‘Mom Gave Me a Chance at Life’: Tebow Says Doctors Encouraged His Mom to Abort Him

Michael Foust | ChristianHeadlines.com Contributor | Published: Jan 29, 2021
‘Mom Gave Me a Chance at Life’: Tebow Says Doctors Encouraged His Mom to Abort Him

‘Mom Gave Me a Chance at Life’: Tebow Says Doctors Encouraged His Mom to Abort Him

Tim Tebow told a virtual National March for Life rally Friday that doctors encouraged his mother to abort him while he was in the womb, yet she continued the pregnancy despite medical complications. 

The March for Life rally is normally held in January around the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade ruling but went virtual this year due to the pandemic. Tebow joined pro-life activists and political and religious leaders in speaking up for the unborn. Tebow is a football analyst, professional baseball player and former Heisman Trophy winner. 

Tebow recounted in detail a story about his mother he previously discussed in his book, Through My Eyes. He and his mother also appeared in a famous pro-life Super Bowl commercial about the pregnancy.

Tebow’s parents were missionaries in the Philippines at the time. Tebow was set to be their fifth child.

“The pregnancy was not easy,” Tebow said. “It was really hard and it was really difficult. … In fact, they didn't even believe that she was pregnant at first. They actually thought it was a tumor. … But then they realized that she was pregnant and she did have a baby in her womb. But all the doctors said, ‘You need to have an abortion. You need to get rid of him.’ ... But she decided that she was going to trust God, even when the doctor said it could, and might, cost her her life.”

A doctor with 35 years of experience delivered the baby, Tebow said. The doctor called the healthy birth a “miracle,” Tebow said, because the placenta was not attached. Tebow said the doctor told his mom: “I don't know how he had the nourishment in the food to be able to survive.”

Tebow credits his mom’s courage for his life. 

“I'm so grateful that my mom gave me a chance at life,” Tebow said. “Because many times [she could have] made the choice to do something different.” 

Tebow encouraged the pro-life community to fight for the unborn – and for others, too. Being pro-life, he said, involves more than the issue of abortion.

“You see, when you're pro-life, I believe that we’re called to be pro-life in every area – for the unborn, for the hurting, for the orphan, for the thrown-away, for the special needs, for the trafficked, for all of humanity,” he said.

Former NFL player Benjamin Watson and his wife, Kirsten Watson, also addressed the virtual rally.

The foundation for opposition to abortion, Benjamin Watson said, is “the imago dei.”

“We believe that every man, woman and child bears the image of their Creator,” he said. “This truth endows all of us with inherent value and dignity, from conception to the grave. This truth compels us to contend with those seeking to devalue and exterminate life for their own profit or purposes.”

God’s truth, Watson said, “empowers us to stay the course” regardless of “Supreme Court rulings” or “political turnover.”

The Watsons referenced Proverbs 31:8, which commands God’s people to “speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.”

“It takes each one of our lives, together, to end the unthinkable practice of abortion in the United States of America,” he said. 

Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Rich Polk/Stringer


Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chroniclethe Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.



‘Mom Gave Me a Chance at Life’: Tebow Says Doctors Encouraged His Mom to Abort Him