From Pain to Purpose: The Pro-Life Journeys of Deanne and Catherine

SPEAKER 03 : 0:01

This is Liz Frenzel with Crawford Media Group and today we’re talking with Catherine Wheeler and Deanne Wickler about the March for Life happening in Denver on April 11th. Welcome to our program, Deanne and Catherine. Thank you so much. It’s good to be here. Thank you. It’s so good to be with you. Let’s start with you, Deanne. Tell us a little bit about your background and how you became a pro-life advocate.

SPEAKER 02 : 0:22

So I’m an experienced OBGYN. I worked in several different settings. I’ve been Certified in inpatient obstetrics for quite a few years. I’ve had a long-time passion for caring for women and children and helping them get their families off to a really great start. But God has used my personal life and woven it in, which is really what propelled me into pro-life work. We lost our second grandchild during a pregnancy. She was given a life-limiting diagnosis. But we went on to lose five more little ones. And with each of these six experiences, I just had this feeling that there was not respect for these lives. And so God just kind of called me to start speaking up and standing and saying things. But I would just dip my toe in, and then God asked me to go deeper. And so in my years as an OB nurse, there were times when I assisted with terminating pregnancies, abortions. the hospital setting and I just buried it away because I knew it did not align my beliefs and it was just devastating for me but I did it and so I buried it and then I realized God forgave me I thought I need to speak about this and then he asked me once more I need you to go a little deeper for me and I realized I was once that unmarried teen mom who found herself pregnant and And I was encouraged to abort, and I was told that I would never be successful. And I heard these messages from other believers as well. And God just gave me the realization and brought me to a place where I felt like I had to speak up, and I had to share my stories of forgiveness and change and hope. and just be a voice for women and for children so they never found themselves in the same positions.

SPEAKER 03 : 2:19

That must have been pretty difficult for you, all of that, not only the loss of your own family members, but having to do the abortion side of it. Is it because if you didn’t, you would lose your job? Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. And how God has turned that around. And, you know, there’s a lot of healing that has to be done in all of that. And hopefully that the Lord’s been doing that with your heart.

SPEAKER 02 : 2:49

Well, he is a gracious and he is a good God. And I don’t carry the shame of that now. It’s just made me want to speak and come alongside other families and women.

SPEAKER 03 : 3:01

Thanks so much, Deanne, for sharing your testimony. That is quite a story. Catherine, tell us about your background and how you became a pro-life advocate.

SPEAKER 01 : 3:12

Yes, thank you. I am an OBGYN physician, and as part of that, I actually was trained to do abortions and did them in the beginning of my career and quit doing them very early, became a Christian very late in life in my 50s, and A short while after that, God brought up my history of doing abortions. I went through a healing program. I didn’t really want to be involved in pro-life ministry. It was something I was very ashamed of and didn’t like to think about. But then I moved to Colorado, and I learned here that abortions are done until the due date. I had practiced in Utah. And their abortions were only done until the mid part of the second trimester. And the ones I was trained to do were unfortunately special needs babies. So when I moved here and realized that babies that can survive outside the womb are being aborted at three times the national rate here in Colorado, you know, my first response was like most people, like that doesn’t happen. And so I looked into it. which I highly recommend people do anytime they have a question, and was just shocked. I had to actually learn how they’re possibly done when you have a baby that big, which was horrifying, and then realized that most people have, we just don’t know. And so I started becoming involved as somebody who had done abortions and who can really speak the truth about who the baby is and what abortion really is with the hope of just waking people up to it and helping women who are being deceived to know what’s actually true. So really for both the mommy and the baby.

SPEAKER 03 : 5:05

Yeah, that’s also devastating. Both of you have had experiences where it affects your whole emotional being. And not only that, you know, that’s something that you both have, and luckily and thankfully, you both have had healing for that experience. And as you spoke earlier, Deanne, speaking to those that are contemplating or have already had that done, that God is a forgiving God. And that’s so key. I think people could live their lives with guilt if not knowing that, right?

SPEAKER 02 : 5:46

I was in that world where they were occurring. And then when I became pregnant, I was encouraged to abort. But there’s now… a man walking on this earth who is a fabulous husband and father. And we all would have lost that if I had listened to the lies.

SPEAKER 03 : 6:03

Praise the Lord. You know, but even for those, you know, even with the women that have gone through it, there is forgiveness and there is healing.

SPEAKER 02 : 6:14

Absolutely.

SPEAKER 03 : 6:15

Absolutely. Which gets us into our next part of this. You both are very involved with Pro-Life and the March for Life. Tell us about the March for Life and what that’s all about.

SPEAKER 01 : 6:30

So there’s a national March for Life, which has been present for a very long time. And they’ve started to go, after Dobbs, they began to go into states. And so Colorado is now one of the 11 states that has its own state march, which we’re really excited about. We had our first march last year. And it’s really a very positive event. The theme this year is life. That’s why we march. And I actually got to be on their national stage and speak. And I can tell you, When you look out and see thousands and thousands and thousands of people, especially young people, it’s so encouraging because it can feel so alone in the midst of pro-life work and caring that there’s that many people who love women and love babies and who are willing to come together, take time off, and to stand for both mom and the baby and to be their voice, and to work together for what really matters most in this world, which is life. So that’s why we marched. We got to do our first one here last year, and there were over 4,000 people. So we’re hoping and praying for much bigger numbers, but it really is a celebration and a very positive, encouraging community that comes together that stands for women and families and babies and life.

SPEAKER 03 : 7:53

So how has the march affected you both personally?

SPEAKER 02 : 7:56

Well, for me, I had never attended a March for Life prior to last year. I’d always wanted to make it to D.C. and never had been able to. And so when I went to Colorado for our inaugural march last year, I wanted to experience everything about it. I stood near the front. I wanted to be totally immersed in hearing the speakers because they’re so dynamic and so inspiring. And I kind of do the same thing in church. And so I just wanted that experience. And then I turned around and I saw the state’s Capitol steps, the grounds surrounding into Civic Park, just covered in people’s who were like-minded, all of us who love children, all of us who love women, all of us who love families, all uniting our voices together. And it was just phenomenal to see it. I was just awed, and I was humbled, and I was encouraged. And it helped me to see just how many of us there are that truly stand for life. And as Catherine said, there were over 4,000 people there, wave upon wave upon wave. of individuals and families, it was just, it just gives me the chills when I remember it still. And it’s really propelled me and emboldened me to stand and speak out in other ways as well, because we all have a voice we can use to stand for these women and for these babies and for life.

SPEAKER 03 : 9:33

Katherine, is there something you’d like to say how it’s affected you personally?

SPEAKER 01 : 9:39

I would agree with that. Incredibly encouraging. Last year, we, at the March for Life, got to also launch Life Affirming Medical Professional Group here in Colorado at the same time, which is the American Association of Pro-Life OBGYNs. And people came up to me in my white coat, and people are afraid that there’s no medical professionals who are standing for life. And just being able to be there as a medical professional and say, no, there are a lot of us actually standing who are available to you for life-affirming care. To me, that was one of the most precious moments, is to be able to represent true health care for women.

SPEAKER 03 : 10:19

Why do you feel like it’s important to march this year? For those of our listeners out there who are interested, give them some insight as to the importance of it.

SPEAKER 01 : 10:31

It looks like we’ve had so many losses in Colorado recently. We’ve had the Reproductive Health Equity Act a few years ago and a lot of bills and policy moving forward for abortion to try to make us an abortion destination state. And then losing Amendment 79. So it looks like there’s been a lot of losses. But actually, I think there’s actually so much that’s happened that that has galvanized us, has brought us together in a pro-life Colorado coalition, the medical coalition, the pregnancy resource coalition. that this is the time to stand up and say, actually, this matters so much to us that we’re not giving up. This is just making us stronger, and we especially this year want to stand together for life, that we haven’t given up. I truly believe that Colorado’s destiny is as the leader for life, and for me, that would be the reason to march.

SPEAKER 03 : 11:27

We’re talking with Catherine Wheeler and Deanne Wickler about the March for Life happening in Denver on April 11th. Tell us where our listeners can go to find out more about the march and when it is and what time and where they should go.

SPEAKER 02 : 11:40

So we have a website. It’s www.marchforlife.org slash Colorado. And that’s the Colorado specific page. If people want to, they can register on that site. not necessary to do so. It just kind of allows people to get a little bit more information as things are happening and changing. You can see who all is speaking at the event, but really just calm. I mean, this is for everyone. It’s for women, it’s for children and families. It’s for men because men are also affected. All of us have a voice that we can use to speak up for innocent people. And so we’ll gather on the Capitol steps on the west side in Denver on the 11th. And there’s a concert at 10 o’clock with some informational booths. It’s a really fun kind of atmosphere. There’s a rally at 11 with incredible speakers. And then at noon, we’ll march just waves of us supporting and upholding value of life.

SPEAKER 03 : 12:46

I encourage all of our listeners to go check this out, participate on the 11th, and we just appreciate both of you, Deanne and Catherine, for joining us today.

SPEAKER 02 : 12:58

It’s been wonderful speaking with you, Liz. Thank you.