Finnish politician receives U.S. Lutheran pro-life award

Finnish politician Päivi Räsänen received an award on Friday for her outstanding contributions to the sanctity of life. The U.S.-based organization Lutherans For Life gave Räsänen the Dominus Vitae Award at its annual gala in Des Moines, Iowa, according to a news release. The award recognized Räsänen’s outspoken voice in support of religious liberty, freedom of expression, and Biblical values, Lutherans For Life said on its website.

She has modeled this throughout her decades-long career as a member of the Finnish Parliament and her work as a medical doctor, the organization said. Additionally, in recent years Räsänen has dealt with public persecution for expressing Biblical views, Lutherans For Life said.

How was she persecuted for her views? In March, the Finnish Supreme Court found Räsänen guilty of hate speech for co-authoring a pamphlet expressing Biblical beliefs on marriage and sexuality. The court found that the pamphlet was insulting to homosexuals as a group. However, the court cleared her of charges for a tweet she sent years ago that included a Bible passage on homosexuality. Räsänen appealed her conviction to the European Court of Human Rights in July.

How has Räsänen defended life? She has continually used her role as a politician to advocate for protecting human life from conception to natural death. In recent weeks, she has urged in posts that abortion shouldn’t be funded by taxpayers’ money. Finnish citizens can get abortions up to 20 weeks into pregnancies.

Some of the previous recipients of the Dominus Vitae Award include Tom Parker, the former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court; pro-life advocate Melissa Ohden, who survived an abortion attempt and founded the Abortion Survivors Network; and WORLD’s founder, Joel Belz.

Dig deeper: Read my report for Roundups as Räsänen details her battle for religious freedom.