MONROE — Rebecca Kiessling, an international speaker and advocate for victims of rape, and Kaye Lani Rae Rafko-Wilson, a former Miss America and executive director of Gabby’s Grief Center in Monroe, will be the guest speakers during the Monroe Walk for Life May 25.
“Every Woman, Every Child — Love Them Both” is the theme for the sixth annual event that will run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and begin and end at the St. Mary Catholic Central High School gym, 108 W. Elm Ave. New this year, all participants who register the day of the walk will receive a free taco luncheon and be entered into a free raffle for several gifts.
All participants are encouraged to arrive by 9:30 to register for the free luncheon and raffle drawing that will be held after the walk.
Kiessling will be the keynote speaker during the opening rally led by Joe Boggs and Bill Terrasi, coordinator for the walk and founder of the Ius Vitae Foundation, sponsor for the event that will include rallies, videos and the 1.1-mile walk through town. Those not participating in the walk can remain in the gym and eat their lunch.
Kiessling, 54, is an attorney and the married mother of five children — the two oldest are adopted — who lives in Rochester Hills. She has helped pregnant rape victims all around the world to choose life for their children. She will tell her personal story. She was conceived in rape and nearly aborted by two back-alley abortion doctors since the elective procedure was illegal by Michigan law at the time. In the 1960s, Kiessling’s mother was raped at knifepoint and fell pregnant following the assault. After she gave birth to Kiessling, the mother gave her daughter up for adoption. At age 19, Kiessling met her birth mother.
Author of a pamphlet “Conceived in Rape: A Story of Hope,” Kiessling is co-founder and board member of Hope After Rape Conception. Her goal is to support and protect rape survivor mothers and their children from the rapist having parental rights. She is a national spokeswoman for Personhood USA and director of Save the 1, a no-compromise pro-life organization whose goal is to prevent and remove rape exceptions from the law. She also testified before numerous state legislatures on rape and abortion, personhood and frozen embryos.
A midpoint stop in the walk will be at the Trinity Lutheran School gym, 323 Scott St., where Rafko-Wilson will give a short message on the responsibility everyone has to protect and defend life from conception to natural death. She served as a community leader to help two founders create Gabby‘s Ladder Grief Center in Monroe in 2001.
“Life is a gift, and every life matters,” she said.
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A registered nurse, she uses her Miss America platform to focus attention on the nursing profession, hospice programs and critical health care issues. Also a Catholic, Rafko-Wilson is dedicated to the care of those in grief and pain, and she is a passionate supporter of the sanctity of life, event organizers said. Rafko-Wilson and her husband, Charles, have three living children — Nicholas, Alana and Joseph. Their fourth child — Gabriel — died shortly after birth in 2002.
In addition to the free raffle items for registered participants, free gifts will again be given to each mother present. For more information, email [email protected]
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Kiessling, Rafko-Wilson to speak May 25 at Monroe Walk for Life
Amanda Smith is a dedicated U.S. correspondent with a passion for uncovering the stories that shape the nation. With a background in political science, she provides in-depth analysis and insightful commentary on domestic affairs, ensuring readers are well-informed about the latest developments across the United States.
