She Considered Abortion, But “The Lord Spoke to Me to Do The Right Thing. So I Did”
Tennessee police sergeant Evie Lastra West protects and saves lives every day on the job in the City of Cleveland.
But West also helps save lives in another way: his personal testimony.
A pro-life speaker and pregnancy center volunteer, she nearly miscarried her second child at age 19 while struggling to leave a life of gang and drug activity. With the help of her family, Christian friends and a local pregnancy resource center, however, West chose life for her son.
“The Lord spoke to me and said ‘trust me, do the right thing and trust me’ and I did,” West said. “It’s been a rough road. But even though we make mistakes choice, God still loves us. And life is always the best choice.”
In a recent speech shared by Ambassador Speakers, West said he grew up in a loving, Christian home in Orange County, California. Because his mother worked for an airline, they traveled the world for free, and he and his sister attended private school.
Her life changed at the age of 12 when her mother lost her job and she and her sister had to attend public school. there, West said his innocence about drugs, sex and gangs slowly began to crumble. Unbeknownst to her parents, she became involved in a gang, and, at age 16, she became pregnant.
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West had a son of his own, but he said his parents raised him basically. As he continues to make bad decisions, his parents decide they need to do something. They enrolled him in a Christian college in Tennessee, and sent his son with him, hoping to give them a fresh start.
At Lee College, he said he began to experience God’s love through the kindness of his classmates and teachers. People offer to watch her son while he is in class, and, since he has to go to chapel, he will hear about mercy and forgiveness.
“I felt a lot of dirt on my side. Why would God love me? I have hurt many people. I did a lot of bad things,” she remembered.
But, one day about eight weeks into college, God used a chapel speaker to touch his heart, and he repented and accepted Christ into his life. West said he began to feel strange and had a longing to read the Bible. He even joined a Christian choir.
Then, a few weeks later, she realizes she’s pregnant again, and the baby’s father is a man from her gang days in California.
“I panicked. I thought, ‘I’m not going to have children,’” she said, recalling how she tried to reconcile with God about the abortion.
West said she pulled out a phone book and turned to the “A” section for an abortion. She remembers thinking, “Ok, good! There’s an abortion clinic in Cleveland, Tennessee: New Hope Pregnancy Crisis Center.”
It turned out to be a pro-life pregnancy center.
The girl later changed her mind when she saw a picture of her unborn baby on an ultrasound screen. West said the center supported her, counseled her and helped her decide to make an adoption plan for her second child, another son.
Giving up her newborn son to another couple was one of the hardest things she’s ever done, but, at just 19 years old, God gave her peace, West said. He said his parents also love and support him.
West now serves as a police sergeant in Cleveland, Tennessee and is a mother of two. According to Alpena News, she was reunited with her second child in 2017.
Along with sharing her story across the US, she volunteers at her local pregnancy center in Cleveland. West is also the author of a book, “Revolving Choices: Playing Roulette With Life,” in which he tells his story.
