Remarkable Pro-Life Feminists Introduced at Capitol Briefing

Aborted at about five months gestation, Melissa Ohden was placed in a neonatal unit until she was adopted. "Instead of being angry or bitter about the circumstances that surrounded my arrival into this world, I have chosen to be grateful," said Ms. Ohden. "The time has come in my life when I believe I need to use my story to provide a voice for women and children and the obstacles that they face in the world we all live in."

While Ms. Ohden’s story is arguably the most dramatic, all five women will bring stories of courage and love to college campuses, as they convey in their individual speeches the need for college campuses to provide resources and support to pregnant and parenting students.

"These remarkable women tell different stories but all with one theme and unifying belief - women deserve better® than abortion," FFL President Serrin M. Foster said. "These speakers will be able to reach even more students and campuses than ever before."

In addition to Ms. Ohden, the speakers are:

• Karen Shablin converted from a "card-carrying member of NARAL" to a pro-life feminist position. She discusses her experience choosing to have an abortion and how she became pro-life. A health policy expert and former state Medicaid agency head, Ms. Shablin is speaking for FFL on campus because, she says: "I can’t undo my mistakes over the years - having an abortion, advocating abortion, but I can help others to learn from my mistakes. Every life counts."
• Ann Lowrey Forster was known for her pro-choice letters to the editor when she became pregnant her sophomore year in college. She gave birth that summer, returning to school for junior year. Urged to abort and deserted by her boyfriend, Ms. Forster continued her pregnancy and graduated on time with honors. Now a pro-life feminist, married, with a toddler and a newborn, and a law clerk with a law firm in the South, Ms. Forster believes resources and support are critical for pregnant and parenting women.
• Joyce Ann McCauley-Benner was raped at 20 and chose not to abort, not knowing if her unborn son was the result of rape or of her relationship. She says, "I know what it’s like to want to run as far away as possible from a problem, how it feels to hang on to ‘if I wasn’t pregnant anymore, it would all be o.k. again.’" Ms. McCauley-Benner, who graduated from college while raising her son, works with a task force for racial justice. A mother of two sons, Ms. McCauley-Benner lives in the Midwest.
• Angelica Rosales founded a pregnancy center shortly after graduating from college and continues to run it in her hometown in the Southwest. Her own mother was advised to abort her and that continues to be a motivation for Ms. Rosales. Ms. Rosales presents the perspective of a woman who works daily with pregnant and parenting women, particularly college age women, facing crisis situations and she sees firsthand how lack of support hurts women: "This failure to provide resources is a reflection of how far we still need to go to eliminate the root causes of abortion," Ms. Rosales said.

In addition to these new speakers, FFL President Foster will continue to speak on college campuses, as will FFL board member and birth mother Julia Thornton. Honorary Chair, two-time Emmy winner and New York Times best-selling author, Patricia Heaton will be available on a very limited basis.

Read the bios of all FFL's speakers

To book any of our speakers: coordinator@feministsforlife.org.