As someone who has given her professional life to pro-life public policy, I am always mindful of the ability of one person to make an important difference in the fight to defend, protect, and honor all human life. But, every so often, a story of one person’s life is so powerful that it touches me deeply and reinvigorates me for the important battles ahead. Such is the story of Agata Mroz.
Agata was a member of the Polish national volleyball team, a team that won the European championships in 2003 and 2005. Given their successes, one can readily imagine that Agata and her teammates were dreaming of Olympic glory in Beijing. But, that was not to be for Agata.
Agata was pregnant with her first child when doctors discovered that she had leukemia. Agata and her husband decided to delay a bone-marrow transplant until after the birth of their daughter, Liliana, on April 4, 2008. Sadly, Agata died just two months later, on June 4, 2008, but her love for her child and her brave defense of life will not soon be forgotten.
Auxiliary Bishop Marian Florczyk of Kielce, Poland said that Agata’s testimony is an example of “love of life, motherhood, the desire to give life, the heroic love of an unborn child.” And, just a few hours after her death, Polish President Lech Kaczynski announced that Agata would be awarded the Polonia Restituta, one of Poland’s highest awards for extraordinary and distinguished service.
Agata’s heroic sacrifice should motivate all of us to continue to speak, with our words and with our actions, in defense of all human life. That will be her greatest legacy.
