Andrea Bocelli: ‘I was almost aborted.’

ROME, June 4, 2010–THE WORLD could have never known the music and artistry of famous blind singer Andrea Bocelli if his mother chose to abort him because of a congenital defect.

Bocelli

As part of the“I am Whole Life” project, the Italian tenor recounted the life story of his mother Edi who had been hospitalized and treated for a “simple attack of appendicitis” while pregnant in 1958.

In the YouTube video, Bocelli tells how doctors had suggested to his mother that she “abort the child” due to high chances of the child getting congenital defects.

“But the young brave wife decided not to abort, and the child was born,” told Bocelli. “That woman was my mother, and I was the child.”

At his birth, doctors diagnosed him as having congenital glaucoma, and by age 12 he was completely blind.

“Maybe I am partisan, but I can say it was the right choice,” said Bocelli.

In spite of this disability, Bocelli developed a passion for music, that would lead to a career of international hit singles, eight operas, and 70 million copies of his albums.

For years Bocelli used to be an agnostic, but returned to his Christian Catholic faith in 1994 in part due to reading the works of Leo Tolstoy, which are said to have convinced him that life was not random chance, but had a purpose.

Bocelli said he hoped that the story of his brave mother “could encourage many mothers that find themselves in difficult situations in those moments when life is complicated, but want to save the life of their baby.”

The video is part of a project of the Whole Life Initiative, which is dedicated to promoting “a respect for the intrinsic dignity of the human person regardless of ability, age, status, ethnicity or sex.” The website IamWholeLife.com features many other inspiring YouTube videos and testimonials, promoting an ethic of life.

Watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QfKCGTfn3o

Learn about the Whole Life Initiative: http://www.iamwholelife.com/en-us/default.aspx

Credits:

Cited from an original article by Peter J. Smith for lifesitenews.com last 06/07/10