Abraham Lincoln And Abortion In November 1781, Lucy Hanks was a young beautiful servant girl employed by a wealthy plantation owner. Her employer was a bachelor who was educated in England at Oxford. When he migrated to America he brought with him his favorite books. Like many young poor people during the 18th century, Lucy Hanks was illiterate. One day, as she was doing her housekeeping, her employer caught her looking at the pictures in one of his books. He could tell she was fascinated, so he read the captions of each picture to her. From that time on, after hours of work, he privately tutored her and successfully taught her to read and write. They became romantically involved and she became very pregnant. During those days, when a girl got into trouble, she was treated like a dog. The bachelor employer wouldn't marry her, so he gave her some money and sent her away. Abortion wasn't a choice in 1782, so Lucy Hanks gave birth to a daughter whom she named Nancy Hanks. Nancy Hanks grew up and married a drifter named Thomas Lincoln, and in 1809 Abraham Lincoln was born. By today's standards Nancy Hanks could have easily been swept away by abortion, along with one of the greatest presidents of all time. A million and a half babies are robbed every year of being an Abe Lincoln, Sister Theresa or a Joe Montana, but more importantly they are being robbed of just being. From Visalia Times Delta 1/29/90 by Duane Phelps