On March 22nd, 2011, Options for Women held its annual fundraising banquet at The Mansion in Voorhees, NJ with featured speaker former Senator and presidential hopeful Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania. Mr. Santorum chronicled the personal events which propelled him to the forefront of the pro-life movement. Before a packed audience of 550 Options supporters, Santorum recalled the brief, but inspiring life of his son, Gabriel Michael who lived for only two hours after he was born. His personal story roused the audience to a standing ovation as Santorum encouraged pro-life advocates with the words of Mother Teresa: “We are not called to be successful, but to be faithful.”
Although Mr. Santorum’s speech packed a powerful one/two punch both for its personal authenticity and its political significance regarding his senate battle to ban partial birth abortion, many will agree that the bright spot of the evening was the personal testimony given by Options client Margaret Lawson. Miss Lawson recently endured the unthinkable, the loss of twin sons, one preborn and one twenty-four hours after delivery. She shared with the audience a candid account of her initial uncertainty regarding her pregnancy which prompted her to visit Options to receive counseling and a free ultrasound. Her subsequent commitment to carry her twins in the face of an adverse pre-natal diagnosis was the stuff of bravery. One of her twins passed in the womb because he had no kidneys and the other, born prematurely, soon died of infection within twenty-four hours. Miss Lawson’s struggle with acceptance and grief captivated the audience and left nary a dry eye in the house. Even Mr. Santorum remarked on the bravery and beauty of Margaret’s message –that we must be faithful to life no matter how brief or imperfect, because it is a gift from God to be affirmed and protected.
Although Mr. Santorum’s speech packed a powerful one/two punch both for its personal authenticity and its political significance regarding his senate battle to ban partial birth abortion, many will agree that the bright spot of the evening was the personal testimony given by Options client Margaret Lawson. Miss Lawson recently endured the unthinkable, the loss of twin sons, one preborn and one twenty-four hours after delivery. She shared with the audience a candid account of her initial uncertainty regarding her pregnancy which prompted her to visit Options to receive counseling and a free ultrasound. Her subsequent commitment to carry her twins in the face of an adverse pre-natal diagnosis was the stuff of bravery. One of her twins passed in the womb because he had no kidneys and the other, born prematurely, soon died of infection within twenty-four hours. Miss Lawson’s struggle with acceptance and grief captivated the audience and left nary a dry eye in the house. Even Mr. Santorum remarked on the bravery and beauty of Margaret’s message –that we must be faithful to life no matter how brief or imperfect, because it is a gift from God to be affirmed and protected.
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