The reaction of the pro-life community to the tragic death of Kortney Blythe Gordon and her unborn child Sophy in a tragic automobile accident last weekend has been amazingly strong. The outpouring of support has been so strong that the Students for Life leader will be able to have her funeral completely paid for due to pro-life donations.
“I along with the entire team at Students for Life am overwhelmed by the outpouring of love, support, and prayers for the loss of Kortney and her pre-born daughter, Sophy, and for Jon’s continued recovery,” SFLA president Kristan Hawkins says in an update. “Your generous donations have also raised more than enough for the burial costs for Kortney and Sophy. On behalf of the Gordon and Blythe families, we are truly thankful for the incredible amount of emotional, spiritual, and financial support you have shown in the past few days.”
The accident also say SFLA staff member Jon Scarfenberger critically injured and his condition as been up and down since last weekend.
“Jon continues to make small progresses and has overcome many large obstacles since the accident, but he isn’t out of the woods yet and still desperately needs your prayers. Please continue to flood heaven so that our dear friend can be healed,” Hawkins said. “And although Jon has made various, gradual improvements, he has a long road of recovery ahead of him. His stability has fluctuated since the accident and, despite making a number of medical advancements that keep us all optimistic about his recovery, his condition continues to rise and fall throughout the day.”
“We are beyond thankful to Our Lord for delivering Jon from the horrible accident that took the lives of Kortney and her daughter, but Jon is in need of many more prayers from us all to recover fully from his near-fatal injuries. Please make time to keep him in your thoughts and check back with us for details on his condition as we receive them,” Hawkins continued.
On Monday, SFLA hosted a national webcast to honor the lives of Kortney and Sophy and to offer intercessions of prayer on Jon’s behalf. Pro-life leaders and students from across the country joined Hawkins and representatives from Rock for Life, Troy Newman of Operation Rescue, David Bereit of 40 Days for Life, Claude Allen of the Gerard Health Foundation, Reverend Pat Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition, and Jeff White of Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust. https://instantteleseminar.com/?eventid=23295666
“Hundreds of listeners offered their words of support and praise for the lives of Kortney and Sophy and for the work that both Kortney and Jon have accomplished within the pro-life movement, and we were overcome by the beautiful words from friends and families of our dear friends,” she said. “The webcast focused many prayers toward Jon and his family and helped greatly in his healing.”
Hawkins was visibly moved by the support the pro-life community has provided the national college and university pro-life group, which has dedicated itself to starting and developing hundreds of campus pro-life groups reaching hundreds of thousands of students with the pro-life message.
“From all of us, “thank you” is simply not enough to express how we feel about your many, many kind words and prayers,” she said. “We are humbled and strengthened by your support, and we know that Kortney is smiling down on us all as we grieve the loss of her and Sophy and continue to shower Jon with the help he needs.”
“The unspeakable loss of Kortney and Sophy and Jon’s fragile condition are a direct result of the progress we as an organization and as a movement have made, and certainly how incomparable both Kortney and Jon are. Our mission at Students for Life, the work of Kortney and Jon, and Christ’s own vision for the respect for all human life in our country and around the world are bigger than the hurdles we face and the rips in our hearts,” Hawkins concluded. “We draw strength from their examples and from your prayers, and we are now more than ever working as a unified team, strengthened by the examples of our friends and the grace from God as we recover. We now more than ever strive to end abortion in our lifetime, and we are now more than ever motivated to attain that goal.”
Kortney’s funeral service will be held at Christ Covenant Church in Matthews, North Carolina on 800 Fullwood Lane. The family will begin to receive visitors at 11:30 a.m. EST and the service will begin at 1:00 p.m. For those unable to make the North Carolina service, her family is also hosting a memorial service in the Washington, D.C. area close to her home on Saturday, October 22 with details to be provided soon.
