Minnesota’s pro-life community convened Saturday for Life Legal Defense Foundation’s annual fundraising dinner, where Robin Sertell, a published author, ordained pastor, and pro-life advocate, delivered a gripping keynote.
The event, marking a decade of advocacy and streamed by Alpha News, also honored U.S. Rep. Michelle Fischbach and Scott Fischbach as 2025 Life Defender Award recipients for their decades-long fight for the unborn.
Sertell, author of “Miracles Happen in the Wilderness,” shared her story of surviving three saline infusion abortion attempts in 1974 at Philadelphia’s Methodist Hospital. The procedures left her with severe medical issues—burned skin, lost hair and nails, seizures, scoliosis, and digestive problems.
At age nine, Sertell learned the truth from her grandmother: “Your mother tried three times to abort you. She tried to burn you out with saline.” Her father, a Vietnam veteran, pleaded, “Can we keep her?” to her mom as she was born alive against all odds.
Highlighting a hidden reality, Sertell cited a 1981 CDC report by Dr. Willard Kates, which estimated 400-500 babies survived abortions annually in the U.S. With chemical abortions now dominating—Planned Parenthood reports a 13% failure rate—she stressed the urgency of addressing survivors. “Babies survive abortions,” she urged. “We need to start talking about it,” prompting attendees to share, “I’ve met one.”
Sertell challenged the abortion lobby’s rhetoric, stating, “Don’t give into their narrative. They want to pull you off to the side and say ‘it’s just a fetus, clump of cells, pregnancy tissue, potential human,’ all the things. It’s a baby.”
Hosted by Life Legal founder Mary Riley and organized by Russ Rooney, the event underscored the organization’s 35-year mission, born from the rescue movement. With 5,000 attorneys nationwide, Life Legal defends activists at abortion clinics, protects pregnancy resource centers, and challenges anti-life laws, including at the Supreme Court, Riley said during Saturday’s event.
Sertell’s testimony wove faith and forgiveness, recounting a transformative hospital encounter in her 20s. She said a mysterious woman—which she believes was an angel—healed her legs from a drug-induced condition, declaring, “Jesus loves you. You’re going to walk for him.” This experience reshaped her life, leading her to forgive her mother, saying, “You don’t owe me anything. I forgive you.”
Sertell noted that critics often dismiss abortion survivors as “mythical.” She called for enforceable laws to report and care for survivors, lamenting, “There’s no national law that’s enforceable.” She continued, “When a baby survives abortions, they have to be reported and cared for like any other baby.”
Sertell criticized Gov. Tim Walz, saying, “It was much more important to have tampons in the men’s room than it was to have a law that says if babies survive abortions we have to report and care for them.” In 2023, Democrats in control of state government effectively repealed Minnesota’s longstanding “Born Alive Infants Protection Act.”
Life Legal’s mission presses on, with Riley noting there’s “a lot of work ahead” in challenging pro-choice policies.
Symone Harms
Symone Harms is a Media Production and Business Marketing student at Bethel University. She is actively involved in The Royals Investment Fund, The 25, theatre, and other leadership positions. She also cohosts Rooted, a podcast dedicated to being rooted in truth, growing in freedom, and prospering in life. A Minnesota native with a passion for storytelling and digital media, she aspires to a career in broadcasting as a news anchor and reporter.
