The 2023 Gerber baby has recently been announced and believe us when we say she is darling!  

From Colorado, 10-month-old Madison “Maddie” Mendoza can’t help but make you croon with her fluffy hair, wide eyes, and contagious smile. The adorable daughter of parents Crystal and Jun Mendoza, patriotism also runs in her blood as Jun serves as a Lieutenant Colonel physician in the Air Force, and both of her grandfathers also served in the U.S. Navy. Coming from strong military families, her parents say “a family legacy of “resilience and love’” was begun with them, and they hope to continue it with Maddie.  

Meet the 2023 Gerber Baby, Maddie Mendoza! Colorado Infant Chosen in 13th Annual Photo Search https://t.co/cshGYNJjDo

— People (@people) July 12, 2023

As a part of Maddie’s win, Gerber will be matching her cash prize of $25,000 with donations to maternal and infant health programs, as well as Operation Homefront which supports military families. 

Jun told People magazine, “Military children especially go through a lot with their parents being deployed or out a lot, supporting the country. So I think that Maddie is a military child, it really helps highlight how special these children are and how strong and resilient they can be.”  

Military children absolutely go through unique circumstances which help make them stronger, and like every child, they are precious, worthy of life, and intrinsically valuable — but sadly, many abortion supporters don’t seem to realize this. In particular, there has been a recent assault on military children through the Department of Defense budget as the abortion lobby in Congress fights for paid abortion leave; that is, taxpayers to fund killing service members’ children.  

Pro-life commentators have blasted the proposed funding for being anti-American and transparently pro-abortion. One columnist at the National Review recently wrote an insightful piece, lambasting the idea, which was poignantly entitled “Since When Did the Pentagon Become a Chapter of Planned Parenthood?” He wrote, “The Pentagon is funding abortion tourism for troops in case they find themselves behind enemy lines, i.e., stationed in a state that has significant post-Dobbs restrictions on abortion.”  

Students for Life Action’s (SFLAction) Savanna Deretich also spoke out on this, saying: “Only the Biden Administration seems to believe that eliminating the families of our fighting men and women is a good idea. Those who have served our country deserve support, not more death by abortion. Our military is the greatest the world has ever known. It should focus on its core mission of defending the United States, and not advance military policies that directly or indirectly result in the destruction of innocent life in the womb.”  

Meet Maddie Mendoza, the 2023 Gerber Baby https://t.co/ZLEZwZwdFf

— KATC TV3 (@KATCTV3) July 13, 2023

Contrary to sacrificing service members’ children to the abortion lobby, the SFLAction team has instead called for life-affirming healthcare for all in service to our nation. To learn more about this, click HERE and HERE to read two SFLAction blogs on how we should support our military.  

Maddie’s parents are right — military babies are special, and they do deserve to be protected. It’s our hope that through Maddie’s representation as the 2023 Gerber baby, more abortion supporters will realize that. Congratulations, sweet girl!  

READ NEXT: Pro-Abortion Notre Dame Professor Sues Student Paper After Reporting on Her Abortion Activism