An 89-year-old woman, Eva Edl, gave powerful testimony about her experience in a Communist death camp during her sentencing on Thursday morning, where she was sentenced to three years probation for her FACE Act conviction related to a peaceful protest in Tennessee in March 2021.

Edl, during her sentencing hearing, spoke about how her Christian faith and childhood experiences in a Yugoslavian concentration camp under Communist dictator Josip Tito inspired her pro-life activism. She had been convicted in April of violating the FACE Act, a law from the Clinton administration that criminalizes blocking access to abortion facilities.

“I have been rescuing babies since 1988,” Edl told federal Judge Chip Frensley in a courtroom filled with supporters. “What I’m doing is for the love of Jesus alone, no other benefit.”

Edl was charged for her involvement in a protest outside the Carafem Health Center Clinic in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, where she participated in a sit-in, singing hymns, praying, and urging women to reconsider abortion.

“I’ve paid the price,” Edl said of her pro-life efforts. “It hurts deeply when you do what God says and you’re totally misunderstood.”

Holding up her Bible, Edl said, “I believe in this book,” and referenced the Book of Genesis, emphasizing that “human life is made in the image of God.”

Edl also shared her personal experience as a child, recalling how, at nine years old, she and her family were imprisoned by Tito’s regime because they were ethnic Germans. She described how they were packed into cattle cars and sent to camps, where many were expected to die.

“I wish Christians or caring people would have stood on the tracks,” to stop the train carrying her family away, she said. After surviving the camp, Edl moved to the U.S. and became involved in the pro-life movement.

Justice Department lawyer Kyle Boynton argued for Edl to receive three years probation, stating that the case was about “compliance” with federal law, not her faith or political views. Edl’s lawyer requested one year of probation, citing her “devotion to her faith” and her peaceful nature.

Edl faced up to six months in prison for the conviction. Judge Frensley acknowledged Edl’s beliefs but emphasized that her actions were a “clear violation of the law,” noting that religious convictions do not justify breaking federal laws.

Before the sentencing, Edl gathered with her supporters outside the courthouse, singing hymns like “It is Well with My Soul,” and shared that her hope for the day was for “the Lord to speak through me.”

Another protester involved in the Carafem protest is scheduled to be sentenced later that day.