Almost every week, it seems LifeNews discovers another story about parents aborting their unborn child because of a disability or abortion activists targeting unborn babies who have physical defects.
These stories are disheartening, frightening even. But then there also are many stories of hope – families who choose life because they refuse to see their unborn child as less of a person, and celebrities who use their fame to celebrate other people’s lives rather than their own. Football star Tim Tebow is one of them.
This Valentine’s Day, the pro-life sports star promoted a special event for people with special needs across the world. The Night to Shine is a prom night experience that centers around showing God’s love for people with special needs ages 16 and older, according to the Tim Tebow Foundation. This year, more than 200 churches in 48 states and eight countries held Night to Shine proms on Feb. 12, according to the foundation.
“We are so excited to be able to create this opportunity for thousands of people around the country with special needs,” Tebow said in a press release. “This event perfectly fits our mission to bring faith, hope and love to those needing a brighter day in their darkest hour of need.”
Pro-life writer Cassie Fiano shares more about Tebow’s inspiration for the event:
According to Tebow, he got the idea when he was living in the Philippines. “My inspiration was when I was 15 years old, and I was at a school in a remote village in the Philippines,” he said. “And there was a boy who was shunned out of the event, because his feet were on backwards.”
Tim wanted to do something to celebrate people like this boy, to fight for them and love them, and do something that shows them they, too, are special. He wanted to have an event that told them their lives matter, and would give them “the night of their life.”
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… Guests got the celebrity treatment, complete with a red carpet, cheering crowds, and “paparazzi”. Once they got inside, they were treated to hair and makeup, shoe shining stations, and either a corsage or a boutonniere. There was karaoke and dancing, and every single guest was crowned king or queen.
Tebow attended one of the events, where he talked and snapped pictures with people who attended.
Tebow understands better than most just how important it is to value every person’s life. Tebow himself could have been aborted. When he was in the womb, his mother Pam was pressured to abort him because of a potentially life-threatening condition. Tim said his mother’s doctors described him as a “fetal tumor” and a “mass of cells” that had to be removed.
However, Tim’s mom courageously refused abortion and both Pam and Tim miraculously survived. In 2010, Tim and Pam partnered with Focus on the Family by sharing their story in a Superbowl commercial. The commercial was seen by millions of Americans and received high praise from pro-life groups.
Through his fame, he is furthering the message that every life, both inside the womb and out, deserves the chance to shine.
