After an abortion and miscarriage, God opened her eyes to the truth

Raised as a Buddhist by a single mother, Anna Tran was proud to call herself a liberal feminist living in Southern California. When she was 21 years old, she began dating a man 10 years older and became pregnant. She was scared and didn’t know what to do – then she learned her boyfriend had no interest in being a father.

Tran told Live Action News, “I thought that if my boyfriend didn’t want our child, then I didn’t either.”

Wanting to avoid any confrontations with sidewalk counselors, she decided to go to the Family Planning Association instead of Planned Parenthood. She got an ultrasound and learned she was 14 weeks into her pregnancy. She was referred to another clinic for the abortion.

“There, I encountered sidewalk counselors,” Tran said. “So, my boyfriend put his arm around me as we entered the building. I felt loved and protected on my way to kill our baby.”

Inside, she joined a group of women who were “herded” from one room to another. Tran felt as if there was no turning back.

“Once in the surgical room, I became terrified,” Tran said. “My hands were clammy and I started to cry. A nurse tried to comfort me. But what was striking was there were four or five others behind the doctor. I realized he was training them to perform abortions.”

In the recovery room, Tran could hear the sobs of women.

Six months after the abortion, she broke up with her boyfriend.

After a miscarriage, she learned the truth about abortion

“I became depressed and promiscuous,” Tran said. “I ended up in an abusive relationship with another man and became pregnant again.”

This time, her boyfriend wanted their child, but as the verbal abuse escalated, Tran suffered from high stress levels. She started spotting heavily and went to the hospital where she learned she was experiencing a miscarriage. 

Tran said, “The doctor told me I had old scarring on my uterus. I told her I had an abortion. It was heartbreaking because I had wanted this baby, but I was told it’s hard to plant a baby when you have uterine scarring.”

She left her boyfriend and the crazy lifestyle they had been living. She became more politically conservative but still considered herself pro-choice – until a pro-life friend opened her eyes.

“He told me he was disappointed that I would be pro-choice,” Tran said. “I started doing some research about life in the womb. When I saw a 14-week fetus in the uterus, I was devastated to see how well-developed the baby was.”

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While she still considered herself a Buddhist, she began questioning who the Author of Life was. It was around this time she saw a flyer for a Republican conference featuring Jack Hibbs, founder and pastor of The Calvary Chapel Chino Hills. Her pro-life friend mentioned that he attended that church. Tran promised she’d visit his church if he went to the conference with her.

Tran said, “I felt overwhelming joy after attending that service. I got a Bible and never looked back.”

Through Pastor Hibbs’ sermons, she learned about God’s forgiveness and mercy. But she had not completely surrendered to Him. 

Using her testimony to change hearts and minds

“Pastor Hibbs was very vocal about his opposition to abortion,” Tran said. “I started to feel I should use my testimony somehow for God’s glory. I came across an organization called Love Life and wanted to train as a sidewalk counselor but that meant flying out to North Carolina.”

She prayed for the Lord’s will but was struggling financially and wondered how she could get to North Carolina. She had been working in a nail salon, but it had shut down in accordance with the Covid mandates.

But God made a way. By providing private nail services, Tran came up with the money to fly to North Carolina.

Tran said, “There I learned how to start a ministry and became responsible for organizing the prayer walk every Saturday in front of the abortion clinic. I was inspired by Abby Johnson’s words: ‘When God’s people show up, abortions go down.’ This was my new calling.”

She was not only a changed woman, but she made an impact on abortion-minded women as well. Once at the clinic, a woman noticed her sign, which read, “Hope is here” and was convicted to reject abortion.

“She had been praying to God that if he was real to show her a sign,” Tran said. “I befriended her and shortly after, she accepted Christ.  When she was eight months pregnant, I attended her baptism at her church.”

Tran was just getting her feet wet in the pro-life movement. She felt compelled to reach other young people like this woman, but she didn’t know how to do that.

“I knew that 53% of women who get abortions are younger than 23 years,” Tran said. “I wanted to reach the high school and college-aged women with my message.”

It wasn’t long before Tran met Cheryl Conrad, co-founder of Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust. When Conrad asked Tran what was in her heart, she suggested Tran should lead the Pro-Life Camp, training youth and adults.

“I told Cheryl I needed a month to pray about it. I came back to her after that and told her I was fully on board with the ministry,” Tran said. “Before leading the pro-life camp, we spearheaded a successful campaign to shut down an abortion clinic planned for Beverly Hills.”

In the summer, Tran trains young people how to be pro-life leaders. During the school year, she participates in college outreach, challenging hearts on minds on the abortion issue.

“I had prayed for a way to reach women before they got to the clinic,” Tran said. “Once again, God opened a door for me to use my testimony to help other women and to show them there’s a better alternative to abortion.”

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