Courage: Born Alive Abortion Survivor Gianna Jessen Addresses 2010 Celebration of Life

One of Gianna's messages to women is to stay away from men who do not treat them right, whom they have to make excuses for. Gianna will not become involved with men who seem to think they are doing her a favor to date her because she is disabled.  Rather, she is waiting for  her "Braveheart," her John Adams, and she will be an Abigail Adams to him when she finds him.

P align=justify>CORPUS CHRISTI, TX (Catholic Online) - The 2010 Celebration For Life was held in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Thursday night at the Solomon Ortiz Center. Almost 600 people gathered for a dinner to benefit local pro-life groups and women in crisis pregnancies.

The speaker was Gianna Jessen, a feisty, uncompromising woman who was born alive at an abortion clinic 33 years ago to a seventeen year old woman after a saline abortion at 7 1/2 months gestation. She told the crowd that the doctor signed the birth certificate and she was allowed to live, unlike some aborted babies who have been born more recently and left to die in utility room closets.

Gianna developed cerebral palsy as a result of her violent, premature birth. The doctors believed she would never walk, but thanks to the dedication  and constant affirmation of her foster mom, Penney, Gianna learned to walk and today runs marathons, although it is with a limp.

Gianna has had a difficult life, with few friends at school. She refuses to go into the details of her "terrible childhood," because, she says, she is not a victim. Instead, she says, she is "God's girl," and God and her own determination have always seen her through.

If she has a day when she is physically unbalanced, she none the less walks on, telling herself and God she will walk with balance, and eventually she does.

One of Gianna's messages to women is to stay away from men who do not treat them right, whom they have to make excuses for. Gianna will not become involved with men who seem to think they are doing her a favor to date her because she is disabled.  Rather, she is waiting for  her "Braveheart," her John Adams, and she will be an Abigail Adams to him when she finds him.

The Celebration For Life benefits Hope House, a residence for women in crisis pregnancies, Birthright, and the Gabriel Project, organizations which provide pregnancy testing, counseling and/or material assistance for pregnant women and infants.

Gianna was introduced by Corpus Christi Bishop Emeritus, Rene Gracida, a champion of the pro-life cause who founded the Celebration for Life and Hope House twenty-one years.  During Gracida's time as the head of the Corpus Christi diocese, three abortion clinics were closed.  Only one remains open and pro-lifers continue their efforts to close it down for good.

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Linda Concert is a free-lance writer who resides in Corpus Christi, TX. 

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