Bristol woman offers hope by telling her unique birth story

On a cold winter’s day in January 1943, a woman gave birth alone to a premature baby girl. Because of the cold, the woman didn’t dare take the child outside to a doctor or a hospital. That baby not only survived despite her odds, but now calls Bristol home and is interested in sharing her story with others to offer hope.

Marcia Morehouse, the miracle baby born in her mother’s apartment in St. Paul, MN, just celebrated her 70th birthday Jan. 18.

“My mother had been married to a man who definitely did not want children,” Morehouse said. “She went through two horrible abortions before I was born. They were divorced after the second abortion.”

Morehouse’s mother and father were never married.

“She met my father after he’d been in service during WWII,” she said.

Morehouse described her father as a good looking man with a lot of musical ability. She said her mother was outgoing.

“They started dating and after several months, she became pregnant and gave birth to me. I was born in her apartment.”

Morehouse’s mother was the oldest of 10 children and had helped the midwife deliver several of her siblings.

“So she knew what to do,” she said.

After Morehouse was born, her mother called her sister, who was living with her in the city, and told her to go to the store and buy baby supplies.

“My aunt arrived and could hardly believe the baby survived,” she said.

The baby, Marcia, never saw the outside of her mother’s apartment for the first six weeks of her life. She was fed with an eye dropper and kept wrapped in blankets in a shoe box placed on the oven door.

“She eventually got me to the doctor and he was absolutely in shock as I was perfectly developed and all my organs were in perfect working shape,” Morehouse said. “The doctor was amazed that there wasn’t a thing wrong with me!”

Morehouse discovered her unique story of her birth when she was in middle school. She remembers hearing the tale from several family members.

“It was like my family had an obligation to tell me,” she said.

With nine aunts and uncles, Morehouse said she always felt loved. “They all hovered over me.”

It was her father’s suggestion that she be given up for adoption, but her mother’s family–especially her grandmother–encouraged her to keep the baby girl.

“After those two abortions, I was Mother’s world,” Morehouse said.

While growing up, Morehouse says her grandmother came to live with them and helped raise her. It was through her grandmother that she developed her love for the Lord.

“I was raised to love people and accept them for who they are. I was not raised with the attitude that I am better than anyone,” she said. “It’s very important that people understand not to hold grudges– it’s very unhealthy. A lot of times people get mad and it just destroys them.”

Morehouse says she hopes that by telling her story, she’ll offer hope.

“I am telling my story because our creator God has a plan for every human being born on this earth,” she said. “It does not honor God when babies are killed. I just feel bad about all of these women who feel they have no other choice but to abort. God has a reason for all of these lives. Don’t throw away that life.”

In October 1963, Marcia and Curtis Morehouse from Bristol were married. Morehouse says she has had a happy life, and together she and Curtis have three children.

“I am very grateful that my mother gave birth to me,” she said. “It was God’s plan.”

Morehouse described herself as outgoing and says she inherited those qualities from both of her parents.

“I’m not afraid to take a stand for what’s right,” she said. “I have a very strong message.”

Once, Morehouse went into the city and looked up her father’s address in the phone book. When a man came to the door, she said his first words to her were, “How is your mother?”

“So he recognized me, even though we’d never met before,” she said.

Morehouse is retired now but enjoys traveling with Curtis. They have visited the West Coast several times and hope to travel to the East Coast sometime. She helps out with Awana at the Methodist Church in Webster.

She says her children are encouraging her to write a book about her life. While she says she may do that someday, if someone else is interested in writing her story, she welcomes them.

“I would want young people to read that and have a sense of hope. I am not bitter or resentful (about my life),” she said.

Her primary concern is offering encouragement to women who are considering abortion because they feel they have no other choice.

“I don’t see the point of killing a human being,” she said. “God bless all mothers…He will give you comfort and peace of mind when you obey Him.”