A WORLD Magazine writer recently saluted six Nebraska female athletes who used their platform to take a bold stand for life in a television commercial during the last election in the Cornhusker state.
Star volleyball player Rebekah Allick was joined by softball teammates Jordyn Bahl, Hannah Camenzind, Lauren Camenzind, Abbie Squier, and Malia Thoms in TV spots that called for the support of Initiative 434, which would enshrine a ban on abortion in the second and third trimesters in the state Constitution. They also called for the rejection of Initiative 439, which would have amended the state Constitution to establish a right to abortion until fetal viability.
Thankfully, Nebraska voters only adopted Initiative 434 at the ballot box. Ray Hacke, a writer for WORLD, said the pro-life advocacy of the athletes, who are all natives of Nebraska, should be celebrated.
“The decision of these female Cornhuskers to take a stand for the unborn is an act of courage,” he wrote.
The ad begins with Nebraska pitcher Jordy Bahl pounding her glove and saying, “Nebraska, it’s time to get off the bench!”
Other softball players warn that Initiative 439 would outlaw parental notification for minors, make women vulnerable to pressure and coercion, and force taxpayer funding of abortions; Allick, a middle blocker on Nebraska’s recent Final Four team, says, “Out-of-state activists are pushing a radical amendment.”
It’s not the first time Allick has taken a bold stance. In an article in the Southern Nebraska Register, Allick talked about the importance of her faith, saying, “I just hope I’m making Jesus proud.” The publication also noted her volunteer work for I’ve Got A Name, an organization seeking to end sex trafficking in Nebraska.
“I’m aware of the platform that God gave me,” she said.
In his article for WORLD, Hacke calls on more athletes to fearlessly use their influential voices in the pro-life cause.
“It’s high time Christian college and pro athletes—both male and female—answered that call when it comes to fighting the scourge that is abortion. Unborn lives depend on it,” he wrote.
Bahl, one of the top pitchers in the nation, has used social media to express her faith in Christ and speak out for life.
A two-time national champion at Oklahoma University before she transferred to Nebraska, Bahl gave thanks to God following the Sooners title run in 2023; That Oklahoma team received national media attention when several players testified about their faith in a press conference video that went viral.
“Lord may we forever be unapologetic of the Spirit and the boldness you fill us with,” Bahl wrote on Instagram in Spring 2023. “May we take up our cross every day and live for you.”
At the University of Nebraska, she has brought the same spirit. In an Instagram post regarding the recent television commercial, she wrote, “This was too important for me to remain silent on. If initiative 439 is passed, Nebraska women will be at risk…Keep our women, and children SAFE.”
When critics of the pro-life ad responded by suggesting that the Nebraska athletes were paid to appear in the commercial, Bahl responded on Instagram with the same passion and poise that enables her to strike out opposing batters.
“Imagine people seeing a commercial done with six young women supporting a pro-life movement, and immediately jumping to the conclusion that we were paid to take part,” she wrote. “Nope! None of us received a penny!”
“We just aren’t afraid to take a stand and protect life!”