A 16-year-old pregnant teen expected help, but she was sent to a maternity home, Godparent Home, where they took her baby away. The maternity home for unwed mothers is at Liberty University and is offering more than just maternal care to desperate teens. Abbi comes from an Evangelical house where premarital s-x and abortion is a sin.
When she got pregnant at 16 in 2008, her parents were determined to hide that from everyone as they were ashamed. They sent her to the Liberty Godparent Home in Virginia, telling her she would get the help she needed and would be safe. However, they were going to take her baby away as they had already done that to too many women through coercion, as reported by Independent.
The women were locked in the maternity home. Besides, they were forced to attend church services and follow all the rules without any questions. And rebelling to this meant punishment. They were paying for the ‘sin’ of pregnancy over there. The ordeal ended with a little ceremony with family, cake, and gifts, which was a goodbye. The teens had to give their baby away unwillingly.
This massive scandal was covered by journalist T.J. Raphael in her podcast, where she unveils the forced adoption in the US evangelical university. According to her Liberty Lost podcast, several teens are sharing their stories now, after years, when they were forced to give their babies away at this secretive maternity house at the institute campus. The highlight of the story is Abbi, who’s now in her 30s, sharing her trauma after almost 2 decades.
In a new pod from @wonderymedia, I expose LIBERTY UNIVERSITY’S best kept secret — a maternity home where pregnant teens (some just 13) say the faced coercion & religious manipulation until they surrendered their babies for adoption to Christian couples. 🎧https://t.co/GxmvIURqZf pic.twitter.com/VjQbqImQ9G
— T. J. Raphael (@TJRaphael) June 9, 2025
This trauma has impacted her whole life. Even after giving birth, she had to play the role of a normal university student. She was mourning the loss of her son as she was forced to hand it to a married Christian couple. She was told this was God’s plan and that the baby deserved a house with two loving parents who were married.
The Liberty Godparent home was built as an anti-abortion solution to Roe v Wade in 1982 by Jerry Falwell Sr. It is based on pro-family principles and Christian values. Despite the Godparent home offering support to young-pregnant women, the truth behind it is punishing them for their ‘sin’. In exchange for their babies, they get to have a full scholarship at the university. Apart from Abbi, there were three other women living in the home.
Abbi had no choice but to give her baby away. He wasn’t physically snatched from her, but her parents refused to let her come with him, and she had no additional financial support. So she had to make the heavy decision to give her baby to strangers.
Chilling investigation into Liberty Godparent Home in VA. Pressuring teens into giving birth. Ignoring parental rights laws. Selling babies! No monitors of these crimes? No outrage?
Listen here:https://t.co/bwjDEiGW7h— NY Women for Action (@NYWomen4Action) June 23, 2025
Even though the adoption was meant to be open for her, she was denied visits and contact. When she finally found the courage to post her story online, she found other women who also went through the same fate. And this is when she knew she wasn’t alone.
Abbi’s parents, who were influenced by religion at that time, now confirm they made a mistake that resulted in lifelong grief. They also had financial and insurance limitations. Abbi’s father admitted he was influenced by the culture around him and that he should have celebrated the baby at that time.
The Liberty Lost scandal isn’t a standalone story, but there has been a 23% increase in such homes since Roe V Wade was turned over. Speaking out on this issue, they hope for a better outcome for other women.
