Last month, in honor of National Adoption Month, the Respect for Life Club watched a documentary called I Lived on Parker Avenue. It follows a young man named David who was adopted as a baby. The documentary also traces his birth mother and father, Melissa and Brian, and their lives after giving David up for adoption. After David was born, they remained together and had a daughter, Courtney. They later separated, and Brian married. After his mother decided to update her address with the adoption agency, David was offered the chance to meet his birth parents. Initially, David feared that he would diminish the life that he’d built over the past 19 years with his adoptive parents. But David eventually decided to meet his birth parents and Courtney, his biological sister.

David’s story is not an uncommon one. His mother was young and not yet ready to raise a child, so she gave him up for adoption. However, unlike David, many people who are adopted will never get the chance to thank their parents for choosing to give them a better life, regardless of the personal cost. I Lived on Parker Avenue not only follows David’s journey of discovering his heritage and understanding his birth parents’ decision, but it also explores how his life has affected the lives of so many others because of that decision. At the end of the documentary, Melissa brings David to the site of the former abortion clinic she went to when she considered aborting David. She had made it as far as the operating room, but she had left as the doctor prepared to perform the abortion. David presents Melissa with a book filled with cards from friends and family, thanking her for her sacrifice and decision to choose life for her son. 

The gratitude David’s family shows for Melissa’s love for David demonstrates how much one life can impact others. Beyond his family, David’s story has impacted many people, including adopted children, women facing decisions like Melissa’s, and parents looking to adopt. No life is too small to be significant, and I Lived on Parker Avenue testifies to the fact that every mother is willing to make sacrifices for her child.