By Diane Stark
Emily Berning is the president of Let Them Live—a pro-life, nonprofit organization located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, that she cofounded with her husband, Nathan. Their mission is to save babies from abortion by financially supporting women who are experiencing a crisis pregnancy. Researchers have consistently found that one of the main reasons abortion-minded women seek abortion is an inability to afford a baby. Emily and Nathan Berning envision a culture where women never feel like abortion is their only option, simply because they cannot afford a child.
During Emily’s junior year at Colorado State University, she became interested in the pro-life movement. She led the Students for Life chapter at her school and found an inner passion for pro-life activism. She graduated with a biology degree in 2017 and met Nathan that summer at the Leadership Institute—a nonprofit organization that provides training in campaigns, fundraising, grassroots organizing, youth politics, and communications. “Right away, Nathan encouraged me to start a pro-life nonprofit,” Emily said. “We got involved with lobbying. We wanted to sway the vote.”
For a time, that’s what they did. They married in September of 2018, and not long after, they felt God pushing them to change directions. “Nathan is a night owl, and one night, he was up late reading posts in a pro-life group on Facebook,” Emily said. “He read a post written by a woman whose cousin had an appointment for an abortion because she couldn’t afford to have the baby. The woman was hoping that someone in the group could talk with her.”
Nathan woke up Emily and told her that they needed to empty their bank account so they could help the woman keep her baby. Remarkably, Emily agreed. “We knew that that mom didn’t see any option other than abortion, so we didn’t see any option other than to help her choose life,” she said.
To read the remainder of this article, visit the Celebrate Life Magazine website at clmagazine.org/topic/pro-life-champions/let-them-live-no-mom-should-have-to-choose-between-paying-bills-or-her-babys-life.
