After the trauma of rape, Save The 1 moms experience unexpected joy. There are a number of
reasons, but one of the biggest is made possible by generous donors, like you.

We thank you.

Donors make it possible for new rape survivors to find us and to engage in a community of others who truly understand the many aspects of dealing with rape conception. It is with your help that we can reach those who need us the most.

The complexity of rape conception can only be understood by those who have actually experienced it. There is anger, misplaced guilt, imposed shame, denial, relief, frustration, revulsion, love, fear, and a myriad of other emotional states that fluctuate wildly at any given moment.

Each situation differs as well. For me, the culmination of a lifetime of sexual abuse meant that I would deal with complex trauma. My biological father sexually abused me from toddlerhood and that core violation made me feel worth less than other people. It was a perfect set-up for a pimp to notice me at thirteen years old. I survived four brutal years of juvenile sex trafficking. My pregnancy was not the result of one rape, but many.

I knew it wasn't the baby's fault. She was merely a second victim of the hideous crime, but many people in our society hold onto a confused compassion. They believe that rape victims who become pregnant should submit to abortion. Saving my baby saved my life and she brings me tremendous joy everyday.

Save The 1 moms are able to find joy in knowing that there are others, many others, who have come through similar experiences victoriously. Whether parenting or placing their children for adoption, we are a safe, understanding group with which to share trials and gain perspective. So, we can find joy, even in the midst of what would otherwise be so devastating.

For those moms who have submitted to abortion after rape, your donations help to reach out to bless them with peace and hope, and resources for dealing with the aftermath of the additional trauma that abortion imposed on them. Your donations mean they hear the love and kindness of our 100% pro-life-pro-love community of believers.

This year Save The 1 speakers, men and women who have been conceived by rape or incest, moms or post abortive moms from rape, and parents or children targeted for abortion due to a poor prenatal diagnosis, have reached around the globe. 

Our President, Rebecca Kiessling had a huge impact from Ireland and Rebecca traveled and spoke in a number of countries in Europe, as well as South America. That means that tens thousands of people heard her in person and millions through media coverage.  Lives were impacted and public policy affected.

Here in the states, Brad and Jesi Smith, whose daughter has Trisomy 18, spoke at a number of events, as did I and others. Our message, that the people called "exceptions" in pro-life discourse are actually human beings with names, faces, value and are worthy of protection. That is literally being heard around the world because of your generous giving.

Your gifts enable us to purchase booth space at events like conventions, physician's conferences, political meetings, community events, the March for Life, and many others where we meet people who either had no idea how public policy became the way it is.  Many politicians endorsed as pro-life and even several major pro-life organizations push exceptions into laws which might protect women and children from abortion.  Some hold to the discriminatory idea that rape-conceived babies are somehow different from any other babies, or less worthy of protection.

The blog and podcasts, social media presence, our appearances and dissemination of resources are making such a difference!  We've collaborated with other pro-life organizations throughout the U.S. and globally to share our stories through documentaries, tv and radio ads, billboards, and on other websites.  Our Spanish division is thriving, our Portuguese division is growing, and we are now launching a Polish and German division, to reach more people with our stories and so noone ever has to feel alone with a difficult history.

We hope you have experienced great joy this Christmas and we are expecting a tremendously influential New Year with expanded projects to reach more people with the vital message that every human life is valuable.

You can make a tax deductible, year-end donation here today and help reach more people and Save The 1 -- the least of these.


Thank you so much for all of your support and sharing the 100% Pro-Life message.


-- Darlene Pawlik, Vice President of Save The 1, Pro-Life Speaker and Blogger. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband of 27years.

Will the 20 Week Ban Save Babies?   ~by Darlene Pawlik

HR 36 Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act is Back

The Republican leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives has announced that it will bring the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act to the House floor for a vote on Wednesday, May 13, or Thursday, May 14.

You might recall that the bill had been scheduled for a vote on January 22 during the annual March for Life when hundreds of thousands of pro-life advocates would be in Washington DC to commemorate Roe v Wade, but it was pulled at the last minute.  The media's account was that the bill had a reporting requirement for rape that didn't meet with the approval of a couple of legislators. 





At first glance, there was huge support for this bill because most pro-life advocates did not know that the bill had exceptions for rape and incest, meaning that abortions would be banned after 20 weeks except if the child was conceived in rape or incest.  When a core group of pro-life advocates found out about the exceptions and that there would be no hearing to try and remove that language, a huge opposition to the bill began and the bill was pulled off the docket.

Those against the bill, including Savethe1 and Personhood Alliance objected to the huge push by National Right to Life, Susan B Anthony List and Priests for Life asking pro-life advocates to contact their congressman to support the bill, without mentioning that the bill had exceptions for rape and incest.


The basis of the bill is that preborn babies at 20 weeks gestation feel pain as they are being killed by abortion. Is there any reason to believe that the manner in which a child is conceived impacts their ability to feel pain? Rape conceived babies feel pain too. We are developmentally the same as babies conceive in love.

The US has long been respected as a just nation. Is it just to kill a child because his or her father is a criminal? According to our laws, in no other circumstance is a child held accountable for the crimes of their father. We have courts and trial lawyers to hold people accountable by due process of the law. What due process is afforded these babies?

Emails from major pro-life organizations have already been out today to raise money based on the premiss that HR36 will save babies from abortion. A few have mentioned, while they don't condone the rape and incest exceptions, they support the bill because it will save babies. But will it?

My understanding is that the the reporting requirement has been removed. So, there may be no fear of reprisal for women claiming to have conceived by rape and less likelihood of women reporting abusers or traffickers when they conceive by rape or incest. Abortion is a trafficker's best weapon. Abortion keeps women subservient and breaks their spirits, so that abusers can continue their abuse. Coerced abortion is very prevalent. My trafficker forced me to make an appointment for an abortion and threatened my life if I didn’t abort.

How can we think that if a woman is desperate enough to submit to abortion and have her baby killed at five months pregnant, that she wouldn't be desperate enough to lie?

And what about the logic, or shall I say illogic, of this kind of a stipulation in law. How illogical is it to say that a baby who can feel pain should be protected in some cases, but not others? We have a concept here in the United States called equal protection under the law. This concept usually governs the enactment of legislation by giving a hearing to bills to be discussed. This bill was scheduled to be brought to the floor for a vote without a hearing last time and it has been scheduled without a hearing again.

The announcement that it will be voted on next week doesn't even allow for much media or lobbying for the exceptions to be removed. Savethe1 President, Rebecca Kiessling, will be there in DC along with Personhood Alliance President, Dan Becker, to reach out to as many legislators as possible next week. Please help us get the word out about the flaws in this bill and help others understand that there is either a baby worth saving or there isn't.

Restored Colonial One-Room Schoolhouse

One of the ways anyone can educate the public and those in positions of power is to write a letter exposing the facts, mingling them with real people’s stories and putting out very specific actions that you want the educated to take.  This can take many forms. 


A letter to the editor may be to get regular people to think a certain way.  The same is true of a blog post or other social media.  If you have a school board member who wants to bring abortion vendors into your school, you would write to the Board member, but then try to get it published as an open letter.  

This is also effective for putting pressure on legislators and other officials, such as the zoning commission of your city or town.  If a letter is strong, many outlets will publish it just to incite discussion and call attention to their publication.  They are not necessarily going to be on your side, but that doesn’t matter if you get the word out.  Write it in such a way that the public will help to give voice to the conversation. 

Below is a letter to a legislator concerning a recent public policy discussion. Notice the pattern: first, she thanks them for service, then points out positive(s), then intersperses personal information, it need not be yours, then addresses the problem head on, offers a different point of view and a potential solution.  

Hooray! You have educated the person who can make a difference.  If you get it published, you may educate many people, well beyond the scope of your imagination.