CHARLOTTE — Cassaundra Baber wants everyone to know that a child conceived in rape deserves to live and that a woman can choose life for her child and be successful in the world.
Baber spoke Jan. 15 at the March for Life Charlotte, addressing those who gathered at Independence Square to witness to the sanctity of life. Read more March for Life coverage.
Baber was raped her freshman year of college 26 years ago. Just 18 at the time, she never contemplated aborting her son. Her Catholic faith formed her understanding of what a precious gift the new life growing inside of her was – full of potential in God’s plan for their lives.
With the support of her family, she completed her college education, launched her career and raised her son as a single mother. She is proud that he too graduated from college and now has a career as a software engineer.
“When I became a mom, it was a joyful experience,” Baber explains. “God gave me a feisty personality. I have had a successful career and achieved goals. I have the personality not to be a victim. This is an important message: we are not victims. We can be moms and have careers. We don’t have to kill our children.”
Baber, a parishioner of St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte, has always practiced her Catholic faith – attending Mass, going to confession and praying the rosary – which she attributes to providing the strength she needed in her responsibilities as a single mother.
Baber admits she did not talk about the trauma for 17 years. After her son went away to college, she took time to seek healing. She felt God was calling her to share her story, to educate women about abortion and share the truth about the value of each child’s life no matter the circumstances of their conception.
Last fall, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Baber found herself out of work and felt the pull to begin the work God is calling her to do. She founded “Momdacity,” an outreach effort with a mission “to empower women with the audacity to mother in an anti-mom world with real stories and information untainted by the pro-abortion agenda.”
Baber’s goal is to help informed women make informed choices.
“I want to educate women on what abortion is,” she explains. “We have done a poor job about educating women on their bodies and also about what women can achieve. Planned Parenthood has them in their grips. Most Christians are pro-choice. We have to educate women specifically.”
Baber believes we can’t be afraid of this topic. “We have to tell people abortion is wrong. I am not going to be silent. I am not going to face God and tell Him I was quiet about mass genocide. We must be louder. We must be bolder. No pro-choice movement is going to use my story to justify murder.”
Baber is now speaking to groups and in the future hopes to hold retreats and conferences.
“I hope to have a retreat for moms and their daughters to talk about abortion and motherhood. Our daughters don’t understand because mothers aren’t talking to them about it,” she says.
Ultimately, Baber wants to “show women being a mother is a gift and that plenty of women are mothering successfully” – no matter the circumstances of their child’s conception.
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter
Learn more
At www.momdacity.medium.com: Learn more about Cassaundra Baber’s mission to inform and empower women about motherhood. For other inquiries, contact her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 916-917-9142.