Gianna Jessen is an abortion survivor and pro-life activist. She has testified before the U.S. Congress, the Australian Parliament and the British House of Commons. Now Gianna has taken up the cause of Charlie Gard, the English boy sentenced to death by European courts. (The Stream has reported the details of Charlie’s story here, here and here.)

This week on Twitter, Gianna mentioned two things that “amaze” her about Charlie’s case. The “worldwide outcry” for Charlie, and the “equally as deafening” silence of some “clergy, believers in Jesus, and those who claim conservatism.”

The Least We Can Do

I spoke with Gianna over the phone on July 5^th to get her thoughts on Charlie Gard, the duty of Christians to stand up for him, and the dangerous precedent this case could set if we fail.

“Talk about [Charlie]. Whatever platform you have, big or small, say something about the kid.” — Gianna Jessen

“Obviously we have a lot of brave people everywhere,” she told me. “I don’t mean to generalize.” But when it comes to moral leaders both in the Church and in the conservative movement, she did not back down.

“They have a profound responsibility to defend innocents,” she said. “Why even do what they do if they don’t have the courage to stand for the most vulnerable?”

Gianna doesn’t demand more than we can offer. When I asked what we can do to help, Gianna answered simply, “Talk about him. Whatever platform you have, big or small, say something about the kid.”

“It’s outrageous on so many levels that this is happening,” she said. And even if you’re not a Christian, “if you say that you’re a freedom-loving conservative,” you should speak up.

In this Sept 9, 2015, file photo, abortion survivor Gianna Jessen testifies during a hearing before House Judiciary Committee about Planned Parenthood on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

Can Charlie be a Survivor Like Gianna?

“I had a horrible prognosis when I was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy,” Gianna said. She knows what it’s like to have “people wanting to kill you, fighting so hard to live, and people giving up.”

Gianna was born accidentally in what was meant to be an abortion. “They expected me to die. I was born in an abortion clinic and then miraculously transferred to the hospital and placed in an incubator weighing two pounds,” she said. “I stayed there for three months.”

After that, her doctors “were astonished at my will to live,” she said. “They said, ‘This baby girl doesn’t want to die.’ And they were exactly right.”

“I believe it’s the same way with Charlie,” Gianna said. “I believe that kid has spunk. I believe that he’s changing the world, and there’s a calling on his life to change the world. Because it is absolute evil to stand against doing all you can to save a baby’s life.”

When Christians Fall Silent, the State Becomes the Church

Charlie Gard’s case could be a landmark event in Western history. If we fail to intervene, and the courts have their way, this could deal a permanent blow to human rights and normalize the State’s unjust power over life and death.

Gianna’s doctors believed in her will to live, but Charlie’s doctors gave up.

I asked Gianna what she thinks would happen if Charlie’s death sentence were carried out and the State continued down the same road.

“It would be hell on earth,” she said. “It’s the State replacing God, and taking away freedom and taking away life. This just happened to a baby at Vanderbilt. There are two or three other babies right now in Charlie’s situation. This is becoming more and more prevalent. Something’s got to be done. This cannot be permitted.”

Gianna’s doctors believed in her will to live, but Charlie’s doctors gave up. They decided death is in Charlie’s “best interests,” and European courts agreed.

“Since when does adversity become grounds for infanticide? And why is it that these elitists never assume that the mighty spirit of little baby Charlie is actually yelling ‘I will live! I want to live!’ They just assume he wants to die,” Gianna said.

“The bottom line is they discount the Spirit. They are God in their own minds.”

Charlie Can’t Win if Christians are Afraid of Losing

Gianna emphasized the duty of Christians and conservatives with access to the media. The bigger your circle of influence, the more you can do. “If you’re on the radio or if you’re on TV,” for example, there’s no excuse for not thinking Charlie is “worthy of a segment.”

When an urgent case like Charlie’s arises, it’s telling that some Christians “find time for other things,” Gianna said. “I think it’s cowardice. I think they’re afraid of what people will think of them.”

It’s all too easy to assume things will work out without any help from us. “No,” Gianna insisted. “It’s not going to work out. Not if Christians aren’t willing to lose anything. Their reputations. Their following.”

“Just to stand for what is right,” she said.

To get in touch with Gianna Jessen, visit her website at www.giannajessen.com