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ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Roberts Wesleyan College will host the first Anna L. Witteman Symposium at 4 p.m. Monday, Sept. 30, on campus in the Hale Auditorium at the Howard Stowe Roberts Cultural Life Center. This community event was created to raise awareness of violence on human life, with a particular focus on abortion. The symposium is free and open to the public.
Best-selling author Abby Johnson will serve as the event’s first keynote speaker. Johnson worked at Planned Parenthood for eight years, rising to the rank of clinic director. After confronting nagging feelings of remorse, Johnson resigned from Planned Parenthood and today is an outspoken advocate for the pro-life movement.
“We are excited to host Abby on campus,” said Jonathan Bratt, chaplain at Roberts Wesleyan College. “She gives voice to pro-life issues that need to be discussed and brings a compassionate heart to the people looking for guidance.”
The symposium’s namesake, Anna L. Witteman, established what is now known as Deaconess Hospital in Oklahoma City, Okla. Witteman’s passion for missionary work led her to dedicate her life to serving others. In the 1900s, she joined the all-women staff at the Home of Redeeming Love, which was a place for those in need of medical care. Today, the House of Redeeming Love is called Deaconess Home Pregnancy & Adoption Services. All services have remained the same, along with providing shelter for any women in need.
This event is made possible through support from the Care Net Center of Greater Orleans, Feminists Choosing Life of N.Y., and friends of Roberts Wesleyan College.
Former Planned Parenthood Director and Pro-Life Speaker
Abby Johnson has always had a fierce determination to help women in need. It was this desire that both led Abby to a career with Planned Parenthood, our nation’s largest abortion provider, and caused her to flee the organization and become an outspoken advocate for the pro-life movement.
During her eight years with Planned Parenthood, Abby quickly rose in the organization’s ranks and became a clinic director. She was increasingly disturbed by what she witnessed. Abortion was a product Planned Parenthood was selling, not an unfortunate necessity they fought to decrease.
All of that changed on September 26, 2009 when Abby was asked to assist with an ultrasound-guided abortion. She watched in horror as a 13 week baby fought, and ultimately lost, its life at the hand of the abortionist. At that moment, the full realization of what abortion was and what she had dedicated her life to washed over Abby and a dramatic transformation took place. Desperate and confused, Abby sought help from a local pro-life group. She swore that she would begin to advocate life in the womb and expose abortion for what it truly is.
She is a frequently requested guest on Fox News and a variety of other shows and the author of the nationally best-selling book, Unplanned, which chronicles both her experiences with Planned Parenthood and her dramatic exit.
About Roberts Wesleyan College:
With an enrollment of nearly 2,000 students and a tradition of excellence since 1866, Roberts Wesleyan College is a leader among liberal arts colleges with a Christian worldview. Roberts offers more than 50 undergraduate programs, as well as graduate programs in education, school psychology, school counseling, health administration, nursing administration, nursing education, social work, counseling in ministry and strategic leadership. Roberts Wesleyan also offers innovative undergraduate degree-completion programs for working adults in health administration, nursing and organizational management.
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