This is the EXACT bill Obama would not vote for. He voted against it FOUR TIMES! Even die hard to the core liberals wouldn't vote against it like Hilary Clinton and Ted Kennedy but Obama did vote against it not once four times! He does not care about children's lives at all unless it fits his agenda. Like it or not it's the truth period! And it's pure EVIL any way you want to try to spin it. The truth is Obama and Gosnell believe and stand for the same things!

Today I have a very special interview with best selling Christian Artist Ron DiCianni to share with you. Now some of you might wonder why I'm interviewing an artist on a Pro-Life blog but the Pro-Life cause is very near and dear to Ron's heart because he was almost the victim of an abortion himself. 

Hello Ron and thank you so much for being my guest today. Can you tell us a little about yourself for those that aren’t familiar with your work?

I am a Christian cleverly disguised as an artist! Like so many, I am just trying to use the gift I have received to serve others…(1 Peter 4:10)

  

Did you always love art and did you start out drawing or did you start with painting?

Yep! From as early as I can remember, art was always a passion. I never really wanted to do anything else. However you got to learn to draw as it is the foundation for everything in art including painting!

When did you first start painting?

I started getting real serious about art when I was in High School. It was the only subject I excelled in. When I didn’t do so well in Chemistry etc. the school stopped me from continuing in the art classes as a punishment. They didn’t realize that I was not goofing off in those other classes, I was just wired for art and the creative things.

How many paintings have you done so far?

Well, I have been doing this professionally for 42 years! The first two decades were devoted to “secular” work because the Church wasn’t interested. The second two decades I have concentrated on telling the world about Jesus in my work. I probably have done a few thousand paintings? I get tired just thinking about it…J

What is your most famous paintings do you think?

“Spiritual Warfare”, “Simeon’s Moment” “Safely Home”, “In The Wilderness” & “The Resurrection Mural”

The Resurrection Mural  at The Museum of Biblical Art

You are one of the best selling Christian artists in the U.S. and your work is absolutely beautiful. Words just don’t do them justice. But your life almost ended before it began could you tell us about that? 

Thanks…I’d be remiss if I didn’t give God the glory for it all.

As to my near abortion, my mom was intending to abort me and went to her doctor to have it done. Although she wasn’t a Christian, my Grandmother who lived with us was. She must have been praying that day. Like a lot of people who contemplate abortion, my mom’s life was not conducive to another baby. She lived in a cramped Chicago apartment with my Dad, my brother, my aunt, my grandmother and a dog! Bringing another life into that just didn’t seem like a good thing. But as my friend, Ray Comfort reminded me lately, people don’t abort babies because they are in hard circumstances…they abort babies because they don’t have a correct view of life. Only God can give life and only God should take it. When the doctor wanted to start the abortion, he brought a needle to my mom’s arm, and that was when God spoke to her and said, “Don’t do this…I have a plan for this baby!” She told me she pushed the needle away and walked out. For decades she would remind me that God had a plan for me. She became a Christian and was so glad she obeyed God’s voice. She live much longer than my Dad, so she got to see a lot of what God has done with my work and was one of my biggest cheerleaders. She prayed constantly for me.

When did you learn that your mother almost aborted you and how did you find out?

Don’t really remember…but she never hid the fact from me. She was willing to risk her reputation in order to have me understand how sacred life is. She used to remind me often, especially when life would throw it’s discouraging moments at me like we all sometimes face. It always helped me to see “the bigger picture”!

One of your latest paintings is a actually a Pro-Life painting titled "Before I Formed You in the Womb". Can you tell us about it and how that came about?

Ray Comfort, a great evangelist and preacher did a movie called “The 180 Movie” (If you look at a print of the painting, you will see that I acknowledge that movie under my signature). He challenged me to do the painting. God gave me the idea, but Ray gave me the kick in the pants to do it! We now give a copy of the 180 Movie, free, to everyone who buys a print. It’s the most powerful Pro-Life video I have ever seen.

  

The painting is just gorgeous and it’s so detailed. I was so moved by it with Christ’s hand reaching out to touch the mother’s stomach. I didn’t notice this the first few times that I saw it but if you look closely you can actually see the profile of the baby in the mothers stomach it’s like it’s looking up at Christ. I thought that was just awesome! It’s so subtle but once you see it you can’t look at it again without seeing it. And I think that is very deep and kind of symbolic of the fact that there is a life in every pregnant woman even if she can’t see it or feel it yet and even if she isn’t showing yet it’s there and it is precious and sacred.

Thanks…the model for the pregnant lady was my daughter in law, Amanda. She was pregnant with her fourth child, Hudson Taylor, and I photographed her about a week or two before he was born. We just finished a video to support the campaign where you will all get to see him. Cute little guy…

  

Are there any other special things in the painting that a person might not notice when they first see it?

If there were no “special things” in the painting, it would still be an important statement about the sanctity of life, However, I always try to put extra things in to give a “discovery” process later on. Certainly, it compliments the central theme of the work, which in this case is that God forms each life while inside the belly of the mother. First, many don’t see the baby in the mom’s belly! Secondly, if you look at the shadow being cast by Christ’s hand you will see it forms a cross. That’s my reminder to all that Jesus died so your baby doesn’t have to! Here’s some verses that spurred me to the details of the painting:

Read Psalm 139 and you will see that the David reminds himself, “For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb.”  A few verses later he says something every person should be aware of. “Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” How profound is that? God didn’t just have a plan for me, He had a plan laid out for every baby that was aborted, and I sometimes wonder who was killed that the world badly needs. Was the baby that was to cure cancer been aborted?. Possibly, that answer is “yes”!

I've wondered that very thing myself many times. There are so many countless blessings that God might have meant for mankind and how many of those were aborted and never allowed the chance at life. Every life is precious and has something to give.

  

And Ron you are wanting to get one of these paintings into the hands of every Obstetrician, Hospital, Pediatrician, Crisis pregnancy Ctr. and even Planned Parenthood clinic in America correct? Can you tell us more about that and how others can help?

Without doubt, that’s our plan. But, we cannot do it alone. This has got to be an effort of the Body of Christ to get these where God can speak to so many. We are hoping that “sponsors” will catch the vision and help us give them away. (Literally, my publisher does not make one cent on a print!) We are doing what we are asking others to do, and that is to make this a sacrifice for the sake of the unborn. Eventually, we want to also get them into schools, churches and anywhere the message can penetrate a mind for life.

When I first posted the painting on FB, a lady wrote me and said that very morning she was outside of an abortion provider and was trying to talk to the people going in. One couple heard her talking and the guy started swearing at her. However, the young lady crept closer and whispered, “I don’t want to do this…” but ultimately she wound up going inside and killing her baby. The lady told me that if she would have had my painting to show the young lady what she was killing, she was confident she could have persuaded her otherwise. That broke my heart…

That is terrible! It is truly heartbreaking. Here is hoping that the print will be able to help save many more lives like that one through it's message. 

The print is available now at http://beforeiformedyouinthewomb.com/ 

Every print receives, at no cost, a copy of Ray Comfort’s incredible DVD 180 which chronicles the transformation of people on camera from pro-choice to pro-life once they are exposed to the truth behind abortion. With over 3 million views, 180 has already impacted hearts and lives and verifiably saved babies from abortion! You can also find out more about how to sponsor prints at the website as well. 

A major portion of each print goes to fund pro-life efforts at such incredible ministries as 180 and pro-life pregnancy centers. So please get your copy of the print today and tell your friends and family about it and post about it on Facebook, Twitter, and any other social networking sites that you belong to.

Ron thank you so much for taking the time to be with me and share your story here on Voice for Hope. I hope that everyone that reads this will go and buy a print of the painting and if they can sponsor to have another print sent to a Dr.’s office, hospital, or Planned Parenthood to where hopefully it will touch the heart of people and hopefully save many, many more innocent lives! 

We need to pray that God will use this. More than ever, the lives of the unborn are under direct attack as is evidenced by our upcoming election conventions. Planned Parenthood was very visible and very determined to impact the future with Pro-Choice. Our disgust won’t stop them, but maybe a visual reminder of life will stop a person from listening to the rhetoric and choose life.

That is very, very true!

Visit Ron's website and see more of his work at http://www.rdicianni.com/ and at hhttp://www.tapestryproductions.com

Thanks so much again Ron and God bless you!

Today I have a very special interview to share with you. I recently had the very big honor of interviewing Abortion Survivor and International Pro-Life Speaker Melissa Ohden. Now many of you may already know Melissa and her work in the Pro-Life cause, but if you don’t you are in for a wonderful story that you won’t ever forget! Her story will absolutely amaze you! And for those of you that are familiar with her story I hope that you will find out some new things about her and be able to catch up on some of the work that Melissa has been involved in recently. 

Melissa is a very special lady indeed she is the survivor of a saline infusion abortion. Now if you are like me up until just a few months ago I didn't even know that there was such a thing as an abortion survivor, even with me being pro-life my entire life. I never knew that there were actually babies that survive the abortion procedures. It’s hard to say but I thought that the abortionists made absolutely sure that there was no way that the baby survived. But surprisingly and thankfully there are those who have survived the abortion attempts on their lives, although they are few and sadly far between, and Melissa is one of those rare children. This amazing woman now travels around the world telling her story and educating others about abortion from a perspective that is very powerful and not often heard, that of the child. She is being a voice for all of the other children who are victims of abortions. Melissa truly is a voice for the voiceless.

Melissa it is such a pleasure to have you here with me today! Thank you so much for being a guest here on Voice for Hope!

Your story is truly so powerful when first heard it I was so moved by it. It touched me very deeply and I think anyone that hears you speak is forever changed.

But for those that haven't heard your amazing story would you please tell us about yourself.

If someone was to pass me along the street today, they would never guess that thirty-five years ago, I was aborted unsuccessfully and survived. On the outside, I look like your typical working mom-wife, incredibly busy with home and community kind of woman. But on the inside, I’m a woman who survived what most people could never understand, who has come to thrive in the face of it, and has ultimately overcame my own emotional and spiritual struggles related to being an abortion survivor and living in a culture that has embraced the culture of death for far too long, and has now been blessed to overcome all of it and boldly stand up and speak out for the unborn and all who are affected by abortion.

My husband, Ryan, and I live in Sioux City, Iowa, with our four-year-old daughter, Olivia. Non-coincidentally (because nothing in my life is a coincidence, it’s a God-incidence), we live in the very same city where my biological mother had her abortion at St. Luke’s Hospital in 1977. I didn't grow up in Sioux City.  I grew up in a small town about an hour and a half away from here and moved here in 2002 to finish my Master’s degree in Social Work. Truly, I had no idea how coming back here was just all part of the healing process for me and a really integral point of me coming forward publicly as a survivor. 

I grew up always knowing that I was adopted....from my smallest age, I can remember always knowing and feeling very loved. Not only by my adoptive parents but by my biological parents. I knew that they loved me so very much that they had made an adoption plan for me when they weren’t in a position to care for me. I didn’t feel unloved or unworthy because of that....on the contrary, it made me feel very loved and worthy to have that  plan made. When I was 14 years old, however, that all changed. My world, as I knew it, came crashing down. The truth about me being an abortion survivor came to light, and I was devastated. 

The medical records that I obtained in 2007 after years and years of trying to obtain them, stated that my birth mother thought that she was less than five months pregnant when she went in for the abortion in August of 1977. However, the fact that I lived after the abortion failed, and I weighed a little less than three pounds (I was 2 lbs. 14 oz.), points to the fact that she was much further along then what she realized. In those same medical records, in fact, one of the first notations by a doctor was that I looked like I was about 31 weeks when I survived.

My mother was an unmarried college student when she underwent the saline infusion abortion that was meant to end my life. This type of abortion procedure is not done anymore, but was a routine abortion procedure back then. Time and time again, I meet nurses and sometimes even doctors who recall the parts that they played in saline infusions and the children like me that they delivered who were sometimes blackened from the saline solution, sometimes were born alive like me, sometimes were “successfully aborted” and born dead. Their remembrances of these children wound me.

The saline infusion abortion actually involved injecting a toxic salt solution into the amniotic fluid surrounding the pre-born baby in the womb. The intent of that salt solution was to scald the child to death from the outside in...hence, those medical professionals’ memories of the blackened children. From all accounts, it was a terribly horrific procedure for a child to be subjected to, being burned alive in the womb. Likewise, I would believe it to be an incredibly horrific procedure for the woman to endure, feeling her child thrashing about in the womb, as they are being killed. This thrashing about is actually discussed in medical journals and such when reviewing this procedure.

So, here the toxic salt solution was delivered and I soaked in it for five days. The saline infusion typically takes place over 72 hours, but somehow, my mother’s abortion took place over a long period of time. I was delivered on the fifth day of the procedure, and from what I've been told by my adoptive family, who received their information from the social worker who handled my adoption, the medical professionals initially believed that the abortion succeeded in ending my life. Their words were “we laid her aside, because we didn't believe she would live.” I was then cast aside to be disposed of later. 

By the grace of God that day, I didn't suffer the same fate as so many of the millions of other children subjected to the saline infusion.  Because that day, as a nurse was tending to my birth mother after the abortion, she heard the weak grunting noises and upon inspection saw the tiny movements that I was making there in the hospital room, and they realized that the abortion had not succeeded in ending my life. Thankfully, medical intervention was then initiated that sustained my life.

In addition to weighing a little less than three pounds, I suffered from severe respiratory and liver problems, seizures....I required multiple blood transfusions, and I was too weak to suck from a bottle, so I was fed through IV lines in my head. I was transferred to a large hospital across the state where I then was in the NICU for three months. 

Although the doctors initially didn't believe that I would continue to live for very long, I gained enough weight and really quite quickly overcame the obstacles that I was facing. I am one of the most blessed people in the world to have survived the abortion and then be healed and have no long-term health consequences as a result.

That is wonderful! Thank God that you are completely healthy now and have no health problems or after effects of the abortion that is nothing short of miraculous! I have seen and heard about a few other abortion survivors but not many maybe five or so that I have read about. Do you know approximately how many abortion survivors there are? And all the other survivors that I have heard about have had other physical or health problems because of the abortions they survived. It’s truly amazing!

Miracles do indeed happen everyday, don’t they?! I live in this skin, and honestly, there are some days where I am just as awe-struck as everyone else by what has happened in my life. I truly believe my gift of not only survival but health was no accident. It not only enables me to do this work, but it also communicates so clearly to people that this is what all of the other children would be like if only they had the chance to live. I wasn't just a clump of tissue or a blob of cells, I was ME when I was aborted...just me at a different stage of development. 

Since I came forward in 2007, I have regularly heard from other abortion survivors, and the overwhelming response is, “I thought I was the only one!” I felt that way for a number of years, too, until I stumbled across Gianna Jessen’s story in 1997. It changed my life to find out that there was someone else out there who could relate to what it’s like to be a survivor, and it gave me the strength I needed to eventually come forward.

I know of a little less than 100 other survivors, most from the U.S., but some from Canada, Australia, Europe, and Africa. Many of those survivors who are public with their stories have been affected long-term by the abortions they survived. What I've found in my work, however, is that there is a larger majority of those who, like me, do not have long term health issues as a result. Many of these survivors have lived their lives without ever telling anyone at all or at least anyone outside of their immediate family/husband or wife about being a survivor. I can understand that....I knew that I could live a “normal” life outside of the public eye, but I couldn't stand the thought of some day standing before God and saying, “I’m so sorry that I never felt strong enough, able enough, to do what you saved my life for.” God’s calling on my life was so strong that I knew that I had a particular purpose. People can visit www.theabortionsurvivors.com to read more about some of the other survivors who are public, even those who aren't but just want to share their stories, and also read more about the prevalence of survivors.

You said that you were born at St. Luke’s Hospital. Now is that a religious affiliated hospital? I have heard of other "religiously" affiliated hospitals recently doing abortions and just blows my mind. I never would have thought about hospitals performing abortions especially hospitals that are suppose to be religiously affiliated with churches.

St. Luke’s was not a Catholic hospital, but I think what is hard for many to understand, and certainly took me a long time to understand, was that abortions take place in hospitals.  Particularly when it comes to late term abortions, many people want to think that they are highly restricted and only occur for those “exceptions” like rape, incest, fetal abnormality or life of the mother. What people don’t realize is that the only restriction to late term abortion in the U.S. is location. Late term abortions take place in hospitals, by and large. For years I couldn't wrap my brain around how a facility that is supposed to be saving lives was actually where lives were being ended. 

It's unbelievable. It should be against everything that a doctor and hospital stand for to have anything to do with abortion. They are suppose to be in the profession of saving lives and helping people not take lives and leaving the mother's scarred for life, it's terrible.

The photo on the right was taken the day Melissa was delivered to her adoptive family in Oct. of 1977.

You were adopted by a wonderful family can you tell about them and did they take you home from the hospital when you were released or did foster care place you in their home later on?

When I was released from the NICU at approximately three months, I was delivered directly to my family.  As my mother recalls, although they were so pleased to have me with them, they were rather scared that they would drop me because although I weighed five pounds then, I was still tiny and fragile. The good news is, they never dropped me! Or so I think. J

What was it like being adopted growing up?

My parents are amazing. I would not be the person that I am today without them. They have loved and supported me every single moment of my life. And adoption was just a normal part of our family and our lives. I have known ever since I can remember that I was adopted. Our parents, (and I say, “our,” because I have an older sister who is also adopted and is four years older than I am), did a great job of making it known to us even as young children that we were adopted but loved. Loved by them and by our biological parents who made adoption plans for us when they were in the position that they couldn't care for us.

Truly, adoption was so normal in our family that when our parents finally became pregnant after fifteen years of infertility, we couldn't understand why they did! Why would you want to have a biological child when you could adopt another amazing child like us?! We used to joke with my brother that our parents “had” him but CHOSE us!

Can you tell us how you found out that you were the survivor of an abortion?

I was fourteen when I found out that I was an abortion survivor. My parents never intended for me to find out, but when I was fourteen the truth came to light through my older sister’s own unplanned pregnancy. I can only imagine how she must have felt as a teenager facing those life circumstances, but I am so grateful that despite her own fears and worries, she told our parents about her pregnancy, because it was then that our parents decided to tell her the truth about my life, my survival.

It was 21 years ago, on a cool, Fall night, that my sister alluded to the fact that there was something that I didn't know about my life and my family. That very same night, my mother uttered the words that forever changed my life and now the world: “Your mother had an abortion during her pregnancy with you and you survived it.”

I can’t even image what that must have been like for you. Did you have emotional problems after you found out about the abortion, did you have to go to therapy? How did you deal with it?

I was blessed with a wonderfully supportive family, friends, church and school, which certainly helped me work through the reality of my life. Yet I still struggled. As a teen, I battled an eating disorder, alcohol abuse and made my fair share of poor decisions when it came to dating. Although this is common for many teens, I knew where my problems were rooted. I was trying so desperately to avoid feeling the pain that I did, and wanted to run away from myself and all that was so hard.

Ultimately, it was my faith and just good, old fashioned maturity that saved me from myself and helped me on the path to healing. Obtaining my Master’s in Social Work and being a therapist helped me in continuing to heal from my own experiences.

I have heard that some survivors have nightmares that they think might have been related to when they were aborted. Have you ever had any nightmares or anything like that?

I went through years of insomnia and nightmares that focused on me being powerless and overwhelmed. I faced a lot of phobias during those years, too, which I have also been blessed to overcome.

Now you like many other adopted children did search for your biological parents. I was wondering did you ever want to search for them as you were growing up before you found out about your birth? Or did that happen more after you found out the truth?

I had always had an interest in searching for my birth family, but learning about the abortion attempt definitely added to that interest. I wanted to know the truth about why it happened, but more importantly, I wanted them to know that I knew about the abortion and I had forgiven them for it and loved them in spite of it.

Could you tell us a little about your search for your biological parents?

The journey of looking for and finding my birth family is rather long and complicated, but the brief story is that I found my birth parents back in 2007 when I obtained my medical records (which I keep a copy of on my website so that people can freely read about the abortion procedure). I sent my father a letter and never heard back from him. Sadly, my father died about six months after I contacted him. Although it has been very difficult to have lost him, in his passing, he gave me the gift of his family. They had never known about the abortion or my survival and adoption. It was by finding the letter that I had sent him that they learned his great secret. I now have a relationship with my grandfather and great aunt, which I am so thankful for.

I have never found my biological mother, because she married someone else after the abortion took place, and I know only her maiden name. Since I couldn't find her, but had found her parents, my maternal grandparents, I reached out to them asking for them to contact her on my behalf. I never expected to hear back from them, but I did, within just a few days. We exchanged pictures and letters, but 2007 is the last that I've heard from them. I pray for my family, including my mother, that we all be healed from the ripple effect of that abortion 35 years ago, and I believe in my heart that my mother knows that I’m alive and well, despite the fact that my grandparents stated that they were estranged from her and therefore wouldn't be contacting her for me. 

Can you tell us about your life now?

I am very, very blessed. I married my high school crush, Ryan, back in 2005. I have to say crush, because we weren't high school sweethearts….I was madly in love with him and he didn't know that I existed! Ha.  We became friends after high school and were friends for years before we started dating. I couldn't do this without Ryan. He is the most understanding, supportive husband and father. Olivia, our passionate little pro-lifer, is 4. She’s amazing. I've never met a child like her before! For her fourth birthday, she wanted a full set of fetal models, since all she has are the littlest ones.

How did you begin to start speaking about what happened to you and get involved in the Pro-Life cause?

I spent years healing, working to obtain my medical records and find my biological family before coming forward, and it all came together in just a matter of months in 2007. The first time that I spoke publicly in years was in 2007 at a Capitol Hill briefing for Feminists for Life of America, who I was a College Outreach Speaker with from 2007-2009. I knew that speaking and being involved in activism was what I was called to do, but I’ll be honest….for years, I was fearful of coming forward. Now, I can’t imagine doing anything else BUT this.

What is it like to do what you do now speaking all over the world? How many different countries have you spoken in now?

Since 2007, I have spoken all across the U.S., Canada, and Australia.  I truly enjoy what I do, and I feel incredibly grateful to not just be working to make a difference but to also come into contact with some really amazing people---fellow survivors, pro-lifers. I try to give all that I can to the cause for life, but I certainly receive a lot in return, too.

People like to say that abortion is a social issue or a political issue and truthfully a lot of people act like it’s nothing more than a personal opinion now a days, but it’s really a human right’s issue I believe personally. What do you think about that and how would you describe abortion to others being the survivor of one?

In a world that often talks about abortion as a choice and a right, I always have to ask where my choice and my right was 35 years ago when I was aborted. Where are the choices and rights of the thousands of girls who are aborted every day? It’s so easy to talk about choice and rights until you recognize that if it is just a choice and it is a right, then anyone else could have been aborted just like me.

What do you say to those people that ask you…but what about the exceptions…what about rape and incest or the life of the mother, what about abortion in those situations?

I believe that most of the time, the support for exceptions comes from a very well-intentioned place in people’s hearts…they don’t want to see women suffer or be traumatized, they can’t bear to think of children being in pain or abused, etc. 

Yet who are we to decide such things? Who we to decide who should live and who should die? Should circumstance or situation dictate whether the child should live?

Women’s own experiences and research tell us that abortion isn’t the answer in the “hard cases.” Abortion doesn't undo trauma like rape and incest, it often induces more problems. We know that for many women, their child has brought them healing in the midst of such difficulties.

Have you seen the movie October Baby? It is a fictional story I know but it is loosely based on the life of abortion survivor Gianna Jessen. I was wondering if you had seen it, and if so what did you think about it?

I have seen October Baby many times, and still cry every time that I watch it. It’s a wonderful movie and it was beautifully done. I have been very pleased with how people have responded to the film overall, and how many people have been touched by it, especially post-abortive men and women and other abortion survivors. The message of forgiveness is powerful.

You recently did an ad for the Susan B. Anthony List that tells of Barak Obama’s extreme stance on abortion. It has been seen on TV during the Democratic National Convention and during the debate and it’s been viewed over 345 thousand times on Youtube. Can you share with us a little about that?

The SBA List ad has now been viewed well over 400,000 times on YouTube and aired in Missouri, Ohio, Virginia, and Florida, in addition to being aired in the Charlotte area during the Democratic National Convention and in the Denver area during the Presidential debate there.

I really had no idea what the impact of the ad was going to be in terms of the election and in educating people about abortion, survivors, and President Obama’s voting history when it comes to lives like mine, but I knew that I was called to do it. So many people are uneducated about the issue, and it was important to me that they become educated and be motivated to vote in this election. 

For those that haven't had a chance to see the ad you can view it below. And since that ad was released the Women Speak Out PAC, the super PAC of the national pro-life Susan B. Anthony List has also released another ad featuring Melissa and Jill Stanek on Obama's stance on abortion. Please watch both of these wonderful ads and share them with all your family and friends and please post them on all your social networking sites. These ads need to be seen by as many people as possible before the election!






You have a beautiful family and your daughter Olivia is so cute! Has she asked you any questions about why you do what you do? I have seen her with you at some of the speeches you have given and I was wondering if she was old enough to start asking questions about it yet?

Our daughter, Olivia, is four, and she is the most amazingly beautiful child, inside and out. She’s been raised in the movement, and certainly, we live our pro-life beliefs, so she is very knowledgeable and is kind of a staple at events with me. If she had her way, she would be at every event!

She has recently started asking more questions, but up until now, her description of my work is that “Mommy talks about ‘bortion’ and saves babies.” If you ask her about abortion, she states that “it’s bad because every baby should live and every baby deserves a family.” 

She not only spends a lot of time with me doing pro-life work, but she spends a lot of time pretending to give her own speeches and interviews, and is pretty well known for being the girl who wanted a full set of fetal models for her fourth birthday!

That is wonderful! God bless her heart I think that is awesome! A possible future pro-life speaker in the making! 

Is there any other news of upcoming things that you are going to be involved in or anything else that you would like to share?  

As we approach the solemn 40^th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, there’s lots going on that I will be involved in and working on. I will be speaking at the Pro-Life Youth Rally with a number of other pro-life leaders. I will also be speaking at the Cardinal O’Connor Conference there. There is the likelihood that I will have some BIG news to share about the March for Life and survivors’ presence there soon.

I am working on getting my first book, From Surviving to Thriving the Journey in Overcoming published. I hope to have it out in the next six months. I will also be starting on an anthology of the lives and stories of abortion survivors, which we hope to get published in 12-18 months. 

I am currently working on plans to further build the ministry of The Abortion Survivors Network and establish both a healing ministry and further enhance the relationship building and support for survivors.  There are plans to create a film that features stories of those survivors who wish to share their story publicly.

I’m always involved in something J.  The Voice of John is a wonderful pro-life film coming out in November that I would encourage people to watch. I am included in that film along with many others.

That is wonderful! Congratulations on all of your upcoming projects! I can't wait to read the books and see the new films. You can learn more about Melissa and find out where she is going to be speaking next and keep up with her upcoming projects at her website http://www.melissaohden.com/ . You can also follow her on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/melissaohdenfan and Twitter https://twitter.com/melissaohden. And please be sure to visit the Abortion Survivors website at www.theabortionsurvivors.com to read about other survivors and learn more about them.

Melissa I want to thank you again for being my guest here at Voice for Hope and for taking the time out of your extremely busy schedule to do this interview. It was truly an honor to have you here. Keep telling your story and changing hearts and minds and saving lives by being a voice for the voiceless! God bless you and your beautiful family. You are inspiration and beautiful reminder that all life is precious!

This is the new Susan B. Anthony List Ad that tells about Obama's extreme abortion views and voting record. It is part of their new Women Speak Out PAC campaign. You can read more about the PAC and how to support them and the ad that features abortion survivor and pro-life speaker Melissa Ohden and former nurse now pro-life blogger and speaker Jill Stanek at the SBL website at http://www.sba-list.org/. Everyone needs to know the truth before they go and vote in Nov. please share this ad on any social media sites that you are on i.e. Facebook, Twitter, or if you have a blog. 

This is a great article from http://www.lifenews.com/ This election is very important for the U.S. it could be the most important election in our lifetime for many reasons. If you value life, religious freedom, and liberty period you need to really search your heart and vote to get the U.S. back on the right path. I want to state also to my fellow Christians you need to ask yourself which candidate would Jesus prefer and pray and vote not based on any political party or who your grandparents and your parents would have voted for but for who stands more for what the Bible teaches that we as Christians should stand for. 
This ad is from the Susan B. Anthony List starring abortion survivor Melissa Ohden and she asks the very important question How will you answer?

Learn more about Melissa and the wonderful work that the Susan B. Anthony List is doing at their websites http://www.melissaohden.com/ and http://www.sba-list.org/

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you;" these words were spoken by God in Jeremiah 1:5 (NKJV). What powerful words those truly are. For those of us that are Christians we know and believe that God is the creator and the giver of all life and that all human life is indeed formed by God and therefore precious and sacred. We are told countless times in the Bible to uphold life and protect it. To stand up for what is right and to defend the weak and defenseless, to be champions of those who cannot help themselves and above all to love others more than we love ourselves.

God also states it very plain also in numerous places in the Old and New Testament "Thou shalt Not Kill". It doesn't come much plainer than that. Jesus also taught this throughout his ministry and used children as examples of how everyone should be in their lives innocent and pure and loving like a little child. Truly there is nothing closer to heaven on earth than a little child.

 Today while I was looking on Facebook I saw a post that showed a painting that I just had to share it's called Before I Formed You in the Womb… by artist Ron DiCianni.


 It shows the hand of Christ touching the stomach of a pregnant mother and if you look closely you can see the image of baby on the mother's stomach as if it were looking up at Jesus. This painting is so breathtakingly beautiful in so many ways. Mr. DiCianni is truly a gifted artist but what caught my attention even more was the story that went along with the painting. This talented man's life was almost ended before he ever could ever have the chance to lift a brush. Ron DiCianni is an abortion survivor and the Pro-Life cause is a cause very dear to his heart. He painted Before I Formed You In the Womb to help raise awareness about abortion and how many innocent lives it destroys in our country everyday.

http://beforeiformedyouinthewomb.com/

 Here on the Tapestry Productions website is what it says about the painting and then there is the Artist's note from Ron himself...

 Life is precious, a fact we forget 3,700 times a day here in America and over 115,000 times world wide as babies are killed in the procedure we call "abortion". The simple fact is that, in 21st century America, life is often inconvenient, not precious. In Before I Formed You… Ron DiCianni makes the statement that each life, as we’re told in Scripture, is known and crafted by God for a purpose. How must it grieve the Author of Life, each time one of those precious lives is destroyed.

The flip side of Before I Formed You… though is a celebration! A celebration of each life, of each baby formed and crafted by His hands! Psalm 127:3 says "Behold, children are a gift of the LORD the fruit of the womb is a reward."

Even more incredible is that this painting, Before I Formed You… was painted by Ron DiCianni, America's best selling Christian Fine Artist and himself, an abortion survivor. You see, the same hands that painted this painting were scheduled to be "terminated" back in 1952... you can read his incredible story below. 


Artist Note:

As one who almost never had the chance to become what God had planned for me, I know firsthand the special meaning of what God told Jeremiah.

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart..."

My mom had stopped her abortion attempt just as the procedure began, because she heard the voice of God saying to her, "Don’t do this... I have a plan for this baby."

God has a plan for every baby He has formed in the womb. Many have never seen the light of day, or gotten to become what He knew they could. I wonder if, through abortion, we have killed the person who was to have found the cure for cancer? Have we cut short the life that was supposed to become a righteous leader to end needless suffering in the world? Chances are, we have.

This painting is a visual translation of Psalm 139. "For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful." If we could reach back into time and allow each child to be born, we would be a better world. Since we can't, I'm hoping we will allow a future that will give each child the opportunity to live. Look at the painting closely and you will see a cross formed by the shadow of Christ's hand. That's the measure of His love for every baby. He died so they wouldn't have to.

Ron DiCianni 


 The prints of Before I Formed you in the Womb are available for pre-release order now here...

http://beforeiformedyouinthewomb.com/ 

Every print receives, at no cost, a copy of Ray Comfort’s incredible DVD 180 which chronicles the transformation of people on camera from pro-choice to pro-life once they are exposed to the truth behind abortion. With over 3 million views, 180 has already impacted hearts and lives and verifiably saved babies from abortion!

 A major portion of each print goes to fund pro-life efforts at such incredible ministries as 180 and pro-life pregnancy centers.

You can also learn how to be a sponsor they are wanting to get one of the prints into the hands of every Obstetrician, Pediatrician and Planned Parenthood clinic in America. If interested contact Tapestry at: (877) TAP-PROD (877-827-7763) menu option 4 or email them by clicking here or on their website at the link above.