Bella producer’s mission in life is working to end abortion

Jason S. Jones, co-executive producer of the award-winning, pro-life film Bella, speaks during the “Celebrate Life” dinner sponsored by Right to Life of Indianapolis on Sept. 16 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis. Jones said the film was “more than a movie—it was a mission.” He also is president and founder of Whole Life America, a non-profit organization that promotes the dignity of the human person regardless of ability, age, status, race and geography. (Photo by Mary Ann Wyand)

By Mary Ann Wyand

Jason S. Jones is unconditionally pro-life and tireless in his advocacy efforts to protect the lives of unborn babies.

The co-executive producer of the award-winning, pro-life feature film Bella experienced the horror of abortion 20 years ago as a teenager when his girlfriend’s father forced her to abort their baby in Chicago.

Jones shared their heartbreaking story during his keynote address at the 26th annual “Celebrate Life” dinner on Sept. 16 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis.

“She was crying like I had never heard a woman cry in my life before or since then,” Jones said of that terrible day. “She kept saying over and over and over again, ‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. It wasn’t me.’ Her father got on the [phone] line and said, ‘We know your secret, Jason, and your secret is gone. I took Katie to get an abortion.’ That is how I found out about legal abortion in America.”

Their baby would have been born in about three months, he said, emotion evident in his voice.

“I promised her that day that if it took me the rest of my life, I would work to make sure that abortion is illegal,” Jones said. “That’s a naïve promise for a high school dropout. But if you asked me [then] when human life begins, I could have told you it begins at conception.”

Their tragic loss two decades ago led him to work on the critically acclaimed 2006 film which has inspired thousands of viewers to reflect on the priceless value of human life.

Bella became one of the top-rated movies of 2007. It earned the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival, best picture and best actor awards at the 2008 MovieGuide Awards, grand prize award for best dramatic feature at the 2007 Heartland Film Festival in Indianapolis last October, and prestigious Legacy Award from the Smithsonian Institute’s Latino Center.

The film’s mission is saving the lives of unborn babies, he said, which is a priceless reward.

“As of today, we know of, we have confirmed, that 32 women who walked into a theater to see a movie, not knowing what it was—Bella—with an abortion scheduled, walked out to choose life,” Jones said. “A lot of that success is because of the hard work of folks like you in this room who helped sponsor theaters and promoted our film to your churches.”

In early September, Jones spoke during a Knights of Columbus program in Chicago. His high school girlfriend was in the audience.

“After my talk,” he recalled, “I walked down [from the stage] … and she hugged me and looked me in the eyes and said, ‘Jason, I know you’re going to keep your promise to me.’ … That’s why it’s a privilege to be here.”

The “Celebrate Life” dinner raised funds for the educational work of Right to Life of Indianapolis.

Jones also shared stories about the popular Latino actor Eduardo Verástegui, a former Mexican soap opera star, who experienced a conversion five years ago, joined the Catholic Church, became a daily communicant then sacrificed for three years as co-owner of Metanoia Films to help make and star in this movie.

“After his conversion, he said, ‘I am never going to do a role again that demeans my ethnicity, that demeans women or that undermines the dignity and beauty of the human person,’ ” Jones told the audience. “For three years, Eduardo stayed strong, sacrificed and refused to do roles that were demeaning.”

Nearly broke, Verástegui was praying at a Catholic church in southern California when Leo Severino, an attorney at Fox Entertainment, met him. Severino later joined the Bella production team.

The dinner also honored St. Luke the Evangelist parishioner Joan Byrum of Indianapolis, who retired recently for health reasons after 30 years of volunteer leadership for Right to Life of Indianapolis.

Byrum wasn’t able to attend the dinner to accept a Sagamore of the Wabash Award presented by Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman on behalf of Gov. Mitch Daniels.

In her videotaped acceptance speech, Byrum noted that pro-life supporters must work hard to educate each new generation about the sanctity and dignity of life.

Also honored were Joseph and Kate Turk of Zionsville, Ind., who received the Charles E. Stimming Sr. Pro-Life Award, and Micah Clark of Indianapolis, executive director of the American Family Association of Indiana, who earned the Respect for Life Award. †