People Are Not Property: An America First Perspective on McKenna West

Editor's Note: This column was co-authored by Joana Gillespie.

Two hundred and fifty years ago, our nation was founded on three defining principles: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. They remain, to this day, the cornerstone of the American Dream. Throughout our history, prominent America First voices and government leaders have steered public policy to reflect these principles. Yet among them, the right to life is foundational — for without life, neither liberty nor the pursuit of happiness can exist.

Recognizing this principle, President Thomas Jefferson made the following statement as he was completing his second term as president in 1809: “The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only legitimate object of good government.” Even while our nation has never perfectly lived up to these ideals, it continues to be our true north. From the womb to the tomb — whether you are black, white, brown, rich, or poor — all life matters.

We find this to be especially true when reading about the unfolding situation involving McKenna West and the parents of a child diagnosed in utero with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS). It is our belief and a core tenet of the America First Agenda that all humans have a God-given right to life. An unborn child is not mere property, but a human being created in the image of God, and we applaud McKenna West for protecting that right. 

The Left may dismiss this statement as a tone-deaf application of pro-life principles, but for us, this issue is not just political. It is deeply personal. We know firsthand what it means to love a child born with HLHS, and we know that a diagnosis — no matter how frightening — does not diminish the value of that child’s life.

Martin Luiz Villar Gillespie, known as Mr. Martin in the Gillespie household, was born on September 26, 2020. Unlike most healthy newborns, our son entered this world with HLHS — missing the left half of his heart entirely. It felt like a death sentence, and to say we were frightened would be an understatement. Still, we prayed for his life, trusted in God’s Word and the medical professionals, and believed for a miracle. We knew his life mattered. 

Whether Mr. Martin was given decades, years, or only minutes, the value of his life was not ours to determine. He was entitled to the opportunity to live, regardless of our fears about what that life might hold. Nearly 10 heart surgeries later — including three major reconstructive open-heart surgeries — Mr. Martin is now preparing to celebrate his sixth birthday. He is full of life, joy, adventure, mischief, and all the other qualities that make a six-year-old boy who he is. To think that his life could have been ended because of circumstances entirely beyond his control is incomprehensible.

We can personally attest that Martin’s life, despite some very dark valleys, has been the source of extraordinary and even miraculous blessings. Through the cross he was given to bear, our family has learned lessons, received grace, and experienced a depth of love we would have never known without this trial. There is mystery in suffering, certainly, but there can also be profound meaning in it. We know this because we have experienced it and witnessed it firsthand. The hope of this message is contrasted by the ghoulish embrace of unlimited, late-term abortion in Massachusetts and the assault on the First Amendment in New Jersey, squelching pro-life voices.

Life is a right, not a privilege reserved for the healthy. People — children — are not property, and disability does not diminish one’s humanity. Mr. Martin's heart may have been born incomplete, but his life never was. As a matter of fact, he just started kindergarten this week.

Our family and the AFPI team will continue to pray for McKenna, the child, and all involved.

Martin Gillespie is the Executive Director at the America First Policy Institute (AFPI). He and his wife, Joana Villar Gillespie, are the proud parents of four children.

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