4 Memorable Moments From the March for Life 2018
Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler's 4-Year-Old Daughter Waves to the Crowd, Says 'Thank You'
Throughout her mother's remarks to the crowd at the March for Life, 4-year-old Abigail Beutler, daughter of congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler from Washington state, endearingly waved to the crowd and peppered her mom with questions.
Herrera Beutler shared her story of her difficult pregnancy four years ago. She said she would never forget the moment her doctor said to her: "See that, that is your [unborn child] 'practice breathing.'" She would also be told Abigail had a "zero percent chance of survival."
"[My husband] Dan and I prayed, and we cried, and we learned to contend," Herrera Beutler recounted of her pregnancy with Abigail. Doctors told her that her child would probably be born with no kidneys or suffocate to death soon after birth due a condition she had called bilateral renal agenesis. She was urged to induce labor early in order to be able to start over emotionally more quickly.
While her mom spoke, young Abigail asked: "Was I going to die?"
"No," her mom turned to her emphatically, receiving laughs from the crowd.
What if God would do a miracle, she and her husband asked themselves, and they pressed in even harder in prayer.
Today, Abigail says one day she plans on being "the boss of Mommy's work."
"Look out, Speaker Ryan," Herrera Beutler joked.
The congresswoman continued: "Today, we have come together to say, 'There's hope for every expectant mother who has been given a devastating diagnosis, for every woman who feels fear, or anger, or anxiety because she doesn't know how she can afford care for that child, for every woman that feels hopeless: Jesus loves you. And for every baby that has been given up on by the status quo: Jesus still does miracles."
At the conclusion of her mother's remarks, Abigail was hoisted up to the microphone and told the crowd "Thank you."