Chapel Features Melissa Ohden

11/03/09

Belton, Texas - Melissa Ohden, a saline abortion survivor, will be the guest speaker at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor on Wednesday, November 11, at 11:00 a.m. in the W. W. Walton Chapel.

Melissa Ohden is the survivor of a saline infusion abortion attempt in 1977. Despite the concerns regarding Melissa's chances of surviving past her infancy and living a "normal" life, she was adopted as an infant by a family in the Midwest. Despite the initial concerns regarding Melissa's future, she has survived and thrived.

With the love and support of her adoptive parents, Melissa began searching for the truth about the abortion attempt and for her biological family in 1997. Despite the many obstacles that she encountered along the way, Melissa found her maternal grandparents and her biological father in 2007. Although her biological father passed away in January of 2008, Melissa was later contacted by his parents, after they found out about her existence, having found the letter that she had sent him prior to his passing away. She has now established relationships with many of her biological father's relatives.

With a Master's Degree in Social Work, Melissa has worked in the fields of substance abuse, mental health, domestic violence/sexual assault counseling, and child welfare. She is currently a social work supervisor in a public child welfare system in the Midwest.

Melissa is the founder and director of For Olivia's Sake, a non-profit organization which seeks to peacefully raise awareness of the intergenerational impact of abortion on men, women, children, families, and communities. The non-profit is dedicated to Olivia, Melissa's first child born in 2008. Painfully aware that Olivia's beautiful life was almost over before it ever began, (as Melissa was to be aborted, herself, and therefore, Olivia would not have come into existence), Melissa felt driven to create this organization that would positively raise awareness of the impact of abortion across generations.

Melissa has experienced firsthand the impact that her biological mother's abortion has had on not only her biological parents, but also their parents, their siblings and their children. Her biological mother's abortion attempt has not only impacted Melissa and her adoptive family, but also her husband, his family, her friends and acquaintances, and now her own child, Olivia.