The LaBrant Fam just sank its career—and we got a front-row seat
![Cover of book “Cole and Sav: Our Surprising Love Story.” / Courtesy Wikicommons](https://berkeleybeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/labrant.jpg)
Cover of book “Cole and Sav: Our Surprising Love Story.” / Courtesy Wikicommons
April 13, 2022
On behalf of all women, Cole and Savannah LaBrant can go to hell.
On Saturday, “The LaBrant Fam” released a 40-minute documentary-style YouTube video outlining their views on abortion. The couple talks with healthcare experts, members of their church, and people who have experiences with abortion.
The family channel has over 13 million subscribers, and this video immediately follows a “baby number four” update in which Savannah has an ultrasound. The clear image of the baby’s face in the ultrasound and other footage from that video is used in the abortion documentary just a week later.
The video opens with a look at how a fetus grows inside the womb as narration plays over footage of anti-abortion and pro-choice protests. The narrator asks The LaBrant Fam’s audience to consider being “pro-love,” a term that’s loosely defined twenty minutes after it’s first stated as choosing to love the child no matter what.
They don’t define this term well, so I don’t understand why they chose to center that view in the video.
Here’s my main issue with this “documentary”: why is this family channel, that’s continually marketed as “wholesome family content,” trying to add harmful rhetoric to an already crowded conversation? Why are they using religion, especially the church, as a vessel to demonize of women that choose abortions?
Not only do the interviews the LaBrants conduct with medical professionals forget to include any medical jargon, they completely overstep their positions as medical advisors as well. Telling someone not to do something because it doesn’t align with their morals as people rather than as doctors is unethical in the highest regard. The one thing they could’ve done right, they did wrong.
I can see this documentary becoming the next anti-abortion power tool in excusing abortion as murder, and I implore the audience of this piece and theirs to consider thinking for themselves. If you’re going to be so easily brainwashed into believing absolute garbage about abortion––from a man, no less––please disconnect your WiFi and go touch some grass.
Following the opening narration, Cole and Savannah LaBrant compare the number of abortions in the United States to different genocides around the world, including the Holocaust. This is not only wildly inappropriate, but it obscures the impact the Holocaust had on the Jewish community and the experiences of Jewish people thereafter.
I wouldn’t expect “YouTube’s favorite Christian family,” as they’re marketed, to give a shit about their Jewish following, but nothing excuses comparing abortions to a genocide.
Following the numbers plastered on the screen, the LaBrants sit down with two doctors, Dr. Anthony Levatino, MD, and Dr. Kathi Aultman, MD. The two discuss their “professional” views on abortion as a method of healthcare.
Following their introductions, the doctors give terribly graphic descriptions of the multiple ways one can have an abortion. Dr. Aultman outlines how she was taught to perform abortions in medical school and the other methods of abortion she sought to learn about outside of her education.
In an article written in 2020 by Dr. Aultman for Focus on the Family––an online publication devoted to pro-life and faith––she outlines the different moral experiences she had with women who requested abortions and why she ultimately stopped doing them. All it took for Aultman, according to her written statement, was comparing abortions to the Holocaust.
“But it wasn’t until a Christian friend gave me an article comparing abortion to the Holocaust that I changed my opinion completely,” she wrote. “Just as I did not consider the humanity of fetuses, the Nazis did not consider the Jews to be human beings. I realized that I was no better than they were.”
If the LaBrants were expecting to scare their audience, they’ve done it just nine minutes into the video.
Dr. Levatino’s attitude towards abortion was what I took the most issue with. As a man, there already isn’t any room for him in this conversation, and there shouldn’t be. As a medical professional and ex-abortionist, it is his duty to advise his patients and perform the abortion at a pregnant woman’s request. It is not his place to tell a patient to “never, ever get an abortion because of convenience.”
I’m happy to say that the other sources the LaBrants chose actually understood the importance of making that choice. They talked to a number of women who had considered abortion but decided to keep the child by a choice of their own. They also talked to Embrace Grace, a Christian-based church support group that supports women in their decision to keep or terminate a pregnancy.
The Embrace Grace company was, in my opinion, the best part about this documentary. I’m just ashamed of the way I learned about it.
The first testimony the LaBrants introduced was Cole’s grandmother’s, who Cole said “chose” life for his mother. Cole’s great-grandmother was pregnant with his grandmother at age eighteen, chose life, kept her for four months, then gave her up for adoption.
Yes, because deciding to keep a child only to raise it in a parentless world in the name of “morals” makes choosing life so much better. Considering there are around 400,000 children in foster care ranging from newborns to adults, and using the LaBrants’ logic, they should consider adopting or fostering children rather than continuing to get pregnant.
But of course, Cole LaBrant couldn’t end the video without stating that fathers should have a say. I was really waiting for this line. As we all know, it isn’t anti-abortion propaganda without mansplaining women’s healthcare.
It’s not that fathers shouldn’t have a say in whether or not a pregnancy should be terminated—it’s all of mankind that shouldn’t.
Being “pro-love”—the watered down anti-abortion stance—that Cole and Savannah share is bad enough, but “considering the feelings of the father,” is somehow worse.
Additionally, Savannah LaBrant used the word “choice” a few times when talking about her pregnancies. If she’s going to be so strongly anti-abortion, why would she constantly call it a choice?
Imagine being a loyal subscriber to The LaBrant Fam and expecting weekly wholesome family content, but one Saturday morning, they drop a 40-minute anti-abortion documentary on you. I don’t think any of their subscribers signed up for anti-abortion propaganda, especially when the median age group of their subscribers is between eight and twelve years old.
I don’t want to hear more from The LaBrant Fam on this topic as they’ve already proven their idiocracy. It is not up to the church to decide what is best for a pregnant woman, it is not up to the LaBrant family to determine what is best for a pregnant woman, it is up to the pregnant woman to decide.
Overall, this documentary reiterated the reason why no church, no person, and especially no man, can make the choice to keep a child on behalf of any woman.
With that said, I hope Cole and Savannah LaBrant find acceptance through God, because I know they won’t find it online.
You do realize the children who are in foster care aren’t there because their parents didn’t ‘want them,’ but because their parents have addictions (usually). The parent would still have a problem regardless if the child was aborted or not, so let’s get those facts straight. Abortion does lasting damage to the mental health of anyone who has ever had one, or at least those with a semblance of a conscience. I will be praying for you and all the people who think terminating a baby is OK.
Yes, but the children that are born with struggles developmentally/emotionally due to their parent’s drug use during pregnancy don’t go away either. Furthermore, usually creating situations where they are hard to place in foster care settings or being moved around in numerous placements, therefore, having very little stability in their lives. This is a whole new social issue that is rampant.
Adri, I pray God will reveal His love and care for you. Do you know what God has to say about being pregnant?… He says “I knit you in your mother’s womb.”.. He says “He has ordained all our days before we were born.” He says that He knew each of us “from the beginning of the world.” Why are you so angry? Maybe deep down, you know there is life there. it’s actually a miracle how a spark of light actually happens at the moment of conception. Did you know that? It is the beginning of life…growing cells… forming a baby.
As far as who has a right to speak about it…. anyone witnessing an injustice should be speaking out – man, woman, child.. speak out and seek to help the most vulnerable. You may disagree, but your sharp edges say there is something deeper. I hope you find peace in God.
Cole&Savannah I m a big fan I love you guys so much
Anna Cole and sav you tube fans help
Heck yes! Glad they shared it! It’s helping! Also you can’t speak in behalf of all women. Many of us women agree. 🤷🏼♀️
The Labrant family posie Labrant
Good for them ! Save the precious babies!
You just voiced what you believe. Why can’t they? Freedom of speech is for everyone, not just those who agree with your beliefs.
Never. Say. On. Behalf. Of. All. Women. Again. YOU ARW BIT ALL WOMEN YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO START OFF AN ARTICLE CLAIMING TO SPEAK ON BEHALF OF EVERYONE.
What a sad state of journalistic tripe. You sound like a bitter child unable to cope with a different point of view.
Shut the hell up, they can have their opinion. If it really hurts you to listen to their opinion then how about you just go hide in a cave? Also, saying they should “go to hell” is a bit of a stretch, so why would you say that? To the creator of this article- you clearly do not know the boundaries of religion if you are going to say someone should go to hell.
The only one ruining their career here, is you. Too bad. Such a young age to be creating such a negative name for yourself in such a cut throat field.
You are vile and full of vitriol. Your pronoun announcement is a clear indicator of how hateful you are towards anyone who doesn’t share your liberal viewpoint.
What does sharing your pronouns have to do with being hateful towards different viewpoints? Is that your only evidence of her being that way?
I am 57 hardly a kid and I follow them. Where you think only kids follow them is crazy. How would know about the documentary if you didn’t watch it? You are an adult yourself. I love they choose to use their platform for what they believe in. Just like you, you can voice your opinion as well. I don’t agree with you but I would never tell you go to hell like you stated in your article because I don’t agree. That’s called being an adult. I am a disabled veteran. I served my country and am disabled because of that choice so that we could voice our opinions without dying for saying them like in many many other countries. You have know clue how lucky we are to be able to live free.
After reading the few responses to this, it looks like not everyone is on the same page as you. Of course they aren’t, as it’s a pretty heavily divided issue. In other words, I don’t think you or the Labrant family have anything to worry about concerning their success following their video on the matter.
You cannot convince me that a “growing clump of cells” is life inside one woman because she chooses but isn’t life inside another because she chooses. Something cannot “be” or “not be” living based entirely on one human beings choice for that entity. That is not seeking the meaning of the term “life.” Maybe that’s where the comparison to the Holocaust comes from. Not so much in regard to the level of “terribleness” but more so the root in which these issues manifest: an arrogance of someone trying to justify why another life is less of a life (or, not life at all) for reasons a, b and c.
How about approaching the issue a completely different way from what either side is doing? >Focusing more time and attention on minimizing need for foster care by improving opportunities to adoptions. Focusing on bettering that process and leveling some degree of pain for women unable to get pregnant. >Meanwhile, also finding ways to improve fostering conditions. Nothing more encouraging and loving for those children in their circumstances than the implication that they should have never been born. Thoughtful. >Differentiating healthcare needs that are life & death and those that are simply a bandaid for human consequence. Abortions shouldn’t be obsolete. They should be redirected. You are right on an important aspect and that’s that religion should not have an influence on the matter. I think humanity should, but not religion in respect to the varied beliefs that are out there. Abortions should be available in a hospital setting for situations deemed “life threatening.” Mother cannot live to full term? Then medically an abortion is needed. There’s no logic supporting the position of “it’s all or nothing.” We don’t get put in a situation in which lives are in danger and choose to sacrifice all because we aren’t willing to let go of any. But ANY life is valuable and should have opportunity to be mourned. Our goal should be to keep as many lives going as possible. But again, in a hospital setting…* >More support for unplanned pregnancies that do want to move forward in raising that child. Although, there really is some good support out there already. You just gotta ask for and accept it. >Better distribution of responsibility – another point you touched on. Why does this fall back so heavily on women? Although I don’t disagree with Cole’s position on fathers rights, I think it only works in the scenario of a good, responsible father. But the mother should not be burdened in the case that the father is not that. Men, too, should also be heavily expected to use their own form of prescriptive birth control. We should be more naturally geared toward the fathers carrying some of the load. This should not be a woman’s-only matter. >What about rape? I believe that within the percentage of abortions done in instances of rape, those under a certain age should be considered medically acceptable. Outside of that can be treated case by case. Not every victim of rape wants to abort their child. But there will also be medical record documenting a pattern of either their patient receiving these services in response to reoccurring sexual assault or if it ends at up becoming a form of that patients birth control.
*And one more thing – healthcare should be a right. Not a gift. Not a level in life that you need to work really hard to get to. It shouldn’t be something that’s not available to someone for any reason. And if it is, that’s not and shouldn’t be an abortion issue. Instead, a healthcare issue.
Sorry for such a lengthy response, but it’s a pretty deep topic. As for the YouTubers, they have as much reason and right to stand against abortions as you do for them. As long as we are content with this viscous cycle getting us no where and complacent with this division where both sides believe so absolutely, there’s no reason to question someone’s freedom of speech on this matter, at least outside of your own rights to free speech. You are more than welcome to stand on the opposite aisle from the Labrants, but you are mistaken if you believe that most agree with you.
You should really pick a new career other than journalism. They are a Christian family who shared THEIR own beliefs which I 100% agree with. If you don’t like it then here is a simple piece of advice…… DONT WATCH THEM. It’s hilarious that you think that video “sank their career” because I guarantee they will continue to have millions of views and make a hell of a lot more money than you by writing this trash article.
Then don’t watch or follow. Free speech is just that. Just like you are exercising your speech for thousands to see. Calling names is not healthy dialogue.
What am I when my heart stops beating?
What am I when my heart starts beating?
As a woman this author doesn’t speak for me. The Lebrant family can do whatever they want with their platform and if it has to do with being against abortion so be it. I think this author is a nobody and trying to get her 5 mins fame by putting down another couple.
Lots of grammatical errors in this article.
Also, as a woman, abortion is homicide.
Our world is desperate for the message the LaBrandt’s share in their video on abortion. There are an overwhelming number of pregnant mothers and expectant fathers who need to be validated in their beliefs about the importance of the life of their unborn child. Parents who are facing a crisis pregnancy need to know that they are not “crazy” to believe abortion is murder, to know that they are not alone in loving their child from conception.
The LaBrant’s are bold and courageous to risk backlash from a world gone mad, I applaud and stand with them. I believe a multitude of others will too. Mother Teresa did, she knew that abortion is the greatest poverty, she said, “it is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish”…”millions are dying deliberately by the will of the mother. And this is what is the greatest destroyer of peace today.’ She further identified that no woman escapes abortion free of its viciously destructive tentacles, she says, ‘abortion…destroys two lives; the life of the child, and the conscience of the mother”.
In their video, the LaBrant’s do not in any way judge or demonize any woman, those choosing abortion or those not, in fact, I think they show great compassion to all women and all of humanity in risking their popular and profitable position to help us all see abortion for the great destroyer of humanity that it is.
I just wanted to say one quick thing. As a Christian, we seek the counsel/path/will of only one person- God and Jesus. They knew this decision would upset many people, but they are telling this truth because that is what they believe. They won’t shy back because the world dislikes what they have to say, because they are fearless followers of Christ who only want to please the only perfect being to walk this Earth- Jesus Christ.
let them believe what they want to believe
The problem is that they are not just believing but also spreading what they believe (or their idiocracy), which is fully unnecessary and irresponsible attitude for a well-known family with a YouTube channel that has 1.3M pre-teen to teen majority subscribers.
The fact that you call pro lifers, anti abortion, speaks volumes about your bitter and angry personality. Im pro life, and would never even think about calling someone who is pro choice, pro abortion. Looks likes someone needs to go back to journalism school. You’re extremely biased in your opinion and come off as just plain old mean.
I cant believe you all. It doesn’t matter if the baby is in the womb or not, it still has a heartbeat and it is still alive, so therefore it is murder no matter what. And if some of your guy’s excuses are, “Well, what if the woman isn’t ready to be a mom”, well maybe she should’ve thought about that before she made that choice. Or if some of you say, “My body, my choice” well, yeah it is your choice, and you chose to make relations when you weren’t ready to be a mother, and also when you say “My body, my choice”, it is not YOUR body to murder, and therefore it is not YOUR choice if it is going to stay alive or not. And yet some of you still might say, “Well what if it is a 16 year old girl” like come on, the most you can do is just give it up for adoption instead of MURDERING it. I cant believe that you all are so selfish to think like that. So stop going after the Labrant Family just because they are following the word of God. STOP MURDERING INNOCENT BABIES.
Please shut up, some pregnancies just happen even if the mother is doing her best and trying not to have a child. There is no 100% working birth control method, some might come close, but there’s always a chance. And imagine being human trafficked, left pregnant and you had no choice over it. And to add on, this Earth is over populated. If the mother decides what she wants to do, then it’s her decision, not yours. I accept what you believe and your opinions, but please don’t attack others on theirs.
So you are telling me that if you are raped and you get pregnant it is you’re own fault and you have to keep the baby? Or Imagen you are poor and you had sex and you got pregnant and you don’t have enough money to provide for the baby you have to keep it? No matter what the living situation is?
I think it’s great that they’re using their own platform to speak on what they believe. It’s their following, they can do what they’d like with it. Freedom of speech and all that. Personally, I also agree with their stance so it doesn’t bother me at all. There’s plenty of other influencers using their own stance to spread evil…just go follow one of them if you want. 🤷♀️
hells yes!!! I can’t believe people are like this. Why would you post that to a channel with such a young following?!?! I’m pro-choice, but honestly idc what you do but don’t do this.🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾
They shared the truth. The doctors were former abortionists. It’s anti woman to not share the truth behind abortion. I’m sure your one sided article won’t share my comment. The agenda is against women and the unborn.
It’s funny you say you’re pro-choice but are ridiculing a family who shared their stance on their “choice”. Sounds hypocritical to me.