Earlier this month a single mom’s world was turned upside down, all because of a simple act of kindness shown to her by her college professor. Ashton Robinson, a student at Texas A&M was unable to find a babysitter for her 10-month-old son, Emmett, during her class. Her professor, Dr. Henry Musoma, came to the rescue.
She later posted on social media and shared how greatly impacted she was by her professors willingness to have her child come to class. But not only was Emmett able to join Ashton in class, Dr. Musoma also held him throughout his lecture.
Ashton’s post on social media quickly took off as people applauded her for her dedication to both motherhood and her education, as well as her professor for this selfless act.
But Ashton’s life truly changed when she and Dr. Musoma were invited onto TheEllenShow with Ellen Degeneres where they told the story in front of a live audience. The two said this experience has brought them together like family.
In the middle of the interview, Ellen calls her assistant and tells her to bring Emmett out from backstage. With Emmett on her lap, Ellen asks Ashton what the hardest part about being a single mom is. Ashton says that organizing and scheduling have been her biggest challenges.
“Being a single mom and student is really, really, really hard.” She goes on to say, “But Emmett makes it so much better. He’s such a blessing. He’s my best friend.”
If Ashton’s life hadn’t been changed enough, Ellen finished the segment by giving the young mom a check for $10,000. While the help Dr. Musoma gave Ashton in class earlier this month seemed like a simple act of kindness, it’s impact was far greater than he could ever imagine.
According to Guttmacher Institute, the most frequently cited reasons women have abortions are as follows:
- Having a child would interfere with a woman’s education, work or ability to care for dependents (74%)
- That she could not afford a baby now (73%)
- That she did not want to be a single mother or was having relationship problems (48%)
Notice, women don’t cite “empowerment” as their reason for choosing abortion. Rather, more often than not, a woman has turned to abortion because she feels like she doesn’t have the resources or support to raise a child.
But what if we as a society came around women in unexpected pregnancies–women like Ashton–and made it known that the standard in our culture is to love and care for single moms? And what if, instead of arguing about abortion, our overflowing love were to dissolve the fears behind those reasons women cite for their abortions.
Dr. Musoma’s act of kindness did go viral, but it was really just a simple and easy way to show Ashton that he supports her. Supporting a mom does not always need to be in the form of grand gestures, rather, it’s the small, day-to-day acts that really make an impact.
This is the perfect example of what it truly means to be pro-life. Being pro-life is not about yelling or holding signs, it is about empowering moms with resources and support, so that no woman would ever feel the need to consider abortion.
