Every year, the National March for Life in Washington, D.C., brings together participants from around the country who proclaim their testimonies of God’s faithfulness when they chose life over abortion.
Liberty University School of Law 3L Wendilee Walpole, a 54-year-old mother of four, has participated in the march with Liberty for several years.
“Being there this year and being able to be a part of the first march post-Dobbs and getting to actually lead it, being up in front and getting to represent our school, it was amazing,” she said. “You can hear about it, you can read about it, but it’s not the same thing. To watch all of those buses load up and to see all of these students and realize that they are from my school … it makes a difference for me.”
She said Liberty’s level of commitment to the march every year reveals the university’s heart for the sanctity of life.
“It shows that they love the Lord and that all lives matter,” she said. “I know that that is not a popular thing to say outside of this school. It’s just amazing to me because it is a huge sacrifice for the undergraduate kids, but for law students to be missing the first Friday of class is a very big deal.”
In 2000, when Walpole was pregnant with her youngest son, Garrett, doctors told her the pregnancy was not viable and she should abort. She refused, and Garrett was born healthy. He is now pursuing his M.A. in History at Liberty. In 2002, Walpole was advised to abort her youngest daughter, Hope, as the doctors felt that either she or her baby would not survive the pregnancy.
“The way the doctors were talking about my situation was as though I was so selfish, and my kids weren’t going to have a mom because I wasn’t killing the baby that I was currently pregnant with,” she said.
Hope was born healthy and has joined her mother at Liberty Law.
Walpole said one of the reasons she went back to school to pursue her law degree is so she can come alongside women who choose life instead of abortion for their babies and offer pro-bono legal and adoption services. After graduation in May, and upon passing the bar, she plans to start a Christian pro-life legal and adoption ministry in Nevada to help pregnant women and single mothers with small children who find themselves in crisis and desperately need hope and legal help.
“We’ve got to come alongside these women who are not having abortions now and help them,” she said.
Walpole expressed her gratitude for Liberty Law, which she said is not only helping her to reach her goal but has provided her with encouragement along the way. Throughout her time at Liberty, she has experienced numerous health challenges, including being hospitalized 11 times.
“I never applied anywhere else because I cannot imagine doing law school with Jesus taken out of it,” she said. “Every one of my professors not only came alongside me to help me, but I knew that they were daily praying for me. I can’t imagine being anywhere else.”
