for him to have a home and family with a friend of hers. "And knowing what this baby meant to me, and me pleading in tears for her to keep him safe because I couldn’t, she said yes. I’m so eternally grateful to her and her husband and their children for that," she wrote. She also claimed to be in constant contact with the child's new family and tweeted a photo of herself holding a child as proof. How could I be holding baby z if I already "abandoned him" to foster care? she asked.

Jeffries also stated on Facebook that Baby Z would soon be adopted by his foster family. "And I get to be there. With him. Loving him. Helping him. Making sure he is safe and loved and ALIVE. And I will always be there for him. He will always have me and I will always do everything in my power to make sure he is safe and loved just as I have since he was 8 weeks old in the womb. I've been by his side his entire life... He couldn't get rid of me even if he tried!" she wrote.

Jeffries further justified her words and actions in a blog post titled I Totally Talked A Woman Out Of An Abortion. "A girl calls and asks my opinion about her choosing abortion because she’s nervous about having another baby. I talk her out of it by telling her I think her unborn baby deserves a shot at the life that they’ve started in the womb. She quickly agreed and never did seek an abortion... But I did not force a baby on her. Sometimes 'talking someone out of' something in no way implies force or coercion. It implies communication. Someone seeking out and then willingly taking your advice does not mean you forced them to do something you wanted," she wrote.

"And sometimes people talk to you about something because they already know what you’re going to say and they just want someone to talk them back from whatever ledge they’re standing on... People shouldn’t jump to confusing talking someone out of something with forcing someone into something. It’s not the same thing," Jeffries concluded. Despite her lengthy justifications, what Jeffries does not seem to realize is the numerous other occasions where a mother unable to take care of her child doesn't have the luxury of someone else stepping forward to take in the child. She also doesn't seem to be taking into consideration the resultant psychological effects of the pregnancy, childbirth, and having her baby taken away on the woman she convinced not to go through with an abortion.