Illinois Woman Goes Into Labor, Votes Before Giving Birth
One Illinois woman believed in President Barack Obama's policies so much, that she decided to vote in church for her first election despite the fact that she had gone into labor.
Galicia Malone, a 21-year-old first time voter from Dalton, Ill., decided to vote at her designated polling place at New Life Celebration Church near Chicago on Tuesday, despite going into labor four days earlier with her first child. Although her water had broken before she placed her vote with contractions that were five minutes apart, Malone told WBBM Newsradio that she was focused on making her vote count in her first presidential election.
"I was just trying to read and breathe, read and breathe," the 21-year-old mom-to-be told WBBM Newsradio. "That's what I kept telling myself, 'Read and breathe, read and breathe.'"
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Malone told the radio station why participating in the 2012 election was so important to her despite the fact that she was on the verge of giving birth.
"I never voted before so this made a major difference in my life," she told WBBM Newsradio. "And I wanted this to be a stepping-stone for my daughter."
The first-time mother drove herself to the hospital after voting at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, telling My Fox Chicago that she was in pain after voting.
"The pains are pretty steady, but my doctor says to think of it as getting ready to give life," Malone told My Fox Chicago. "This is my first baby, a girl, and I wanted to make a good impression. I want to have a story to tell her."
David Orr, the clerk in Cook County where Malone voted, called the woman a terrific example for future generations.
"If only all voters showed such determination to vote," Orr told NBC News in Chicago. "My hat goes off to Galicia for not letting anything get in the way of voting. What a terrific example she is showing for the next generation."
