Interview with Representative Janel Brandtjen
By Anna DeMeuse
The pro-life movement is strengthened by women who use their skills and talents to advance the cause for life right here in their local communities. Representative Janel Brandtjen is a woman who does this by serving as a representative for the 22nd Assembly District of Wisconsin.
Representative Brandtjen was raised in a Lutheran family than respects life, but it wasn’t until college when she first began to get a more in depth perspective on the issue of abortion. She remarks that she feels the most powerful testimony to life is when a woman looks upon her child and realizes “my goodness, he/she is precious and must be protected!”
Her work in the State Capitol is one that is always mindful of the unborn. She comments, “It is going to be an interesting year with a governor who considers ‘pro-life’ adding funds to Planned Parenthood and considers adding money to Planned Parenthood women’s health. It’s not exactly what we’re used to in Wisconsin, so I think there is a real opportunity to have a larger conversation about what pro-life means and what women’s health means.”
For Representative Brandtjen, being pro-life means, “Defending those that have no voice. Defending those that will never write me a check. Defending those that will carry on the humanity of Wisconsin. Without that next generation, and without those voices…what do we have?”
Representative Brandtjen is one of many who diligently works to advance this message and propose pro-life legislation for the State of Wisconsin. “We live in an age when we’re looking for workers and population. In the State of Wisconsin, the population numbers are getting to a very dangerous point, and we should be encouraging families, encouraging life! And if you don’t think at this point in your life that you are able to do this, what a great opportunity for adoption! Democrat or Republican, we should all be willing to have this conversation about adoption because it is a win-win-win. For families who are looking for children, for that child, and for that mom that thinks this is not the right point. What a tremendous triple win for Wisconsin and Wisconsin families. All involved parties have the opportunity to experience family and cherish life.”
As a mother herself, Representative Janel Brandtjen says that, “One of the most precious things that we as women bring to our community is to make sure that we can bring up the next generation, so being pro-life means that we’re willing to protect our children. And I think we have to deal with the fact that we as women have been lied to for years.”
“We’ve been told we should be able to take motherhood on our own terms - to take motherhood whenever you choose. That you’ll say when, how, on what condition. Motherhood is a real gift. And the Good Lord makes it abundantly clear to us that whatever our own plans, He has plans for us as well. We as women have to realize that being lied to - told that abortion is healthcare, told that it’s going to be okay having multiple abortions or that ‘it really won’t affect you’ is plain falsehood. We have been lied to for years! We know that abortion affects women’s mental health and physical well-being. Telling women at the most vulnerable part of their lives, when they’re pregnant, that its the end of the world is such a lie.”
The way we can combat these lies is conversation, she says. “The conversation is education. Being a mom is the best and the hardest job at the same time. It’s not always cotton candy but a great opportunity to learn about yourself and learn your own skills. A mother’s love is one of the greatest gifts you could ever be given.” It’s time we start reclaiming this truth.
Representative Brandtjen has great hope for the pro-life cause especially when it comes to the youth.
“There is so much hope for our youth and their education. We live in an age where science can show us children moving in the womb and science can show us surgery in the womb. That’s amazing! Young people get that - they see the images of the tiny baby in the womb and it changes the conversation from ‘that’s just a blob of tissue, you won’t miss that,’ to ‘oh my goodness, that’s my baby’s face!’”
“Our pro-life mission of educating has been successful and it has changed women’s lives. Even women who have endured rape and understand they have been given a tough bill can recognize the truth that ‘this is a child’, and ‘if i choose to give it adoption, I give it life.’ That is what this technology does - allows women to make better decisions about themselves going forward regardless of the situation that they find themselves in.”
We sincerely thank Representative Janel Brandtjen for her courageous witness to life and for her determination to stand for life in the State Assembly. She assures that, “We will be monitoring the decisions that Governor Evers makes as far as Planned Parenthood and funding. I want to reassure folks that the legislature, the Assembly and the Senate, both financially control those decisions from the governor and I have no intention of letting any additional funds go to Planned Parenthood, by any means - nothing. The governor may propose these things, but the legislature that is still controlled by pro-life republicans and pro-life senators will certainly stop that from happening.”
Follow Representative Janel Brandtjen on her social media and thank her for the wonderful work she is doing to protect the most vulnerable.