Gianna Jessen
Gianna Jessen (b. April 6, 1977, Los Angeles, California) is a recording artist and pro-life activist who is a saline abortion survivor.
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[edit] Early life
In California, when her biological mother was 17 years old she sought an instillation abortion. Jessen's birth certificate was made available on a New Zealand pro-life site [1]. The instillation abortion was carried out when the biological mother was 30 weeks (7½ months) pregnant. The abortion procedure failed, and Jessen was born alive and premature, with severe injury that resulted in physical atrophy and cerebral palsy.
Jessen's biological parents, each aged 17, placed Jessen for adoption shortly after her birth.
[edit] Activism
Jessen is a vocal pro-life advocate, and has spoken to both the American Congress and the British House of Commons.[1] She has made a startling physical recovery; she was not expected to be able to walk, but she now walks with an odd limp. She entered and completed a local marathon in 2005, and the London Marathon in 2006.[2] Jessen also sings, accompanied by her friend Michael Logen, and has written and recorded songs.
A 1999 biography of Jessen was written by Jessica Shaver.[3]
[edit] Rocky Mountain Planned Parenthood event
On May 8, 2006, the Colorado State House of Representatives voted on a resolution honoring the 90th anniversary of a local branch of Planned Parenthood. Republican Representative Ted Harvey invited Jessen, whom he'd met as a singer, to sing the "Star-Spangled Banner" on this particular day.
She was greeted by applause for her singing. Attendees' reactions quickly turned to surprise when Harvey admitted that this was a secondary reason for his invitation. According to Harvey, his words were, "Members, today we are going to recognize the 90th anniversary of Rocky Mountain Planned Parenthood ... I just wanted to put a face to what we are celebrating today." [4]
The Denver Post reported that Jessen "didn't expect it," but "was glad Harvey told her story." Later, in January 2007 when she was interviewed on the Eternal Word Television Network's Life on the Rock program, Jessen related the entire story (beginning at the point where Harvey first approached her at an earlier event where she appeared) expressing pleasure at her function in this event.
[edit] See also
- The Oldenburg Baby is a German child also born after an attempted abortion.
[edit] References
- ^ Elliott, Jane (2005-12-06). "'I survived an abortion attempt'". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4500022.stm. Retrieved 2007-02-28.
- ^ Day, Elizabeth (2005-03-12). "Gianna Jessen was aborted at 7½ months. She survived. Astonishingly, she has forgiven her mother for trying to kill her.". Telegraph.co.uk. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/12/04/nabort.xml. Retrieved 2007-02-28.
- ^ Shaver, Jessica (1999). Gianna: Aborted... and Lived to Tell About It. Bethany House. ISBN 1-5617-9415-5.
- ^ Harvey, Ted. "Ted Harvey, not Paul Harvey". Ted Harvey for Colorado. Archived from the original on 2008-09-19. http://replay.web.archive.org/20080919155735/http://www.tedharvey.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6. Retrieved 2007-02-28.
[edit] External links
- Official website of Gianna Jessen.
- Real Audio interview of Gianna Jessen Abortion Survivor from EWTN Life on the Rock TV show.
- Born Alive Truth organization running ad featuring Gianna Jessen critical of Barack Obama's position on Born Alive legislation
- Gianna Jessen address in Australia (YouTube)
![[1]](http://www.prolife.org.nz/img/gianna-jessen-birth-certificate.jpg){kind=link}