‘Walking the walk’ by living out pro-life activism

‘Walking the walk’ by  living out pro-life activism

Sabrina Sherman and her husband, Lucas Sherman, are students and parents to their son, Wyatt, who was born on Nov. 9. Courtesy | Sabrina Sherman 

Junior Sabrina Sherman has always been pro-life, but she never expected how soon she would be challenged to live out her beliefs. After finding out she was pregnant in March 2022, Sabrina faced health complications, severe morning sickness, and pressure to abort — all while taking a full course schedule. 

“Obviously, it wasn’t a part of our plan to have things happen this quickly,” Sabrina said of herself and Lucas Sherman, her now-husband. “We were seriously dating for a while. And then I got pregnant and we got engaged. We were planning on getting married after we graduated, but we moved things up before Wyatt was born.”  

Sabrina, who is president of Hillsdale’s Students for Life chapter, said having a baby has changed how she approaches her work. 

“One of the biggest reasons why people argue for abortion is, ‘What if you’re in college and unmarried and unemployed, and then you get pregnant randomly and then you have to have abortion for that situation?’” Sabrina said. “And that was kind of my situation.”

Sabrina hopes telling her story will inspire others who face unexpected pregnancies. She said the pro-life club is focusing on street activism this semester and is planning several events outside of Planned Parenthood clinics. 

“I actually walked the walk. I was put in that situation, and I think I’m handling it well, as well as I can,” Sabrina said. “I hope that I can use my knowledge to help other people not make that choice.”

Junior Katie Reid, vice president of Hillsdale College for Life, said she was always confident in Sabrina, even during the initial panic about her pregnancy.

“Sabrina has never wavered in her pro-life convictions,” Reid said. “ So when it came to her being in that position, we knew, rallying around her, that she would choose life.”  

Sabrina and Lucas Sherman got married civilly last summer and plan on having a religious ceremony as soon as their financial situation allows.

“We kind of split our wedding in half. We did a civil wedding at the courthouse in August at the beginning of the semester,” Sabrina said. “It was important that we at least had our marriage license, but we’re Catholic so we’re still planning on having a convalidation ceremony.”

Lucas said the initial reaction to the pregnancy on campus was mixed. 

“Some people have been very nice — in particular Greek InterVarsity threw us this whole surprise baby shower. We were really touched by that,” Lucas said. “No one’s been mean to us directly, but there have been things that have gotten back to us. People talk behind our backs a lot.” 

Both Sabrina and Lucas took classes during her first trimester, which was complicated by health issues that left them both with a few incomplete classes in the spring. The Shermans had their baby in the fall.

“All of last semester, I was pretty much showing, and then he was born Nov. 7. So that was right before finals,” Sabrina said. “I had five classes in the fall semester, and I was pretty pregnant in all of them and no one gave me any trouble. Most of my professors were super nice and helpful and understanding.”

The Shermans said that although completing coursework has been a challenge, the college administration has worked with them extensively. 

“The college especially has been super awesome,” Sabrina said. “Dean Philipp calls me from her personal cell phone just to say, ‘How are you doing?’”

Three months after Wyatt’s birth, Sabrina is back to a full course load and plans on graduating this year. Lucas, who currently stays home with Wyatt, is in the process of being hired for a full-time job.

Lucas said child care has been complicated by Wyatt’s treatments for a severe case of laryngomalacia, a condition in which loose tissue in his larynx makes it difficult for him to breathe. Wyatt’s breathing improved after having surgery at 6 weeks old.

“We had a lot of appointments originally at Hillsdale Hospital, and then we transferred to the University of Michigan Hospital because we needed more specialized care,” Lucas said. “They literally saved Wyatt’s life.” 

When she was pregnant with Wyatt, Sabrina said she could already tell what some of his personality traits would be.

“We’d go swimming, and he would have a field day, having so much fun kicking around,” she said. “And then now when we give him baths, he loves baths. He’s crazy about water.”

Although the Shermans said they still face ongoing family struggles, they’ve received support since Wyatt was born. 

“We had a lot of pressure from family members to have an abortion,” Sabrina said. “And now that he’s born, fast forward a year, they love him more than they like me. They always want to hold him and play with him, and he’s the light of their lives.” 

Lucas said he was always pro-life but wasn’t passionate about it until he watched the process of pregnancy and birth firsthand. 

“Nothing changed from before the birth until after the birth. It’s the same person, just a different stage of development,” Lucas said. “I’m so glad we went through with it. It’s been difficult, but he’s been really one of the greatest things to ever happen to us.”



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