Persecuted 4 Life with Melanie Standiford

Youth4Life

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Being for life can be risky, and that risk sometimes comes with very real consequences. Just ask Melanie Standiford, a for-life Christian who lost her job because of her for-life views. Was it worth it?

Join us this week to hear Melanie’s story and find out how you can prepare for and stand with hope in the face of persecution. Be reminded of why you are called to be a Gospel-motivated voice for life!
Melanie's Bio:
Melanie Standiford is a life long Nebraska girl, born on an Army base in Texas after her dad was in Vietnam. At one month old Melanie and her parents went to their home in Nebraska where the family grew with two more daughters. Melanie has nine biological children and four bonus children from a second marriage. She homeschooled for years and was a freelance journalist and professional portrait photographer before deciding to encourage her children by finishing her associate degree at age 30.
It became a bit of a challenge between her and her children to keep going in her own studies, particularly with her son Lukas. She would get her bachelor degree before he graduated high school, her master degree before he graduated college and so on. She got a Bachelor of Science in Leadership in 2017, and a Master of Science in International Security and Intelligence in 2019. She is now a PhD student in Forensic Psychology. A fun side note, Lukas graduated with his Bachelor degree in Criminal Justice in 2022 and is now a Lieutenant in the U.S. Army stationed in Georgia USA. She has stories similar about all her children too numerous to share.
In 2017 Melanie started a job with KNOP-TV, a GRAY Media station in Nebraska as a multimedia journalist. In 2017, Melanie lost her mom to cancer. In December 2019, she lost her oldest daughter, 25-year-old Brooklynne and her unborn baby (she was 8 months pregnant). COVID hit right after that and by May 2020 Melanie was the News Director of the television station in North Platte. She continued to edit, produce, report, plus take on all the sole responsibilities of managing the station.
With over 700 published stories, approximately 30 of those written over the years by Melanie were about the abortion topic, each of which were acceptable to be published and considered non biased. In fact, local prolife groups thought she was pro choice because she was careful to quote both sides.
In September 2022 a Nebraska news outlet included her activities from her small Nebraska town (as a private citizen not as a journalist) in their coverage of towns looking to possibly become “Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn.” When the article made its way across her employer’s desk Melanie was fired for “practicing partisan politics.” A week after being fired, each of the stories Melanie wrote on the topic of abortion in any manner was removed from the Gray Media websites.
Melanie now manages her own media platform called, Midwest Media by Melanie, covering a plethora of Nebraska issues and topics and when faced with the topic of abortion she is unapologetically pro life. She believes 100% and without exception that life begins at conception and is precious through natural death.
Melanie lives in Curtis, Nebraska with her husband Shawn and four youngest children still at home, Louie, Giavanna, Kael, and Houston. She also has six living grandchildren.
Follow Melanie on Facebook at Midwest Media by Melanie.
Learn more about being a Gospel-motivated voice 4 LIFE at Y4Life.org.