Sonny Joy Nelson, the White House director of media affairs and special assistant to the President, gave a powerful testimony Nov. 4 about how her mother experienced heavy pressure to abort her and courageously decided to choose life instead.
“I have a personal story, much like many of you, where God himself intervened for my life,” Nelson said in an address to a group of mothers and their children accompanied by Heartbeat International for the organization’s Babies Go to Congress initiative, according to a report from Pregnancy Help News.
When Nelson’s mother, Tonya Baker Nelson, was unmarried and in her early 20s, she became pregnant, and the father “did not think that I should have a chance at life,” Nelson said. “He pressured my mom heavily to choose abortion with me.”
The father made Tonya choose between their unborn child and him.
Standing in front of the women gathered for the briefing in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Nelson said it was clear which person her mother chose.
Nelson explained that “in the 29 years since that decision, she has opened three pregnancy centers in North Carolina and is responsible, her and Jesus, in the saving of thousands of lives.”
Tonya is the founder and CEO of Hand of Hope Pregnancy Resource Centers in North Carolina.
Nelson also revealed that Tonya was among the other many mothers gathered for the Nov. 4 briefing. According to Pregnancy Help News, Tonya was accompanying a mother and child whom one of her pregnancy centers had served.
“And needless to say,” Nelson added, addressing her mother, “you are a super woman in my eyes.”
Nelson commended the women present for courageously choosing life and emphasized that she believes God will bless them for that choice.
“My mom made a courageous decision to choose life for me,” Nelson said, “just like you have chosen life for your little ones in the face of many obstacles.”
Nelson added that no one knows who a child will grow up to be — perhaps the next president.
Nelson added that when her mother was “going through one of the darkest times of her life, struggling with the decision to choose life for her child, I don't think that she envisioned that one day her child would be working at the White House.”
However, a person’s worth isn’t determined by what career path they follow or how materially successful they are, Nelson added.
“Your value as a human is not based on your job or your income or your status or anything material,” Nelson said. “Your value is rooted firmly in who Jesus says that you are, and that is priceless.”