Tag: abortion survivors

Pro-Life Ad With Boxing Legend Manny Pacquiao Approved for World Cup

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Mountain landscape at sunset with a glowing heartbeat line overlaid in the sky

Six years after a Faces of Choice Super Bowl ad introducing abortion survivors to America was blocked days before airing, the pro-life organization now has another opportunity to bring those same voices before a global audience. Faces of Choice has created a powerful new World Cup commercial featuring boxing legend Manny Pacquiao and abortion survivors from around the world — men and women who survived abortion procedures intended to end their lives before birth. The ad has now been approved, and an initial international placement will run during the World Cup final weekend. Faces of Choice is still working against the clock to fund additional placement while this rare window remains open, so this message can reach as many people as possible.

For Faces of Choice founder Lyric Gillett, the moment carries deep significance. “Six years ago, our Super Bowl ad was blocked just before the game,” Gillett said. “That ad was created to introduce culture to abortion survivors, not as statistics, not as political arguments, but as real people with names, faces, families, and stories. Now, during one of the largest global media moments in the world, we have another chance.” Pacquiao’s involvement in the ad campaign also carries special significance given his long-standing public pro-life convictions.

In addition to his historic boxing career, Pacquiao served in the Philippine Senate from 2016 to 2022, where he was known not only as a national sports icon, but as a public figure willing to speak openly about faith, family, and the value of human life. The campaign’s message is simple: “Choice is not just a word. Choice is a person.” The original 2020 Faces of Choice ad premiered at the March for Life in Washington, D.C., where the stories of survivors were received by pro-life advocates from across the country.

Survivors such as Melissa Ohden of the Abortion Survivors Network, Dr. Imre Téglásy of Human Life International, Robin Sertell, Josiah Presley, Lisa Manasco, Claire Culwell, Denisha Workizer, Anderson Ocampo of Passion Life, Pastor Gary Yamamoto, Lauren Eden, and so many others from the United States and all around the world, reveal the faces of “choice.” “Abortion survivors change the conversation because they reveal what is at stake in human form,” Gillett said. “When people come face to face with someone who survived an abortion procedure, a powerful paradigm shift takes place.

Abortion survivors’ lives challenge the idea that “choice” is an abstraction. These are sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, teachers, pastors, artists, athletes, and neighbors…Real people, made in the image of God.” Actor Kevin Sorbo has also joined the effort, recording and sharing an urgent video message encouraging pro-lifers to support the campaign. Sorbo said he believes the world needs to hear directly from abortion survivors themselves.

“This is the kind of message the world needs to see,” Gillett said. “This is no longer theoretical: the ad is approved, the survivors are ready, and the campaign is beginning internationally during the World Cup final weekend. Now the focus is on expanding the reach of this campaign while this rare global window remains open.” Faces of Choice was founded to amplify the voices of people who survived abortions and to challenge the culture to recognize the humanity of every child in the womb. The organization’s work centers on survivor-led storytelling, media campaigns, and directing viewers to existing life-affirming networks like Heartbeat International.

“This is not simply about one ad campaign,” she said. “This is about changing the way the world sees abortion and “choice.” It’s the beginning of a much larger vision: a global media initiative to introduce abortion survivors to the world as the faces of “choice.” We hope to build a lasting platform where their stories can continue to be seen, heard, and connected to the existing networks of life-affirming care. The World Cup gives us a once-in-a-generation opportunity to open that door, but the mission does not end there.”

Source: Pro-Life Ad With Boxing Legend Manny Pacquiao Approved for World Cup – LifeNews.com

No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.
1 John 4:12

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Abortion Survivor; Amy’s Story

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ultrasound of an unborn child

My story is unique in that it has two beginnings. I was born on June 6, 1980, in Ashland, Oregon. A young lady, probably a student at a nearby university, learned that she was pregnant. Medical records tell me that she discovered her pregnancy in May of that year, not even a month before I was born. She may have been alone, scared, and unsure of what to do. Meanwhile, in a small coastal town a few hours away, a young couple had hopes and dreams of starting a family of their own. After years of unsuccessful attempts, they turned to adoption agencies to increase their chances of starting a family.

The young couple was turned down twice. Heartbroken and exhausted, they gave up hope of having a child of their own. A neighbor across the street, knowing their heartache, ran over one day in the driveway to give them the name of an adoption agent in town “who had babies.” Grief-stricken, the young wife stated, “I can’t do this anymore.” A few weeks later, she had a change of heart and decided to contact the adoption agent. Soon, the agent heard of a new baby up for adoption, one who was born early. The agent raised her hand and told her team, “This one is mine.” Not long after this, the young couple was connected with a little baby girl who had entered the world early and was placed in a large hospital in Medford, Oregon.

This is the part of the story that is hard to read, but I believe it was all part of God’s plan. The young woman in the first paragraph had come to the decision, one way or another, that her only way to deal with an unwanted pregnancy was to end it. As a result of an attempted abortion procedure, I was born… alive. It is unknown whether the young woman thought she was early in her pregnancy or if the doctor at the clinic believed so, but either way, I survived. I was born anywhere from 28 to 30 weeks gestation. I was a viable birth. I am a person, an individual with my own thoughts and feelings. I don’t know what that young woman was told by those around her or what she was told when she entered that clinic, but I do know this—I am so much more than “just a clump of cells.”

On July 9, 1980, I was given to Nancy and Richard, the young couple who had wished and hoped for a child of their own. My parents were nervous, frightened, but overjoyed to bring their precious new baby home. They adopted me soon after this date and became my number one advocates and supporters, and they continue to be some of my biggest fans today. An added blessing to my beginnings is that two years after adopting me, my parents found out that they were pregnant and were going to have another baby—my sister, Katie.

Source: Amy’s Story – Abortion Survivors Network

We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.
Galatians 2:15-16

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Abortion Survivor; Michele’s Story

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ultrasound scan on screen

“My story began in the pre-Roe v. Wade era of 1962. As the youngest of seven children in a large, financially struggling family, my conception came at a particularly challenging time for my parents. With the assistance of her OBGYN, my mother attempted to end her pregnancy. Miraculously, I survived the abortion attempt, even after being exposed to 18 methotrexate pills and three days of saline injections.“

What Michele wants you to know: Seeing the pain, shame, and guilt my mom suffered through her two abortion attempts shows the trauma of abortion. Only for the babies who suffer in the womb, but for the women who endure the abuse of those who have reduced the life of a baby to just a procedure. A procedure that will not remove pain or difficulty from a woman’s life, but will only worsen it as they seek forgiveness from the pain of an abortion. I am here to tell you that, as painful and wrong as it is to take the life of your own child, there is complete freedom and forgiveness for anyone who has been down this road.

There is no condemnation or judgment from your loving Heavenly Father. He longs for you to come to Him and share your pain. After all, He already knows everything about it and is just waiting, longing, for you to let His love heal your heart. Please don’t run from Him; run to Him and to those of us who are here with open arms, ready to help you heal.

Source: Michele’s Story – Abortion Survivors Network

I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
Isaiah 61:10

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