Wichita, KS – A miracle child who was once scheduled to be aborted at George Tiller’s abortion mill in Wichita, Kansas, witnessed outside the clinic’s gate as abortion-bound women sped into the parking lot of the largest late-term abortion mill in the free world.
Donna Joy, a beautiful 16-year old young lady stood outside Women’s Health Care Services with her mom, Lori, who rejected pressure to abort her daughter in 1991.
In her third trimester of pregnancy, Lori was told that Donna Joy had fetal anomalies “incompatible with life.” Those anomalies included a damaged brain, part of which extruded beyond the skull and the worst case of hydroencephaly that the doctors had ever seen. Opposed to abortion for religious reasons, Lori held her ground even though her doctors told her if she did not abort, they would no long provide her with health care.
Lori found a new doctor who delivered Donna Joy prematurely, but the struggle to save her daughter’s life did not end there. The hospital staff urged Lori to withhold food from Donna Joy and let her die “naturally.” Instead, Lori sneaked nourishment to her daughter when nurses were not looking. She had to fight the doctors and hospital staff every day to keep her child alive.
As Donna Joy began to miraculously thrive, Lori became aware of efforts in Congress to ban the Partial Birth Abortion procedure – one she was told would have been used to abort Donna Joy had she allowed it. Donna appeared before Congress as a living testimony against abortions for fetal anomaly. With her help, the law was passed.
Last year, Donna Joy and Lori accompanied Kansas Coalition For Life Director Mark Gietzen to Washington, DC, where they hand delivered the 2007 Pro-life Signature Ad to the U.S. Supreme Court. It is the Supreme Court’s policy not to accept petitions. To Gietzen’s knowledge, that that was the first time that the Court and accepted such a document that was not attached to a pending case.
On Thursday, Donna Joy posed for photos outside Tiller’s mill, stood by her mom as she was interviewed, and gave loving hugs to everyone she could. She was excited about a promised trip to Walmart for art supplies and a visit to Operation Rescue’s new headquarters.
In spite of possessing a brain that shouldn’t work, Donna Joy can read and write and enjoys most of the same things that other teenaged girls enjoy, including shopping, art, and horseback riding. Because her life was spared, she continues to be used to witness to our nation about the sanctity of each and every human life.
Donna Joy and her family plan to stay in Wichita for about a week, and will continue to offer help and hope to abortion bound women outside Tiller’s gate. They pray for the day when Tiller’s clinic will be closed, and babies like Donna Joy will be given the same opportunity for life that she has enjoyed.
To schedule an interview or to have Lori speak at your Wichita area church or group within the next week, please contact Mark Gietzen at 316-522-8866.
View Additional Photos Taken May 15, 2008
Not to nit-pick, but it’s a credibility issue: Tiller doesn’t do PBA, which you well know. He does his own kill-n-induce method.
Of course, but in 1991, that is the procedure Lori was told she would get. By the way, Tiller’s abortionists still insert the scissors into the skull and suck out the brains to collapse the skull (See our story about Baby Chelsea at http://www.operationrescue.org/?p=131. Check out the additional photos.), but they do it to a dead baby that was first killed with the lethal injuction to the heart…Well, most of the time, anyway. (See our story about Baby Sarah at http://www.operationrescue.org/?page_id=210.)
I can’t believe Donna Joy’s mother had to SNEAK nourishment to her newborn!!!! I can’t believe she had to FIGHT to get the docs to save her daughter’s life! THAT is the most telling thing about the state of our nation! Docs should be JUMPING to save lives no matter what! Mothers should be encouraged with compassion as they care for their criticial newborns. We just don’t respect each other. I saw a mom smack her one year old in the mouth HARD today for simply crying, while I was out shopping today. There is just no love for each other anymore, especially the very young and very old. It makes me so sad.
This is an exquisitely profound and powerful story; I was and remain very moved.
The common perception – or misperception, as it were – about pro-choice individuals is that we are callous about fetal life and subjugate it wholly to the mother’s wishes. That is certainly true of some individuals; curiously, however, I have observed this in those who have never been pregnant to begin with.
Shortly after January 1973, the Methodist Church included this agonized statement amidst its support for abortion rights: “There is implicit tragedy in every abortion.”
This beautiful young lady and her courageous mother are a vivid testament to many things – not least among them the realization that doctors do not always have all the answers.
Pro choice persons don’t have all the answers, either. But I’d have to have carbolic acid flooding through my veins to fail to be moved by this wonderful story.
Pro Choice (to a point)–
Does this make you Compassionate (to a point)?
What a brave woman! God bless the family.
I also read about Baby Chelsea and was outraged at tiller’s comments about the baby being an “efficient parasite.” What a sick, disturbed, evil human being! He has his “pastor” fooled but The Lord is not. I don’t like to judge people because we all sin but this is so ugly and evil that I think he’s headed for a very hot and awful place.
I have heard this story before, and am again moved by it.
Donna Joy is beautiful, and I am so glad that her mother never gave into the so called ‘doctors’ who tried to make her abort.
As for baby Chelsea, she is gorgeous. I am absolutely disgusted that Tiller referred to her as an ‘efficient parasite’ as Chris has mentioned above.
This murderer has no compassion or love in him, I am saddened to think he has been killing innocent babies for over 30 years. What really makes me repulsed is the fact that he is making a LIVING out of murder.
I am from Australia, and we have our own version of Tiller, called David Grundmann, there is no partial birth abortion ban here, and he will use that form of murder for any reason…for example the mother may be under certain stresses, and he even used EXAMS as an excuse!!
I come to this site often, and thank you Operation Rescue for what you are doing. The pro life movement is not overly strong in Australia, which is a shame when compared to how much Operation Rescue and others groups do. Don’t get me wrong, there are great organisations out there, but the movement in general is not that strong.
God Bless you all
Amy
Amy-
I will pray for your country. I think for so long people have removed themselves to the reality of what happens in those “clinics.” It amazes me that these murderers acutally have a place of worship. I am saddend that people in tiller’s “church” won’t confront him about his actions and that he is allowed to sit there Sunday after Sunday in peace. I wonder how much he donated for their new church? I wonder if his pastor knows he calls the children he murders efficient parasites? We have a long way to go in the US.
Chris, yeah I know America has a long way to go. It is just heartbreaking that this is allowed. Actually, in my state it is actually illegal to have an abortion, but this law is never enforced. There is talk of de-criminalising abortion, which would basically provide abortion on demand. I will keep praying that this doesn’t happen.
I too was encouraged to get an amniocentesis in 1977 to see if my second child was mentally retarded like my first child who was born with Down Syndrome. I listened to my heart and God and chose not to. He was fine but I have to add that my boy with Down Syndrome, now 31, is the joy of our lives. Through Special Olympics, he speaks to hundreds of people as a spokesperson, works 5 days a week, is very independent and is loved by everyone he meets. When people abort, they abort blessings to their lives. I can’t imagine my life without my wonderful son-he has taught us the value of each human life!