At the heart of the pro-life movement are mothers who are willing to pay whatever cost, take any risk, and sacrifice all they have to give life to their children*.
The ability to carry and give birth to children is a uniquely female trait. It’s a trait that women should be valued for – not a trait they should be shamed for celebrating.
Live Action President, Lila Rose, explains what happens when the culture tells women that their children are problems rather than gifts who they have been trusted to guard:
“It’s extremely tragic and unjust that women who are pregnant are not seen as the guardians of another person, but, instead, they’re seen as one body and one person themselves. That extra person and body – that preborn child – is not recognized. This totally places the burden of that child on the woman, because the law and society is not even recognizing that child.
When we throw around the slogan, ‘your body, your choice,’ to women, what we’re basically saying is, ‘it’s your body; it’s your problem.’ That forces women into a horrific situation where they are providing the future of the country through children, but they’re being completely cut down in the amazing gift that they’re giving the nation…and they’re being told that it doesn’t matter; we don’t care; deal with it. And that’s one of the reasons we have over a million abortions a year – precisely because we say, ‘your body your choice, your body, your problem.'”
Here are two mothers who willingly sacrificed their lives for their children. They viewed their children as gifts and went as far as they could to protect them and give them life.
Jenna on her wedding day (from the Twice Blessed Facebook page)
Jenna gave birth to twin girls Azlynn and Kinleigh and shortly after, learned that she was battling a rare form of cancer – placental cancer. Jenna died just two months after her girls were born. Her friends celebrated her life and her sacrifice on a Facebook page, Twice Blessed: Jenna’s Legacy:
Jenna did NOT lose her battle with cancer. She beat the cancer in a way almost no one ever does.
The type of cancer she had almost always claims the life of the child, not the parent. Jenna sacrificed herself to save her two children. She defeated the cancer before it ever hurt the two most beloved people to her in the world.
(from the Twice Blessed Facebook page)
She fulfilled her role as a mother in a way almost no one else could have. Her body took the blow and saved her children.
Just as her husband [in the military] has chosen to readily lay down his life and protect the ones he loves, Jenna has as well. In the most powerful way possible.
Jenna has made the ultimate sacrifice. And in doing so her children are blessed, not just with the love of God, but by the true undying and absolute love of their wonderful mother who died to protect them.
It might be hard to keep faith now, but God will reward the truly selfless Hinman family. Jenna is with the man upstairs right now, freed from her ailing body, her ultimate job as a mother is done. She can now sit back and watch her husband raise her two children that she died to save.
She didn’t just beat the cancer. She destroyed it and never let it touch her two precious children.
(from the Twice Blessed Facebook page)
Ashley Bridges
Ashley was in her first trimester of pregnancy with her second child – a daughter, Paisley – when she was diagnosed with cancer. While doctors recommended that Ashley begin chemotherapy (which likely would have ended Paisley’s life), Ashley chose to give her daughter the best chance at life. She rejected chemotherapy, bravely declaring, “There’s no way I could kill a healthy baby because I’m sick.”
Ashley’s friends have been running a GiveForward Fund for her family, and enough was donated to send them to Disneyland together, as well as to help pay for Ashley’s medicines. As of June 1, Ashley remains at her home on hospice care.
The June 1 update shares:
Life is crazy… and beautiful… all at the same time.
Ashley is on constant oxygen, and constant pain meds, although not as many as she once was taking. She prefers to be awake and is willing to suffer additional pain for the trade-off of spending time with her kids. She has been on hospice for over a month now, and a nurse and other staff members stop by several times a week. …
Paisley and Braiden (from Ashley’s GiveForward Fund page)
Ashley’s concern continues to be more about her kids than it is for herself.
It has been amazing to watch a woman who has been “bed ridden” for 5 weeks and has literally not been out of bed for 3 weeks, continue to be such a loving and attentive mother. Ashley lives with severe pain in her spine, chest, ribs and arms and is paralyzed from the chest down. She has severe headaches, has some difficulty talking and seeing, takes major doses of pain meds, is fighting an infection, and sleeps on and off through out the day. Even though there are almost always two family members with her (usually her mom , sister or husband) Ashley can still keep track of what day it is, when and what the kids need to eat, direct wardrobe changes for the kids, remember what day homework is due, know when it’s bedtime, correct bad and encourage good behavior, wipe a tear, make a smile, etc. It is impressive.
Ashley with Paisley on May 11, 2015 (from Ashley’s GiveForward Fund)
Jenna and Ashley are both truly impressive mothers. May we all become more like them.
*While we celebrate women who give up their own lives for the lives of their children, pro-lifers do not believe women should be forced to choose to die to give life to their children. We do not believe that abortion is necessary to save the life of a mother (and abortionists agree with this). However, treatment for ectopic pregnancies, chemotherapy, and an early delivery of the baby – all treatments that can save a mother’s life – are done with the intention of saving a life, not killing one. These are not abortions. In these cases, doctors often do the best they can to save both lives, and this is exactly what the standard should be.
For previous Life of the Week stories, go here:
- Life of the Week: Linda Couri, former Planned Parenthood social worker, shares the ‘inconvenient truth’ of abortion
- Life of the Week: Former Planned Parenthood manager: Abortion stops a beating heart
- Life of the Week: One mom’s hopeful journey from infertility to fulfilled dreams
- Life of the Week: Couple plans to open Haven of Hope for pregnant mothers in Cambodia
- Life of the Week: Rapper’s heartbreaking video on regretting abortion has 6+million views
- Life of the Week: From abortion to pro-life speaker
- Life of the Week: Two students bike to save unborn babies
- Life of the Week: Midwife fights against describing children as “monsters”
- Life of the Week: Eli Project gives orphans hope and homes
- Life of the Week: Defying the doctors and the odds with Trisomy 18
- Life of the Week: Noah’s Dad
- Life of the Week: Are pro-life doctors the wave of the future?
- Life of the Week: Couple adopts baby whom others called a curse
- Life of the Week: I was pro-choice…until Ava came
- Life of the Week: William and Kate accept artwork from woman with Down Syndrome
- Life of the Week: Former teen mom leads organization to support pregnant women
- Life of the Week: Band comprised of men with Down syndrome headed to Eurovision finals
