He Remembers the Barren

The highlight of my week in Fort Wayne was meeting Katie Schuermann, the recipient of this year's Sabre of Boldness award.

She is the first woman and first layperson to ever win the award. Here is the reason she was nominated: Mrs. Schuermann is author of the book He Remembers the Barren, and had spoken to groups of women burdened like her with the affliction of barrenness. In the course of these meetings she soon found herself hearing from women who had turned to in vitro fertilization as a last resort to ease their pain. In spite of the sensitive nature of the matter, she felt constrained to tell the truth in love about the unacceptability of in vitro fertilization. For us who know that life begins at conception, there is really no ethical alternative than to reject in vitro fertilization, in whose process fertilized embryos are always discarded. For her to have the courage to say so in such circumstances, and to speak up for life, for which she has endured much grief and rejection, is commendable.

In addition to a book, Katie also maintains a blog by the same name. He Remembers the Barren.