St. John Paul II was a vocal advocate throughout his papacy for the protection of all human life, from conception until natural death. He defended mothers and their children, urging them to choose life.
It was a message that hit close to home for him, as his own mother was advised by a doctor to choose abortion.
According to a Catholic News Agency article, "Emilia Wojtyla was depressed by the insistence of her first doctor, Dr. Jan Moskała, that she have an abortion."
Emilia's pregnancy was difficult and it threatened her life. Her first doctor firmly believed that if she went through with the birth, she would die.
However, Emilia did not want to kill her own child and instead switched doctors, no longer wanting to follow the advice of her previous doctor.
Her new doctor advised her to lie down and conserve her strength. She also entrusted herself to the Virgin Mary during the pregnancy.
Aleteia writer Silvia Lucchetti wrote in an article that "Emilia’s midwife left written testimony that during labor, the mother of the future pope wanted to have the windows opened. It wasn’t about getting fresh air, but rather because at that moment the singing of a Marian litany was audibly coming from the nearby church. 'I want the first thing my child hears to be a hymn to Our Lady,' Emilia explained to the midwife."
She was able to successfully deliver St. John Paul II on on May 18, 1920, and also survived the process.
Unfortunately she would die nine years later from nephritis, leaving the future St. John Paul II a heavy cross to bear as a young child, losing his mother.
Yet, St. John Paul II was deeply impacted by the choice of his mother and was a life-long advocate for life, doing what he could to support mothers in crisis pregnancies.
