Pro-lifers roll out US abortion survivor to shore up support against embryo freezing

A pro-life rally that will protest lawmakers’ plans to give childless couples access to embryo freezing technology, will host anti-abortion campaigner Gianna Jessen in a bid to reinforce their message against embryo freezing.

The national health system provides only egg freezing technology for childless mothers, but under new plans MPs will be asked to vote on reintroducing embryo freezing technology in IVF procedures after this was banned in 2012 by the Nationalist government.

Jessen, born in 1977 in Los Angeles, California, was born during the 30th week of pregnancy during a failed saline abortion attempt. She weighed 2lbs at birth was born with cerebral palsy. She was adopted at the age of four.

Jessen has testified before the Australian Parliament, the British House of Commons and the US Congress. “I’m invading the culture as an unconventional woman, just being me,” she says. “The beautiful thing about having cerebral palsy is that it’s part of my sermon. It’s my way of reminding the earth that heaven is real. My legs have become a net to act as a fisher of men.”

“Jessen’s life has been a short path littered with obstacles at every turn: a life that was never meant to be has been used to inspire – even save – others,” LifeNetwork said in a statement by their PR handlers, MJN Communications.

“Jessen was intended to die before she was born, just another one of the 1.2 million abortions each year in the United States. The failed abortion also provided the ‘gift’ of cerebral palsy, as she calls it: ‘It allows me to really depend on Jesus for everything’.”

The pro-life rally will gather on Castille Square to start a silent march down Merchants Street, along St John’s Street and up Republic Street, ending in front of the new Parliament building on Sunday, 6 December.

Miriam Sciberras, president of LifeNetwork Malta, said Sunday’s rally is part of a campaign in favour of the protection of life from conception. “This is something to cherish. We want to save the Embryo Protection Act so that we will not open a window that could eventually lead to the legalisation of abortion,” she said.

“Gianna is here because she is in favour of the protection of life from conception. The proposed amendments to the law put this in danger. Embryo freezing will subject 10-30% of human embryos to certain death on thawing. We also want our children to know who their genetic parents are and we do not want the intentional creation of surplus embryos. Having children who are conceived anonymously intentionally is not a sign of progress.”

LifeNetwork Malta is collecting signatures for a petition against the abolition of the Embryo Protection Act.

The law itself will not be abolished, but amended to extend embryo freezing – currently envisaged in the law as only available in cases of emergency – to all IVF parents.

Jessen’s visit is sponsored by LifeNetwork Malta, pro-life group Gift of Life and Catholic women’s’ ministry Magnificat Malta. Jessen has also been slotted for a discussion at the University of Malta and will be hosted on Xarabank.