During a panel at Live Action’s Women’s Summit: Return to Eden last month, Live Action founder and president Lila Rose led a panel discussion about journeying through trauma, loss, and injustice, and finding the strength to continue fighting with faith, conviction, and courage.
Key Takeaways:
- Toni McFadden, Lianna Rebolledo, Chloe Cole, and Riley Gaines joined Rose for a panel discussing their experiences with loss and injustice, and how they overcame those setbacks.
- Panelists said they came to know and recognize God’s mercy and presence in their lives, despite the pain and trauma.
“My favorite words are ‘But God'”
Toni McFadden said that as a high school senior, she faced an unplanned pregnancy. She thought if she had an abortion, everything would be fine.
“Abortion did not do what it said it would do,” she said. “My boyfriend ended up breaking up with me the day he brought me to the abortion clinic — the day after. And I took the chemical abortion pills, which did not work the way they were supposed to. And I ended up hemorrhaging almost a month later. And so this is the devastating reality of abortion…. And the healing process through that was very difficult.”
McFadden said her life was changed because of God’s mercy:
Two of my favorite words are ‘but God.’ But God, rich in his mercy, came and rescued my soul when I was when I was in college. And what I love about the Lord is, He does not waste anything. We serve a redemptive God that does not treat us as our sins deserve.
And He was the one who took all my sin upon Himself and set me free. And that is the only reason I can sit up here today and even share the horrific part of my story.
Almost 10 years later, the father of her child came back and apologized, saying he left her because he could not handle the reality of what they had done: ending the life of their preborn child.
Less than a year later, they got married — and honored the life of their child. “We lit an extra candle to let our guests know that we were honoring [our baby’s] life, because we believe every time we share our story, that our child is no longer a statistic, but that God is using their life as well to help women to not go down the same path that we’ve gone through, but also to remind women that there’s healing.”
“I knew that I wasn’t alone anymore”
Lianna Rebolledo was kidnapped at the age of 12, and suffered a crisis of faith.
“I was taken by two men, and I didn’t know what they want. I was sexually abused, and they left me for dead,” she said. “I didn’t think I was going to be coming back home. And it was one of the worst moments of my life, because I was not raised Catholic or with any religion, but I remember I prayed to God so they would let me out, but they didn’t. So, I didn’t even believe in God at that time.”
When she was eventually rescued, her family’s reaction added more trauma, with people telling her that she was now damaged, and her life had been ruined. She eventually attempted suicide, and at the hospital, found out she was pregnant. Immediately, she was pressured to have an abortion.
“They told me, but you don’t have to live with the consequences. It’s legal to have an abortion, and you have that right, but I was just thinking, why he wants me to have an abortion if the only thing I need is support? I need love. I need empathy. I need help,” she said, adding;
… [T]hen I asked the doctor, so if I had this abortion, would this make me feel safe to go outside again? And he said no. Then I asked him again, will my nightmares be taken away? And he also said no.
So, if the abortion is not going to undo the rape, why would you want me to have an abortion?
And then he was just looking at me, kind of upset, and he’s like, well, the product — he didn’t even call my baby a baby — he said, the product will always be a reminder of your rapist. You don’t even know what kind of blood, what kind of genes, and this is going to be a reminder forever, and I told him… [m]y baby has my blood, my genes, and he said, well… your product will not survive.
She insisted on seeing her baby, but the medical staff refused… but they did let her hear the heartbeat. And that was enough for Rebolledo.
“In that moment, I knew that I wasn’t alone anymore, that I have a purpose, and my baby brought me joy, especially she brought me hope, and I just knew that my baby deserved a better life than the one that I have, and she was so worth it,” she said. “She’s my first love. She brought me so much happiness.” Her daughter is what gave her the strength to go to school, including college, and even begin counseling women outside of abortion facilities.
Rebolledo concluded:
All these years that I went to the abortion clinics to do walk counseling, I never hear anybody saying that they were there because they were raped. It’s just an excuse, and they use our cases to make profit, to make a business with the pain that we’re going through, but let me tell you something. I’m not less. My daughter was not less.
… And now I’m so grateful that I got to meet Jesus, and I know that night when I was crying and asking God to help me, He was there, because they would have killed me, and I’m here, and that’s why I know He was there with me, and especially He gave me the best gift I could ever have: my daughter, the love of my daughter Jeanette, who’s in heaven now after 24 years, but because of her, I’m the woman who I am today.
Rebolledo said she wants to help girls who were traumatized like her so they can see their worth, too.
To hear Cole’s and Gaines’ stories, watch Live Action’s video.
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