In a culture where the emphasis on self-fulfillment is the goal for personal happiness, the pro-life witness of a mother in Italy, in the 1960’s is rather counter-cultural. Gianna Beretta Molla was a Catholic wife, mother and medical doctor who sacrificed her life for her baby. She was an ordinary, contemporary working woman, who believed wholeheartedly in the dignity of every human being, including those in the womb, even to the very end of her earthly life. She is a much-needed saint in our present culture which Pope St. John Paul II identified as a “culture of death” in his 1995 encyclical Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life).
To be able to fully appreciate the sacrifice of this woman, it is important to have some background of the abortion culture which began in the sixties.
The scourge of abortion
How did we get to the point where abortion is so widespread and revered as a “right”?
Once the so-called sexual liberation of women took hold in the nineteen sixties, the ensuing contraception mentality led to multiple societal changes, mainly promiscuity, infidelity, divorce, and pregnancies out of wedlock since contraception is not foolproof.
Given that the contraceptive pill sometimes fails in its purpose, women can, and do, get pregnant anyway. This often leads to the decision to end the pregnancy by having an abortion.
In addition to the concept of sexual liberty, there are many other factors in choosing abortion, such as poverty, lack of family support, sexual assault, and the life of the mother at risk, among many others. Whatever the reason, it is a very difficult, serious and heart-wrenching decision for everyone involved.
Be that as it may, no one can deny the overwhelming increase in contraception and abortion worldwide for the past six decades. Just in 2020 alone, in the United States, according to the Pew Research Center: “The last year for which the CDC and Guttmacher (Institute) reported a yearly national total for abortions is 2020…The CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) says there were 620,327 abortions nationally in 2020 in the District of Columbia and 47 states…” In other words, hundreds of thousands of babies are being aborted yearly.
This is why pro-life groups are tireless in their efforts of advocating for the life of the unborn.
This is also why the story of Gianna Beretta Molla, a modern woman who refused the recommendation by doctors to undergo a hysterectomy, which would have killed her child, to save her own life, is so very important.
A modern saint for the present culture
Given the proliferation of contraception and abortion in our society, the story of Saint Gianna is both essential and inspiring for the pro-life cause. So, who was this woman? Let us explore her legacy.
Gianna Beretta was an Italian woman, born in Magenta, in 1922. A fervent Catholic, she was an active member of the community and of her church. She lost both of her parents when she was twenty years old. She persevered through her studies at the University of Milan and graduated as a medical doctor and a surgeon in 1949. This was also the year she met her future husband, Pietro Molla, an engineer.
Gianna specialized in paediatrics in 1952, opened her own medical clinic near Milan and provided care for mothers, babies, the elderly and the poor. She was an active member of Catholic Action. In short, she was an ordinary modern working woman who lived according to her faith. Her courtship with Pietro led to their marriage in 1955. As Gianna wrote to Pietro before their marriage: “Love is the most beautiful sentiment that the Lord has put into the soul of men and women.
Gianna and Pietro persevered through six pregnancies in all, with Gianna losing two of her unborn babies in miscarriages before her final high-risk preganacy in 1962. It was during her sixth, and final pregnancy that Gianna was diagnosed with a uterine tumor: “She allowed the surgeons to remove the tumor but not to perform the complete hysterectomy that they recommended, which would have killed the child.” Gianna was determined to save the life of her unborn child, at great risk to herself. Being a doctor and surgeon herself, she was quite informed about the dangers involved if she continued with the pregnancy. She was able to make this decision because “her whole life was about caring for others. She did not hesitate to instruct doctors to save the baby first if they had the choice. She had a tremendous faith in God to take care of her husband and children if she passed away.”
On April 21, 1962, the couple’s fourth child, Gianna Emanuela, was safely delivered by a Caesarian section, on April 19, 1962. Gianna would die one week later: “Very soon after the delivery, Gianna began having increasing abdominal pain and fever. She was diagnosed with septic peritonitis (an infection of the lining of her abdomen). She received all the known treatments of that time – antibiotics and transfusions for the infection, which was likely a complication of the caesarian section surgery. Despite their efforts, Gianna could not be saved.“
After the birth of her daughter, Gianna was weak, ill and bedridden. She only had one week with her beloved child, husband and three other children. The 2004 documentary “Love is a choice” is a must-see. In it, Pietro recounts that final week with his wife. Gianna fully realized and accepted that she was dying. She had no regrets. The life of her child came first. She had chosen life for her child. She had made the choice for both love and life: “Gianna never considered the possibility of aborting her child. She also repeatedly made it clear that if only one life could be saved, it should be the baby’s life. The heroic part of what Gianna did was to choose life for her child under difficult and uncertain circumstances, no matter the consequences to herself.”
Gianna Beretta Molla, beloved wife and mother, died on April 28, 1962, of peritonitis at the age of thirty-nine.
In 1980, the cause for beatification of this heroic wife and mother began, paving the way for her eventual beatification in 1994. Ten years later, Gianna was canonized by Pope St. John Paul II, on May 16, 2004, with her husband and children in attendance. It was very moving to see her grown daughter, the one that was saved by her mother’s decision, and is a medical doctor just like her beloved mother, who is the patron saint of doctors. How very fitting.
In closing, may a culture of life permeate the world. May the holy example of St. Gianna Beretta Molla inspire women everywhere and may they choose love and life always.
St. Gianna Beretta Molla, pray for us.
Written by Marie Brousseau, on March 21, 2026
Author of “Defending Human Dignity: Catholic Answers to Gender, Abortion and Relativism” (2025)
Website: mariebrousseau.com
Follow on X: @MBrousseau28915
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