KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – Melissa Ohden was born premature. She always knew that. She was adopted and she always knew that too.
She was 14 years old when she learned her birth was the result of a failed saline infusion abortion back in 1977. She weighed less than three pounds.
“There is nothing that prepares you for a moment like that. There’s so many questions of, how does it happen? Why did it happen? Does that mean I’m so unlovable, I’m so unworthy,” said Melissa Ohden.
Ohden is the author of the book “You Carried Me” which outlines her journey of self-discovery and healing.
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She eventually tracked down medical records documenting the failed procedure which led her to connect with her birth mother who also lives in the Kansas City area.
“She lives in Missouri. My birth mom, Ruth, lives in Odessa. I have a half-sister, Jennifer, and her kids that live in Blue Springs,” said Melissa.
Melissa Ohden and her birth mother, Ruth.(KCTV5/Angie Ricono)
Melissa says her birth mother never knew she was born alive and suspects her birth father didn’t know either. She wrote him a letter, but he died shortly after she sent it.
“My birth father passed away not long after I sent him a letter back in 2007, and I don’t know if he knew that I had survived that abortion,” said Melissa.
Abortion Survivors
Melissa now runs the Abortion Survivors Network. She says many people don’t have documentation backing up their birth stories. It’s mostly family secrets that are handed down. Survivors often struggle when learning the truth.
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Not every state keeps track of efficacy- meaning did the procedure work?
Missouri included that information in its last annual abortion report in 2022. The information is in the “abortion complication section.”
It states that 12 abortions “failed, pregnancy undisturbed.”
Planned Parenthood’s own website reveals the effectiveness of medication abortions by how many weeks a woman is into her pregnancy and the combination of medications prescribed. The effectiveness is anywhere from 87% to 99% effective.
Saline-infused abortions are now quite rare due to side effects and the procedure requires hospitalization. More effective procedures are now available.
Upcoming Amendment 3 vote
Melissa has strong feelings about the upcoming Amendment 3 vote. She will vote “no.”
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Click here to read the exact language.
“I want people to read through this language and be educated about it, to know what the impact of a yes or a no vote on it would be,” said Melissa.
She questions what limits will be in place if Missouri chooses abortion services. She also points next door to Kansas which now provides abortion services for women from numerous states. She does not want Missouri to be a major abortion provider.
She also points to her birth mother, Ruth and what she went through.
“There was a pain in her eyes that I will never, ever forget. And if there’s one thing I could change about my whole story, it would be her pain. I wish I could take that away from her,” said Melissa.
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You Carried Me, by Melissa Ohden.(KCTV5/Angie Ricono)
The defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs are no longer the NFL’s last undefeated team after the Buffalo Bills handed them their first loss of the 2024 season.
In a highly anticipated rematch of the 2023 AFC divisional playoff game, Josh Allen and the Bills on Sunday edged past Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in a 30 – 21 win.
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Kansas City was the league’s final remaining unbeaten team heading into the day. However, the Chiefs will now drop to 9-1 on the season while the Bills — now at 9-2 — have propelled to the second place position atop the AFC with seven weeks left remaining in the season.
Out: RB Isiah Pacheco (IR), DE Charles Omenihu (IR), K Harrison Butker (IR)
Questionable: None
Active: QB Patrick Mahomes, WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR DeAndre Hopkins, WR Mecole Hardman, OL Wanya Morris, DE George Karlaftis, DE Mike Danna, DT Derrick Nnadi
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Takeaway: The Chiefs luck out by having several of their top offensive weapons ready to go, despite shake-ups in the last few weeks. Patrick Mahomes has dealt with an ankle injury throughout the season, but he’s played through it and will once again do so against the Bills.
Harrison Butker is on injured reserve after undergoing knee surgery this week. Former Jets kicker Spencer Shrader will fill in for Butker. Defensively, Kansas City will have just about all of their core guys, including George Karlaftis and Derrick Nnadi.
Buffalo Bills
Out: WR Keon Coleman, TE Dalton Kincaid, LB Matt Milano (IR)
Questionable: WR Amari Cooper, OL Spencer Brown
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Active: QB Josh Allen, WR Mack Hollins, WR Curtis Samuel, CB Christian Benford, LB Terrel Bernard, CB Kaiir Elam, FB Reggie Gilliam, DT DaQuan Jones, TE Quintin Morris, S Taylor Rapp, DE Casey Toohill, LB Dorian Williams
Takeaway: Keon Coleman and Dalton Kincaid will be huge losses for the Bills in Sunday’s game. Because of that, Josh Allen will be forced to find new targets. Guys like Mack Hollins, Curtis Samuel and Khalil Shakir will likely see more volume than usual, and the Bills will likely utilize their running game heavily.
Defensively, the Bills are fairly healthy. Starters like Taylor Rapp, Christian Benford and Terrel Bernard being active helps Buffalo greatly in stopping the Chiefs’ high-powered, Mahomes-led offense.
BYU’s perfect season was spoiled in Week 12 and their College Football Playoff fate now hangs in the balance. After a 17-13 loss to Kansas, the Cougars’ November 23 matchup with Arizona State is now a CFP eliminator.
Once one of the top stories in the sport, BYU now faces the possibility of their first losing streak all season ending their title hopes at the most inopportune of times.
“We’ve got ourselves a CFP elimination game next week in Tempe when BYU visits ASU. A sentence never before written,” The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel.
Kalani Sitake took a measured and even inspirational tone during the postgame press conference, complimenting his Cougars’ effort and giving the Jayhawks their due.
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“Well, obviously disappointing result, but a lot of credit to Kansas. They had a really good game plan. And looking at the stats, just didn’t really make enough plays and made way too many mistakes for us to come up with the victory,” Sitake said in the early hours of November 17 (h/t ESPN 960’s Benjamin Criddle).
“We have a lot more to play for. This is not the end.”
BYU could still make the College Football Playoff with a Cougars Big 12 Championship win
The Big 12 Championship is still a direct path for the Cougars into the College Football Playoff. Colorado would likely be on the schedule if Kansas doesn’t strike again next week and/or Oklahoma State upsets the Buffs in Week 14.
Of course, the alternative is suddenly the sickening feeling Provo, Utah must collectively feel right now after such a downer of a loss against a six-loss team.
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