A Hero Goes to Her Reward

maggiekarnerMaggie Karner died peacefully September 25th after a long fight against the same brain cancer that led to the much-celebrated assisted suicide of Brittany Maynard. You will never see Maggie on the cover of People Magazine but it was she that was the real hero. Exactly one week prior to her death I presented Family Institute of Connecticut’s Charles Stetson Award for Pro-Family Courage to Maggie, through her husband, Pastor Kevin, for her success in defeating assisted suicide in our state.

Maggie was the second person to testify on the assisted suicide bill and her testimony set the stage for the crushing defeat the pro-death lobby suffered on that day. Her “Open Letter to Brittany Maynard,” pleading with Brittany not to commit assisted suicide, was the most successful video FIC ever produced, with over 400,000 views and attention from national newscasts. The reason for its success was Maggie herself, a former head of the national pro-life office of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod, who knew exactly what to say. (Indeed, every other state where Maggie sent in video testimony, including Colorado and Maryland, also rejected assisted suicide bills.)

Visitation hours will be 4-8pm on Tuesday, Sep 29th at Funk’s Funeral Home in Bristol, CT. Funeral and burial services will be held at 11am on Wednesday, Sep 30 at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Bristol, CT.