In evangelical homes across the United States, sex outside marriage is a sin against God.

So when Abby becomes pregnant at 16, her devout parents hide her away at the Liberty Godparent home,

a little-known facility for pregnant teens on the campus of Liberty University.

The home says it helps girls decide what comes next,

whether that's parenting their babies or placing them for adoption.

But inside the facility, the girls hear a different message.

God wants their babies to go to more deserving Christian couples.

I'm your host, T.J. Raphael.

From Wondery, Liberty Lost is a startling true story of young love, coercion, and defiance,

and the dangerous resurgence of maternity homes in post-Roe America.

Some girls will find the strength to fight back. Others will have

no choice but to give in. And some, like Abby, will turn their grief into resistance and take a stand

against the system before more mothers lose their children to adoptions they never wanted.

I'm about to play a clip from Liberty Lost.

Follow Liberty Lost on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts.

Abby and Nathan are waiting for the signal.

Any moment now, the ceremony will begin.

You feel this tension, this unknown, of what ifs.

Both of them are trembling, but they've made sure to look their best.

17-year-old Abby spent the morning carefully curling her long brown hair.

I wanted to look good and be a good old Southern girl like I was raised to be.

A 19-year-old Nathan's in a crisp white button down with freshly cropped hair.

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