{"id":228286,"date":"2020-08-03T17:01:56","date_gmt":"2020-08-03T22:01:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=228286"},"modified":"2020-08-03T22:24:04","modified_gmt":"2020-08-04T03:24:04","slug":"exception-pro-life-leader-deceased-son-value","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/exception-pro-life-leader-deceased-son-value\/","title":{"rendered":"‘No one should be an exception’: Late son of pro-life leader once reflected on the value of every life"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

Editor’s Note: In 2014, Kyler Kiessling, son of Save The 1 founder and attorney Rebecca Kiessling<\/a>, wrote the following essay when he was just 12 years old. Kyler, age 18, and his brother Caleb, 20, tragically died of a drug overdose<\/a> on July 29, 2020. A Go Fund Me<\/a>\u00a0account has been set up to help cover the cost of funeral services for the brothers. Our hearts and prayers go out to the Kiessling family.<\/em><\/p>\n

(Save The 1<\/a>) What exceptions do you make? What about a teenaged girl who has been testing positive for heroin and has been in and out of jail? Should she have had the choice to abort me? What about a baby who the doctors say will have a lot of serious health problems when she\u2019s born? Should my sister have been aborted instead of living for 33 days? What about a woman who\u2019s been raped? Should she have had the choice to abort my mom?<\/p>\n

This is the reality of me and my family. When you make exceptions, you hurt other people because some people have lived through those experiences and don\u2019t want to see other people like us aborted.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Caleb and Kyler Kiessling.<\/p><\/div>\n

My birthmom was only 18 when she had me. While she was pregnant with me, she tested positive for heroin. My biological father was doing heroin with her while they were dating. Because they shoplifted, the judge made her test for drugs. When she tested positive four times, she had to spend time in jail. People would say that she\u2019d been through a lot, so she should have had the choice to abort me. Or, people would say she should abort the child \u2014 abort me \u2014 because you don\u2019t want to bring a baby in this world like that, while she\u2019s in jail and doing drugs.<\/p>\n

Well, I got adopted by a very nice family who already had my older half-brother. We have the same birthmother, but different biological fathers. My adoptive parents fought against child protective services to be able to keep us together. They wanted to go trial and keep me in foster care.<\/p>\n

WATCH: \u2018Pro-Life Replies\u2019 video answers the question, \u2018Is abortion ever justified in cases of rape?\u2019<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"

Caleb and Kyler Kiessling.<\/p><\/div>\n

My life is great! I play sports \u2014 travel soccer. I have had a lot of opportunities for different kinds of sports, activities, travelling, friends, good education, etc.. I\u2019m a friendly kid at my middle school. I go to church where I volunteer. I\u2019m involved in my youth group.\u00a0 I\u2019m a playful brother with my 4 siblings. I have a good relationship with my parents. I feel loved \u2013 by my parents, my siblings, my friends and my birthmom.<\/p>\n

Today, my birthmom is a stunning, successful hair dresser and waitress. She\u2019s been drug-free for many years and not involved in crime. My brother and I get to see her often. We spend time at her house and my grandma\u2019s. My uncles are really cool with us. When my uncle got married last summer, my whole family went to the wedding and my brother and I got to spend the night at her house. My birthmom is very enjoyable person to be around. She\u2019s funny and cool. She plays video games with us too. I love her so much!<\/p>\n

\"\"

Caleb and Kyler Kiessling.<\/p><\/div>\n

I\u2019m glad she chose adoption and that she didn\u2019t want to abort me or my brother. She was 16 when he was born. In the United States, only 1% of pregnant women choose adoption when the pregnancy wasn\u2019t planned. I feel very loved that she chose adoption over abortion. But 50% are aborted. I\u2019m sharing my story because I want more people to be inspired to choose adoption, but I also want to address the exceptions people: Every life is valuable! No one should be an exception. No one should be treated as less than the fortunate.<\/p>\n

Editor’s Note: This article was first published at Save The 1<\/a> and is reprinted here with permission.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cLike\u201d Live Action News on Facebook<\/a> for more pro-life news and commentary!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Editor’s Note: In 2014, Kyler Kiessling, son of Save The 1 founder and attorney Rebecca Kiessling, wrote the following essay when he was just 12 years old. Kyler, age 18, and his brother Caleb, 20, tragically died of a drug overdose on July 29, 2020. A Go Fund Me\u00a0account has been set up to help […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":751,"featured_media":228309,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[7077,9455,3473],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n'No one should be an exception': Late son of pro-life leader once reflected on the value of every life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Kyler Kiessling, son of Save The 1 founder Rebecca Kiessling, wrote this pro-life essay when he was 12. 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