For $75, Monica Kelsey’s birth mother could’ve aborted her.
It was 1972 and the money was ready. Kelsey’s birthmother was in a back-alley abortion clinic, but
decided not to at the last minute.
She went through with the pregnancy, and abandoned Kelsey at a hospital when she was only two hours old.

"She gave me the greatest gift I’ve ever received – life," Kelsey said. "And on top of
that, she gave me an amazing family."
Along with two other panelists, Kelsey shared her story during the program "Abortion: Difficult
Choices – Rape, Incest, A Mother’s Health" at Bowling Green State University on Monday.
The Foundation for Life and St. Thomas More’s Veritas Catholic Christian Life Group sponsored the event.

"Know that we have put on this event not to judge or debate, but to simply listen to three
individuals and their stores," said Peter Range, St. Thomas More lead campus minister.
True to the program’s name, when she was 37, Kelsey discovered her conception was due to a brutal rape.

"I was very angry and very bitter and I wanted revenge," she said. "But I knew I had to
find forgiveness for this man, and that was the hardest part of my journey. "
Through her faith, her marriage and her adoptive parents "who are absolutely amazing," Kelsey
found that forgiveness and something else.
Kelsey is the founder of "Living Exceptions," a non-profit organization dedicated to
strengthening people’s pro-life positions – including children conceived through rape and incest.
"We can no longer pass laws that have rape and incest exemptions and negate our first argument on
why we’re pro-life in the first place," she said. "If you truly believe that it is a child at
the moment of conception, than the circumstances of that child’s conception shouldn’t change your
argument."
Panelist Kristi Hofferber wants abortion laws that include rape and incest exemptions to be overturned.

Those laws, she said, prohibit people like her from existing.
Hofferber’s birth mother was violently raped by her own father for over 10 years. And through that abuse,
Hofferber was born.
"Just because I’m conceived in incest, doesn’t mean I don’t have value," she said. "My
life is just as valuable."
During previous panels with "Living Exceptions," Hofferber is sometimes asked what is wrong
with her.
Some assume she has a developmental disorder because of her incestuous conception.
"That’s just not the case," she said. "I’m not purple with pink polka dots like some
people think I might be. Just because of the circumstances of my conception, doesn’t mean I’m different
from anybody else."
Michelle Thomas rounded out the panel to tell her own story. It wasn’t one of rape or incest, but of
risking her own life for her children.
After several complicated pregnancies, Thomas was warned by doctors to not get pregnant again.
Thomas didn’t listen.
"We have to protect our fertility," she said. "I have six kids who are really glad I
didn’t get my tubes tied."
Thomas’ story resonated with BGSU senior Kate Andrew, who walked in thinking life of the mother trumped
life of baby.
She walked out thinking something different.
"I always thought about the life of the mother," Andrew said. "But being able to put a
face to the issue was extremely powerful. I thought ‘what would I do?’ I would have my baby."