Eighteen-year-old Melody M. Turay of Brewerville City has become an unexpected voice for life after surviving intense pressure to abort her now 14-month-old son. The young mother shared her harrowing yet ultimately hopeful story during a recent pro-life training organized by Church Aid Inc. and New Water in Desert Assembly church, revealing how she overcame family opposition and societal challenges to choose life for her child.
Melody’s ordeal began at just 16 years old when she became pregnant while living with her father and attending Mother Tesgeste Stewart School in Brewerville. Facing intense pressure from her father Vanyuman Toomey and sharing fears with her boyfriend, she made multiple attempts to terminate the pregnancy during her first trimester, even resorting to dangerous herbal concoctions. “I became more afraid and started taking all sorts of unknown herbs, but nothing worked,” Melody confessed during the training session.
The teenager, who lost her mother Gbessay Massalay at age three, found herself completely alone in her decision-making, with even her sister and friends advising abortion. “Several thoughts crossed my mind and I was in a state of dilemma as I had no one to support me with a better way out,” she recounted of those desperate months. Her breaking point came when she defiantly decided, “Enough of this pressure. Whatever my father wants to do, let him go ahead. I won’t kill myself.”
Melody’s courage came at a high personal cost – her father has refused to see her since her decision to continue the pregnancy, despite reconciliation attempts. She managed to hide her pregnancy from school authorities until her sixth month, when she reluctantly dropped out. Salvation came from an unlikely source when her boyfriend’s mother, initially upset about the pregnancy, had a change of heart and took Melody in.
This compassionate woman, already struggling with her own son’s drug addiction and working through their local church to get him into one of Liberia’s limited rehabilitation centers, opened her home and heart to the pregnant teen. On May 19, 2023 – Melody’s own birthday – she gave birth to baby Abraham S. Howard without her father’s support or presence.
Today, Melody credits her boyfriend’s mother for helping her return to school after delivery, despite their limited resources. “I got my promotion to the 12th grade, and I am very excited,” the young mother beamed, drawing a direct connection between her current happiness and her decision not to abort. Her participation in the pro-life training reinforced this conviction, with Melody vowing never to advise abortion to her peers.
However, challenges remain for the teen. She longs to reconcile with her estranged father and worries about balancing continued education with motherhood amid Liberia’s difficult economic conditions. Melody’s story has emerged as a powerful testament to both the struggles facing young mothers and the transformative impact of community support, offering hope and perspective in a nation where approximately 30% of girls aged 15-19 become mothers according to World Bank data.
