Abortion survivor's speech aborted

Gianna Jessen

A 28-year-old abortion survivor was prohibited from speaking at an Irish college, which claimed the insurance premium was insufficient.

Gianna Jessen survived a saline abortion at the seven-month gestation stage period. As a result, she suffers from cerebral palsy, a disorder that is caused by flawed development of or damage to areas of the brain that control a person’s ability to move and stand or sit upright. Jessen considers the disorder a gift. She has traveled the world sharing her story and being living evidence that abortion takes a human life.

Ultrasound, a pro-life student network arranged multiple speaking engagements for Jessen at Irish colleges.

Jessen was greeted at most colleges with a warm welcome, but University College Dublin officials tried to prevent her from sharing her testimony to students. Ultrasound was told that it needed to provide insurance for the event, and on the morning of the speech Ultrasound was told that the insurance did not meet the necessary requirements and that, therefore, Jessen could not speak.

No insurance broker could provide the coverage necessary to facilitate for the event, which UCD considered to be an extreme risk event. This was the first time this sort of insurance was required to have a speaker, leading some to believe that this was an attempt by the college to keep her from speaking.

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