By Kelly Glista

Putting a face on the issue of abortion is how pro-life speaker Rebecca Kiessling described her mission in her speech to Hofstra students Wednesday night.

Kiessling is a family law attorney and mother of four, with a fifth on the way, but that might have never happened were it not for a severe snowstorm the night her mother was supposed to get an abortion.

In her speech entitled, “Conceived in Rape,” Kiessling told the story of how her mother became pregnant from being raped on her way to the supermarket late one night. She explained how her mother tried twice to get an abortion, once backing out because of the questionable circumstances of a back alley abortion, and being stopped the second time by one of the worst snowstorms ever to hit the Detroit area. She put Kiessling up for adoption after giving birth on July 22, 1968.

For most of Kiessling’s life, she had no idea about her conception until at the age of 18, when she requested to get information about her birth mother. Kiessling said that she remembers feeling out of place and not able to identify with her adoptive family. Her adoptive mother had mental health issues and her brother, also adopted, was in and out of jail from the age of 16.

“I must come from something better,” Kiessling said.

When the information about her mother arrived, it came in great detail. However, the information about her father merely read, “Caucasian, large build.”

“I remember thinking, ‘That sounds like a police description,'” said Kiessling.

She asked her caseworker who reluctantly told her yes, her mother was raped.

From that moment on, her entire life changed. She told the audience that she remembered feeling ugly and unwanted; as if the fact that she was the “product of rape” meant that she had to prove herself to others in order to justify her existence.

Despite the disturbing news about her conception and her doubts that her biological mother could ever love the product of suffering, Kiessling still wanted to meet her mother. The two communicated by phone and letters eventually meeting face to face. Kiessling quoted a letter that her mother had sent her, reading, “I always loved you in my heart. You were always with me in my thoughts.”

Now Kiessling says that her mother has finally changed her mind about the morality of abortion, and she hopes that seeing her face and hearing her story will change the minds of others.

“We can’t have rainbows without storms,” she said, telling the audience that even through something as horrible as rape, there can still be hope.

Kiessling has worked on many cases for the rights of unborn children, several of which she provided services free of charge for the women. She and her husband have adopted two boys, and have two girls of their own with the third, Contessa, due August 20.

Her speech inspired much interest around campus and some opposition from groups such as Women of Action (WOA).

Nashay Jones, a first-year grad student at Hofstra and a member of WOA said that the speech was “very anecdotal” and “frustrating,” commenting that Kiessling didn’t seem to take into account the other side of the issue at all.

“It’s understandable that she would be pro-life based on her life experiences, just like I’m pro-choice based on mine,” she said. “I went into this with an open mind, because that’s how one learns.”

Family law attorney Rebecca Kiessling provided anecdotes about her experiences regarding abortion.