Gianna Jessen
Encyclopedia
Gianna Jessen is a recording artist and pro-life
Pro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...

 activist who is a saline abortion survivor.

Early life

In California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, when her biological mother was 17 years old she sought an instillation abortion
Instillation abortion
Instillation abortion is a rarely used method of induced abortion, performed in the second trimester, by injecting a solution into the uterus to cause uterine contractions.-Procedure:...

. Jessen's birth certificate was made available on a New Zealand pro-life site http://www.prolife.org.nz/img/gianna-jessen-birth-certificate.jpg. 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
Atrophy
Atrophy is the partial or complete wasting away of a part of the body. Causes of atrophy include mutations , poor nourishment, poor circulation, loss of hormonal support, loss of nerve supply to the target organ, disuse or lack of exercise or disease intrinsic to the tissue itself...

 and cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term encompassing a group of non-progressive, non-contagious motor conditions that cause physical disability in human development, chiefly in the various areas of body movement....

.

Jessen's biological parents, each aged 17, placed Jessen for adoption
Adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...

 shortly after her birth.

Activism

Jessen is a vocal pro-life advocate, and has spoken to both the American Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

 and the British House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...

.
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
Marathon
The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...

 in 2005, and the London Marathon
London Marathon
The London Marathon is one of the biggest running events in the world, and one of the five top world marathons that make up the World Marathon Majors competition, which has a $1 million prize purse. It has been held each spring in London since 1981. The race is currently sponsored by Virgin Money,...

 in 2006. 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.

Rocky Mountain Planned Parenthood event

On May 8, 2006, the Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

 State House of Representatives voted on a resolution honoring the 90th anniversary of a local branch of Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood Federation of America , commonly shortened to Planned Parenthood, is the U.S. affiliate of the International Planned Parenthood Federation and one of its larger members. PPFA is a non-profit organization providing reproductive health and maternal and child health services. The...

. Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 Representative Ted Harvey
Ted Harvey
Ted Harvey is a Republican member of the Colorado Senate, representing the 30th District since 2007. His district is located in Douglas County. Previously he was a member of the Colorado House of Representatives from 2001 through 2006...

 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."

The Denver Post
The Denver Post
-Ownership:The Post is the flagship newspaper of MediaNews Group Inc., founded in 1983 by William Dean Singleton and Richard Scudder. MediaNews is today one of the nation's largest newspaper chains, publisher of 61 daily newspapers and more than 120 non-daily publications in 13 states. MediaNews...

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
Eternal Word Television Network
The Eternal Word Television Network is an American cable television network which presents Catholic-themed programming. It was founded in 1980 by Mother Mary Angelica of the Annunciation, PCPA...

'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.

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
    Barack Obama
    Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

    's position on Born Alive legislation
  • Gianna Jessen address in Australia (YouTube)
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