Second-trimester abortion survivor Lauren Eden knows she’s alive and here for a reason.
Forty years ago, her teen mother tried aborting her six times, while her father, a college senior at the time, prayed for God’s timely intervention. Soon, miracles unfolded one after the other—15 of them in total.
Born prematurely at 26 weeks after an incomplete D&E (dilation and evacuation) abortion procedure, Lauren has since found her calling and life purpose. She graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in broadcast news and now advocates to dispel the lies of abortion.
Lauren feels humbled knowing how God orchestrated a chain of miracles, rescuing her from death and transforming her mother’s heart in the process.
“My mom was scared I would think she was a ‘horrible mother’ or that I would be angry with her,” Lauren told The Epoch Times. “God had prepared my heart and I immediately forgave my mom. I knew immediately that He had a purpose and a plan for my life and that He was calling me to share His story with others and to be a voice for the unborn.
“Not only did He rescue me, physically, but He rescued my mom, spiritually. He went to great lengths to answer my dad’s prayers and to show my mom that her plan for my life was not His plan for my life … that no life He creates is an accident. Every life is precious to God. He is a God of miracles and He answers prayer.”
Today, Lauren is married to David Eden, and the couple are proud parents of three young sons. Lauren’s family and parents—60-year-old Karen Stoll and 67-year-old retired engineer of Delta Airlines William Stoll—all live in south Atlanta, Georgia.
‘I Had No Idea My Mom Had Tried to Abort Me’
Karen gave birth to Lauren way back in 1982 at the age of 18. The young mom had to drop out of college to look after her fragile preemie who needed “around-the-clock care.” When all three of her children were grown up, Karen went back to college to complete her studies.While preparing for a test one day, she “suddenly burst into tears.” It was her God moment. She knew that she couldn’t carry that baggage anymore and that it was time to tell Lauren, who was then 21, all of the details of her birth story.
“It took her three months to get up the courage to tell me,” Lauren said.
It was June 20, 2004. Lauren was unpacking from a trip. Karen summoned her courage and knocked on her daughter’s bedroom door, ready to bare her soul.
“She had a strange expression on her face that I couldn’t quite read, and as she looked at me—her big, green eyes filled with tears,” Lauren said. “My mom said, ‘I’ve never meant to keep this from you. You’ve always known you were born premature, but what you don’t know is about all of the circumstances that led up to your birth. I wanted to have an abortion.’”
Lauren was in shock. “I had no idea!” she said. “I knew my parents got pregnant with me in college, but I had no idea my mom had tried to abort me.”
Karen and William had met at the University of Arkansas. Initially, the college sweethearts avoided talking about the pregnancy, but several weeks in, Karen insisted on having an abortion. While William was “adamant that she was making the wrong choice.”
Hereafter, Karen and William experienced several divine encounters leading up to their daughter’s birth.
Failed Abortion Attempts
Determined to terminate her teen pregnancy, Karen called her mother asking for $250. Surprisingly, her mom ended up sending her a check for $2.50, which delayed her appointment. Unbeknownst to her, it was just the beginning of the miracles.On the other hand, William was still unable to convince Karen; she eventually got him to drive her to her friend’s place from where both women were to go for Karen’s abortion appointment. On their way, William prayed for a miracle and then a dense cloud of fog suddenly settled on the road.
“The fog was so bad that they had to turn back,” Lauren said. “Then, when she and her friend actually drove to the first abortion clinic, my dad prayed that the doors to the clinic would be closed. The third miracle is that the clinic had moved across town and she missed her appointment.”
The next miracle happened when Karen was headed to another appointment. William prayed “she would be too far along and wouldn’t be able to go through with the procedure.” And when the staff did an ultrasound, surprisingly, Karen measured just over 13 weeks. The clinic only performed abortions up to 12 weeks.
Karen then booked an appointment at a clinic that performed abortions up to 15 weeks. “When my mom arrived [at this clinic], she found herself in that same, familiar ultrasound room. This time, my head circumference measured in at 15.3 weeks—but it had only been two days since the last ultrasound!” Lauren said.
The anxious teen stood her ground. She then got an appointment the next morning at a clinic in Dallas, Texas, that did abortions up to 21 weeks. “My dad prayed the equipment would malfunction. My head circumference suddenly went from measuring 15 weeks to 21 weeks. Another miracle!” Lauren said.
“How could this be? My mom was starting to feel like someone bigger than her was trying to prevent her from going through with this plan.”
The Dallas clinic staff then sent Karen to their sister clinic on the other side of town. They did another ultrasound. As Karen was in her second trimester, she was put on a two-day D&E procedure to terminate her pregnancy.
“The abortionist inserted a substance called laminaria into my mom’s cervix, which they told her would cause her cervix to fully dilate by the next morning,” Lauren said.
That night, Karen found herself scared, in labor, and in a lot of pain. Surprisingly, William called her and asked if he could pray for her. “When he was done praying, God moved in my mom’s heart, and she told my dad that if he would drive to Dallas, she was ninety percent sure she would not go through with the abortion,” Lauren said.
For William, it was a race against time.
He left his house in North Little Rock, Arkansas, at 4 a.m. to drive to Dallas. When he arrived at the clinic, Karen was nowhere to be seen. Afraid he was late, William paced the halls in trepidation. But just then, surprisingly again, the elevator doors behind him opened, and Karen was standing there. She had overslept.
William rushed to hug Karen, and together they told the clinic staff that she won’t be going through with the procedure. The abortionist informed them that “her cervix was fully dilated and her body ready to give birth.”
The following day, on their way back to North Little Rock, they discussed all that they'd been through.
Lauren said: “Once again, God was at work in my mom’s heart. She began to ask, ‘What now?’ As they drove, my mom recounted all the obstacles she faced at each clinic she had been to. My dad smiled. He knew God was the one who had been preventing her from going through with the abortion. Every clinic she went to, he was praying that God would intervene—and God did, time and time again.”
The Birth
Back in North Little Rock lived Bill and Janna, a young married couple from William’s home church. William had talked to them the night before he left for the Dallas clinic to get Karen. The caring couple had handed William their credit card and asked him to bring Karen home. Janna had even prayed for Karen and converted their office into a bedroom for her.A mom of two young children, Janna spent her days attending to Karen on bed rest. At night, she would stay up late with Karen and William, talking about her faith, reading the Bible, and praying with them about what they should do. “Another miracle from the Lord is that Janna’s mom also wanted to abort her—and God used her life to save mine,” Lauren said.
When Karen was just 26 weeks along, she woke up in the middle of the night. She was in labor. “It was too soon!” Lauren said.
The doctor at the hospital told them of the three most probable outcomes, all negatives: there was just a 5% chance of survival; or if the baby did survive, there was a 95% chance of brain damage; or the baby could be stillborn. William and Janna stayed up all night long while Karen was in labor, praying that God would intervene once again. And He did.
On July 26, 1982, baby Lauren was born, weighing 2 pounds, 6 ounces (approx. 1.07 kilograms).
“Miraculously, not only did I survive, but I had no brain damage and very few complications from my premature birth,” Lauren said. “I was going to be put up for adoption, and I wasn’t to be shown to my mom. A nurse ended up taking my mom to see me in the NICU [neonatal intensive care unit], and when she saw my tiny, underdeveloped body, she burst into tears and knew she had to keep me. Another miracle!
“I spent 53 days in the NICU and shortly after I was released from the hospital. [My parents] made God the center of their relationship, and less than three months later, they married. I was able to be at their wedding.”
Lauren calls it yet another miracle. “My dad recounts 15 specific miracles that God did along the way to rescue me from death. I don’t have all of the specifics of every miracle. Through learning my story, God confirmed that He loves me. He knit me together in my mother’s womb,” she said.
The Humanity in the Womb
Lauren’s faith is the foundation of her life. She had been sharing her testimony in church settings and with friends, but, she says, the story “hit home so much more” after having her own kids.“[Melissa] assured me that I was considered an abortion survivor. It’s hard to put into words what it was like to realize I wasn’t the only one!” she said.
Since that day, Lauren has met dozens of people like her, and she says it has been “an honor” to connect with many other abortion survivors from the United States and around the world. “They’re all different and miraculous!” she said.
Lauren has since completed ASN’s healing curriculum and speaker’s training and is now using her news broadcast experience to help other survivors open up about their survival stories.
“It is truly humbling to be able to share my story and to represent those who can’t or don’t yet feel ready to share on their own. It’s also so important for people to realize that abortion survivors do exist. We are an important voice in the pro-life movement that is often unheard,” she said.
Lauren feels “an incredible amount of compassion” for pregnant women who, just like her mom, find themselves in difficult situations. She says there are many ways people can get involved in helping save babies’ lives.
“There are so many wonderful organizations and ministries,” she said. “We can serve in a Pregnancy Resource Center. We can prayerfully consider starting a ministry in our churches that supports women in need. We can pray outside of abortion clinics and partner with organizations like ‘40 Days for Life’ to provide resources to women. We can get involved in supporting candidates who will sponsor legislation in our states that provide help and resources to pregnant women. We have so many options.
“The most important thing is to get involved, and let our voices be heard.”
