[Editor’s note: Lauren Lee from Anchorage followed Joe Miller’s pro-life posts on his Joe Miller For Senate Facebook page over the last several months, and decided she wanted to share her own powerful pro-life story. Please read it below]

I am a mom of a three year old little girl and had no plans to get pregnant again because I have a severe spinal injury — a fused pelvis full of metal and can barely walk. I am in constant pain. My pain was so severe I was on dilaudid pills.

I got hurt while on active duty in the U.S. army, during training. My condition is a result of multiple injuries. First I broke my leg — a complete compound fracture, but I was lied to and was told it was only a sprain. So I then attempted to jump out of a 5 ton vehicle with 100 lbs of gear on my body. The drop off was 5.5 ft high — I was standing when I jumped. My ligaments across my sacrum could not handle the stress because the leg had not healed at that point, so my pelvis gave out on impact, resulting in bi-lateral tears across the SI joint. I then kept going, even though it was painful — just like I did with the leg, because my dream was to be an airborne soldier. While practicing to fall from an 8 ft tall platform, the same thing happened to my other side and my pubic bone. I now have half of a pubic bone, and the only thing holding my pelvis together is my metal hardware, most of which is loose. So there is a lot of pain from that. I have several more surgeries to undergo because the first two were not done properly.

It’s been extremely painful. My life as a person has completely changed since I got out of the military and that in itself has been a journey. I’ve been all across the USA to get treatment for my condition.

That aside, when I became pregnant, I had only been dating the father for a month and a half. The first time we were intimate, our choice of birth control failed. I didn’t think twice about it, because it took 10 months for me to conceive my 3 year old daughter. So when our “protection” malfunctioned, I brushed it off. I had no clue that at that moment, I had become pregnant.

A few weeks later, when I wasn’t even late yet, I took a pregnancy test and it came back positive. I had convinced myself at first to get an abortion. I talked myself into it thinking it was justifiable because of my injuries and how hard it would be on me. And the list of how easy it would be on me was long if I just got an abortion. I was sold on aborting as my solution, despite having some Christian background. When I called my boyfriend to tell him I was pregnant, he just wanted to support whatever decision I made.

After first visiting an Ob/gyn, I went to one appointment at Planned Parenthood, without telling anyone I was going. At the first appointment, I was 10 weeks along. They performed an ultrasound and I saw the baby — I saw that at just 10 weeks, she looked human. I had already detoxed off my pain medication and was still having severe morning sickness. My boyfriend and I were on a break from our relationship. So I made the follow up appointment for a couple days later to have the “procedure done.”

The day before, I was still convinced it was the thing to do. On my way to the abortion clinic, I started to throw up, per the norm of my morning sickness. I pulled the car over — I was alone and I couldn’t stop puking. Since I was late for the appointment, I rescheduled for the following day. The same thing happened; however, instead of feeling nothing, I looked at the ultrasound photo from three days prior, saw the little human, and just started to cry.

I realized I had made so many “me” and “I” statements. I am poor, living on V.A. disability. I found a bunch of reasons to not have this baby. But as I sat there, I realized I made a choice to have sex — the baby did not ask to be here. At that moment, I realized, “Who am I to pick which of my kids lives and which one dies?” It wasn’t as simple as a “procedure,” and that was the thing — I was going to kill a baby. The baby has a heartbeat, a face, fingers and toes.

That day, I turned around went back home and prayed. I had a “come to Jesus meeting,” as I like to say. I felt bad that I even considered killing my child, and I asked for forgiveness. I told the baby’s father I couldn’t do it, and he said he was glad I didn’t – that he thanks God I did not! We haven’t been a couple long, but we decided no matter what happens with us, we will be there for our daughter. I had even considered adoption if I felt I couldn’t care for her myself.

This pregnancy wasn’t easy — in fact, my baby girl was diagnosed in utero with a rare heart condition — a right-sided aorta with a vascular ring, and also bladder issues. I had trouble walking and had to use a wheelchair and walker. My nausea almost had me hospitalized and lasted 24 weeks. I ended up with placenta previa, as well as placenta abrupta at 20 weeks, which healed itself. I had to see a neonatal specialist, as well as a regular doctor. I needed to have a c-section two weeks early because of my pain. I have a pubic plate and bilateral SI joint fusion, so I could not push a baby out. A pelvis specialist was on call while I was in the operating room during delivery because of my hardware and nerve damage.

I am sharing my story because if I can complete a pregnancy being in pain, having disabilities and not being super-rich, anyone can. I am so glad I continued my pregnancy! There is no way I would have been able to forgive myself if I had gone through with the abortion. Now I have my beautiful daughter — Alexia Grace, born August 27th. I know I am a good mom, and every child deserves a chance at life!

BIO: Lauren Lee is a freelance photographer in Anchorage, Alaska: Photography by Lauren Lee, specializing in maternity and baby photos, and also enjoys doing make-up artistry. She’s now a blogger with https://www.savethe1.com, addressing the “hard cases” of poor in utero diagnoses.

The governor race in Alaska has taken an interesting turn with Independent Republican Bill Walker jumping out of his party and platform to team with Byron Mallott, the Democrat’s candidate aligned with Begich and Obama. If this alliance wins, then it will have a major impact on the ongoing gasline projects. Some say that this race is now reminiscent of the Palin or Hickel races, but there are major differences.

Sarah Palin ran against proven corruption in the legislature and won with the conservative populist vote, never abandoning party or principles. Hickel ran a conservative campaign against a liberal Republican opponent. Walker is running a liberal populist campaign based on an appeal to perceived evils in our successful oil and gas industry. He often talks of state taking back control of paid-for leases, and taking ownership of gas pipeline and liquefaction facilities as other countries have done. He’s running against an incumbent governor whose optimism and focus on increasing oil production and a gasline have created an economic boom with jobs increasing every year. We currently have a gasline deal moving forward with buy-in from the producers and approval of the legislature.

From an energy perspective, the most important issue that the next governor will address is a gasline project. Bill Walker has for many years been a driving force behind the Alaska Gasline Port Authority (AGPA), established in 1999 by the Fairbanks North Star Borough, the North Slope Borough and the City of Valdez. It was created to support a gasline effort to Valdez, the one that the voters statewide also chose to support in 2002. That project never garnered the support that was necessary to see it to fruition.

Other gas projects were later proposed and gained political backing. Walker’s Port Authority chose a scorched earth policy, working to defeat all other gas line proposals that weren’t their own. They advertised with public dollars and personally lobbied the legislature and administration to kill all other gas line projects, instead of modifying their plan to fit the new situation. Note, they did attempt at one point a gas trucking project for Fairbanks, but that was defeated, mainly based on the high price the public and assembly thought they were paying to buy the local gas utility. Personally, I’ve always been a supporter of the line to Valdez, and voted for Walker in 2010 because I thought that the specific gasline was the defining issue. What I don’t understand is refusing to adapt when the situation changed, delaying the chance for a gasline, due to a desire for a particular plan. Sometimes perfect is the enemy of good.

Consider the following questions: How is Walker going to advance the gasline project that is already in motion? The Alaska LNG project, a project to construct a gasline and the facilities to export gas and provide for Alaska’s energy needs, has achieved cooperation with the oil companies and they been doing field work for it all summer. The planned route goes to Nikiski, on the Kenai Peninsula, not Walker’s hometown of Valdez and the EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) work is underway. There are more negotiations still to be done.

How will a man who has consistently worked for the last fifteen years for a specific project to Valdez and against all others handle those negotiations? How will he make the win-win deal that is needed in our free enterprise system to advance a gasline, when he has taken an adversarial position with the oil companies, going so far as to sue the state after the Point Thomson settlement took place? This settlement would supply the gas for a line, has caused the oil companies to invest billions in infrastructure and had 700 people working this summer. If Walker mandates a change from what was previously approved and intended by the legislature, how will he be able to get legislative approval?

For most of Alaska, a gasline is just an important source of future revenue, but for us in Fairbanks it is life or death, as many of our long-time citizens are leaving for places with cheaper utility bills. Sean Parnell helped the Interior by proposing and supporting the Interior Energy project to truck gas to Fairbanks. This is a bridge project that will prove helpful, but does not diminish the need for a long-term solution such as a gasline. If you examine the record of the candidates then it’s pretty easy to see that the choice you’ll make in November is Walker or a natural gas pipeline.

Lance Roberts is an engineer, born and raised in Fairbanks. He is a member of the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly. The views expressed here are his own and do not represent the assembly or borough administration.