Capitol Conversations

ERLC Fall Look Ahead and Melissa Ohden on Surviving Abortion

September 10, 2019

Returning from summer travels, Jeff, Steven, Travis, and Chelsea are back together around the table and to discuss the ERLC’s policy priorities for the fall.  

One item from earlier in the year that has yet to recieve a vote in the House is the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. This ought to shock the conscience. Today, September 10, Republican members of House are hosting a hearing on this legislation and the moral insanity of leaving these vulnerable infants outside the protection of the law.  

Jeff and Chelsea welcome pro-life and adoption advocate Melissa Ohden, who was herself born-alive after a failed abortion attempt at seven months gestation, to Capitol Conversations to share her story. Her story is an awesome testament to God’s grace, the power of forgiveness, and the inherent dignity every person deserves no matter how small.  

Guest Biography

Melissa Ohden is the survivor of a failed saline infusion abortion in 1977. She’s a pro-life and adoption advocate, and has a Master’s Degree in Social work, and has worked in the fields of substance abuse, mental health, domestic violence and sexual assault counseling, and child welfare. She’s testified before the U.S. House of Representatives, the Senate and the Australian Parliament. Melissa founded the Abortion Survivors Network, which seeks to educate the public about failed abortions and survivors, while providing for emotional, mental, and spiritual support to abortion survivors.  

Resources from the Conversation

Chelsea
Chelsea Sobolik

Chelsea Sobolik serves as Director of Government Relations for World Relief, a a global Christian humanitarian organization and the largest Evangelical refugee resettlement in the U.S. Previously, she worked for the leading evangelical child welfare organization in the country, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) and on Captiol Hill.. Chelsea has been published at

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Jeff Pickering

Jeff Pickering is the director of the Initiative on Faith & Public Life, a project of the American Enterprise Institute. AEI is a leading public policy think tank in Washington, DC and the initiative exists to equip Christian college students for faithful engagement in public life. Jeff moved to Washington to work for Russell Moore

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Steven Harris

Steven Harris holds a B.S. in Religion from Vanderbilt University, an M.Div. from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, an M.A. in Religion from Yale University, and is currently a PhD student in the Study of Religion at Harvard University. He previously served as a Policy Director for the ERLC. Steven lives in the D.C. metro

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Travis Wussow

Travis Wussow is the former Vice President for Public Policy and General Counsel. Travis led the ERLC’s first international office located in the Middle East prior to joining the Washington DC office. He received a B.B.A. in Finance from The University of Texas at Austin and a J.D. from The University of Texas School of

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