It Takes Courage to Give Life

Last Friday, hundreds of Arizonans of all ages and backgrounds, men, women and families, celebrated LIFE by gathering for the March for Life event at our State Capitol. “The Arizona March for Life is our opportunity to show the entire state what it means to walk With Every Woman, For Every Child….,” said Jeanne Mancini, President of March for Life.   

Arizona Women of Action had a booth at the event, and it seemed the crowd was even bigger than last year—even more focused on saving babies and their mothers from the death of abortion. Our own Tamra Farah, Director of AZWOA’s SMART Families Network, loved talking with people at our table. But this march especially touched her heart because of her story.~ Kim 

The following is an excerpt from Tamra Farah’s book, Courage to Stand: Mama Bears Arising!  Click here to download this Kindle e-book. The book is less than 100 pages and costs $5.99. 

Courage to give LIFE 
By Tamra Farah, Director, SMART Families Network 

At 19, I was told by my doctor that I had a one-in-a-million medical condition and that I would never be able to have kids.  But God gave my husband and me two beautiful, adopted children. They were each three days old when they were put in our arms.    

But I am getting ahead of myself… 

In my early twenties, while my husband was in grad school, I faced a choice between two job offers. One was to become a branch manager for a well-known temp agency. At the same time, the other was an offer to be the executive director of three pregnancy centers that supported girls and women in crisis pregnancies. I made a compelling argument to my compassionate husband, explaining that I wanted to save babies' lives!  Though the other job offered a significantly higher salary, what could he say?! I oversaw five offices and 200 volunteers for the Pregnancy Distress Center in Columbus, Ohio.  

Soon after that, Barry and I embarked on our pro-life journey.  At the age of 19, I discovered that I was unable to conceive, and after we were married, we fervently prayed for the opportunity to adopt.  Six years in, we established a meaningful connection with an attorney and a birth mother, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the baby. We relocated to Michigan for Barry's job after he graduated from the MBA program at The Ohio State University.  

While settling into our new apartment, I prayed not for ourselves but for God's will concerning the precious baby who would soon be born.  One afternoon, as I was collecting the mail from the apartment mailbox, I discovered a flyer from Right to Life of Michigan. Seated on the floor, I immersed myself in reading about their campaign to end tax-funded abortions in Michigan, which the Michigan Right to Life group spearheaded. Surprisingly, their Oakland County office was conveniently located near our apartment.  

At that moment, I felt an overwhelming conviction that I was meant to be involved in this campaign. Remarkably, within moments of that realization, the phone rang. It was the attorney's office informing me that the birth mother of the baby we were waiting for had a change of heart. Strangely, I wasn't saddened by the news. Instead, I was excited, eager to prepare myself and head to the local campaign headquarters. I intended to contribute my efforts to the campaign aimed at stopping tax-funded abortions and was offered a paid position as campaign manager for Oakland County.  

The campaign's Political Director was Marlene Elwell, who propelled Pat Robertson’s campaign in 1988 to a surprising second place in Iowa. She had lobbied delegates on the floor at the Republican National Convention to help pass the pro-life plank in the Republican platform. This presented an incredible opportunity for me to learn from Marlene about the power of grassroots movements and the organization of issue campaigns in Oakland County.  The outcome of this referendum campaign was a resounding victory at the state-wide ballot box, including in my historically pro-abortion county. Later, the win was held up in the courts, and finally, it was settled law. 

Within a few months of this remarkable experience, we joyfully welcomed our precious son David through adoption. Four years later, we were again blessed with the adoption of our sweet daughter, Alli.    

The fact is that whether we can bear a child or not, as women, God has designed us with a life-giving, nurturing nature.  And this mother-heart has the power of influence to change the world.  God has created us to give and protect life! Even if we have never had a child.   

David was supposed to be adopted by a different family, but they prayed and said they didn’t believe he was their baby.  Because he was for us.  Then, three years later, Barry and I were praying on a Saturday for another child when suddenly, I began to ask God for a girl to run out of an abortion clinic right then.  The following Monday, I randomly got a call and was asked if we wanted another baby.  Later that same day I spoke to the bio mom who told me that she had been pressured to have an abortion, went to the abortion clinic, and then got up and RAN OUT.  That was on the SAME day that we prayed for that to happen!  And that baby is our beautiful Alli girl!   

These two kids – now adults – are our very heart. 

I did not birth them, but I have given them life!  Their bio moms did birth them and gave them life!  And now these beautiful bio moms have lived 34 and 30 years since knowing that they gave their babies life!  Yes, there a sense of grief and loss for their hearts.  Yes, of course.  But it is coupled with the even greater joy of knowing they gave their children life and a family that was ready and able to raise them and provide for them.  

When women and girls choose abortion, many are duped into believing it’s not a baby in their womb but a clump of cells.  That’s why they must have an ultrasound and an opportunity to see for themselves that it is a human life in their womb.  Even if they can’t have an ultrasound to see for themselves, they carry a unique human life.  When a woman is pregnant, it isn’t her body that she decides to abort; it is a unique body in her body from the moment of conception.  That is scientific fact, often ignored by those in the abortion industry who stand to profit, and globalists who seek to depopulate the earth. 

The culture we live in does not impugn girls or women who are pregnant out of wedlock.  We can use that to protect life and encourage girls and women to carry their babies to term who don’t feel they can raise that child.  T-shirts like “Giving nine months of my life to help create a family,” etc.  Let’s encourage girls and women in unplanned pregnancies to connect with a reputable adoption organization or reach out to family members or good friends who may personally know a reputable family that is longing to adopt.  Nearly 2 million people are waiting to adopt in this country.  There is no need to have an abortion! 

Right now, women are rising all across America – many of them mothers or who carry the God-given heart of a mother.  They are rising just like Deborah arose a mother in Israel, they are rising as mothers in America.   

Deborah arose when village life ceased, highways were deserted, and the people had turned to idols.  Ladies! These are the characteristics of OUR times in America RIGHT NOW.  Evil forces are seeking to destroy our family and community life – and one primary line of attack is aborting precious babies in the womb.  What does society need when things aren’t right in society, in family, in schools?  We need a mom!  

Ladies and girls, God is raising women with the God-given heart of a mother to stand and fight to protect the next generation.  This is an hour of action and mobilization! And all women are a part of it!  Birth mothers, adoptive mothers, and bio mothers alike!