Testimonies About Pregnancy Crisis / For Life magazine no 15, 2026

Dr Eliza Maria Cloțea: A pregnancy crisis after a computed tomography (CT) scan

I remember Elena*, a little girl born in February 2023. Her mother, not knowing she was pregnant, underwent a pulmonary computed tomography (CT) scan when she had pneumonia. A few weeks later, she discovered she was 11 weeks pregnant. Shock, fear, denial.

The first doctor she went to immediately recommended that she have an abortion, telling her that the baby would be seriously affected by the CT exposure. The second doctor did the same. The third doctor told her that the baby would probably not be affected, but offered to perform an abortion if she wanted.

When I got in touch with her, I promised to help her find accurate information and that I would support her regardless of whether the baby would be affected or not. I didn’t know the details of the implications of a CT scan during pregnancy, so I started researching. Time was of the essence—the woman had an abortion appointment in two days.

I shall forever be grateful to The Health Physics Society, a medical website dedicated to popularizing science related to radiation exposure. They explain: 1) Any X-ray examination that does not target the pelvis (the area where the uterus and pregnancy are located) does not affect the baby; and 2) A pelvic CT scan contains only 1/10 of the dose that would cause harmful effects. At that moment, I felt that KNOWLEDGE WAS POWER: the information I gave Maria* helped her gain strength. She canceled her abortion appointment, even though those around her continued to pressure her to have an abortion.

In February, Elena was born, healthy, strong, and a joy. I think about what would have happened if our paths had not crossed and Maria had given in to the pressure to have an abortion. Thank God for every opportunity to help those around us!

* The names have been changed to protect identity.
Abridged version of a testimonial published in the volume “Heart of the Storm: Testimonies about Pregnancy Crisis”

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I was in my first year of college. I used to tell my parents what I was doing in the dorm, where they knew I was spending time with both boys and girls.

For me, abortion is not something abstract. It is the reality in which I was one step away from losing my life

One day, out of the blue, my mother said to me:
“You know, it wouldn’t be a problem at all if a girl were to get pregnant.”

Surprised, I asked her in a slightly irritated tone what she meant by that.

My mother replied:
“Nothing, just that I would be happy to raise another child.”

My father said nothing, he just smiled faintly. And I ended the discussion by telling her that this would not happen.

Two days later, when I was alone at home with my father, he asked me:
“Do you know why your mother told you that a child would not be a problem?”
“Why?”
“She cried a lot when she found out she was pregnant with you—but not from happiness. Throughout the entire pregnancy, she wanted to have an abortion, because we were not in a good financial situation, we were both around 40 years old, and your older brother was preparing to enter high school. No matter how much I tried to encourage her that everything would be fine, she would not listen. So I told her something serious: that if she had an abortion, we would divorce—I knew she wouldn’t do it and that we wouldn’t actually divorce, of course, but it was the only way to pull her out of the panic that had taken hold of her.”

Hearing this, I understood my mother’s words in the kitchen differently. And I understood why my father was smiling: it was as if my mother was confirming to him once again that he had done the right thing two decades earlier.

For me, abortion is not something abstract. It is the reality in which I was one step away from losing my life—and the reality in which, unfortunately, millions of children lose their lives every year around the world.

A.

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I knew the right thing was to give birth to children, that they were given by God, but, at the moment, I only felt fear of what would happen and was only thinking of abortion

My name is Marina. I am now 74 years old and retired. For decades, I was a nurse, first in the public system, and after 1990 in the private sector. I married, in my youth, a faithful young man. When I was seven months pregnant with my first child, I developed appendicitis. They operated on me as an emergency case; it was difficult. They also removed my right fallopian tube, because it was full of pus. I gave birth with great difficulty. The surgical wound healed slowly. God helped me, and I gave birth safely to a boy, who later became a priest. After the birth, the doctors told me it would be very difficult to become pregnant with only one fallopian tube. But after some time, it happened.

I was very afraid because of that surgery. I immediately thought about having an abortion. I knew the right thing was to give birth to children, that they were given by God, but at the moment, all these things were erased from my mind. I only felt fear of what would happen and was thinking of abortion.

The following night, I dreamed of a very beautiful little girl who pulled me toward her and kissed me on both eyes. She had in her hands a large black scarf, and a voice was asking for the icon of the Savior that I had in my room.

It was easy for me to have an abortion, being a medical professional. I found a doctor and had the abortion, even though it was not legal at that time. In the 50 years that followed, my life was a continuous suffering.

My family fell apart. When I became pregnant with the little girl, my husband said that if I gave birth to her, out of joy, he would go on his knees all the way to work and back. You can imagine that I did not take into account either him or what we had thought at the beginning of our marriage—that we wanted a beautiful family life and several children… I have cried for her my whole life. If I had been wise, I would now have two living children. I probably would have been happier, more content.

Marina
Abridged version of a testimonial published in the volume “Heart of the Storm: Testimonies about Pregnancy Crisis”