Pope Saint John Paul II was a staunch defender of the unborn, but do you know the story of how he could have been a victim of abortion?
Yes, this legendary Church figure may not have even existed as a result of the violence of abortion.
Catholic News Agency reported on the story, citing a book by Milena Kindziuk entitled, “Emilia and Karol Wojtyla. Parents of St. John Paul II.”
In the book, the testimony of Tatarowa, a Polish midwife, and her two friends, revealed that “Emilia Wojtyla was depressed by the insistence of her first doctor, Dr. Jan Moskała, that she have an abortion.”
Dr. Jan Moskała was a well-known gynecologist and obstetrician.
It wasn’t a matter of the unborn child, but the life of his mother, Emilia.
The article goes on to explain that Pope Saint John Paul II’s parents, Emilia and Karol, decided that regardless of everything–including the first doctor’s recommendation–their baby would be born.
In an interview with ACI Stampa, Kindziuk explains that Emilia “had to choose between her own life and that of the baby she was carrying, but her deep faith did not allow Emilia to choose abortion.”
They sought a second opinion instead of ending the life of the future saint.
The article explains that while the second doctor confirmed the existing risks of complications during childbirth potentially resulting in Emilia’s death, he did not suggest abortion.
Emilia experienced a very rough pregnancy but survived childbirth, nonetheless.
She gave birth to the future Pope (and saint!) on May 18, 1920, around 5 p.m.
It is said that the first sound the newborn heard was a parish across the street singing the Litany of Loreto.
What an incredible reminder that all lives are valuable and that each child–regardless of how they are conceived–is known, loved, and called by the Father to sainthood.
The sainthood causes of Pope Saint John Paul II’s parents are formally open and ongoing.
Pope Saint John Paul II went on to become a staunch defender of the Catholic Church’s pro-life stance, including defending it from a scientific position in Evangelium Vitae:
“Some people try to justify abortion by claiming that the result of conception, at least up to a certain number of days, cannot yet be considered a personal human life. But in fact, “from the time that the ovum is fertilized, a life is begun which is neither that of the father nor the mother; it is rather the life of a new human being with his own growth. It would never be made human if it were not human already. This has always been clear, and … modern genetic science offers clear confirmation. It has demonstrated that from the first instant there is established the program of what this living being will be: a person, this individual person with his characteristic aspects already well determined. Right from fertilization the adventure of a human life begins, and each of its capacities requires time-a rather lengthy time-to find its place and to be in a position to act.”
You can find the deeply profound message from Pope Saint John Paul II to post-abortive women here.