Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI) associate scholar Jeanneane Maxon was honored with a special award at the recent Heartbeat International’s 50th annual conference March 28 – April 1, the theme of which was “Onward” for the over 1,500 people in attendance. The Servant Leader Award, named for Heartbeat International’s first president, Dr. Margaret Hartshorn, has been given by the organization since 1996 to individuals working in or with the pregnancy center community who both lead and serve sacrificially, reflecting Christ’s teaching and example.
Jeanneane was one of four women surprised to receive the award without advance knowledge at this year’s conference in Jacksonville, Florida. As a pro-life attorney and staunch advocate for life, Jeanneane brings this servant heart to her daily work at the Lozier Institute and Susan B. Anthony List as an associate legal scholar and Her PLAN organizer.
Upon receiving the award, she shared with Pregnancy Help News, “I am humbled and honored to follow in the steps of many others who paved a way for myself and others to carry on the valuable work to save women and children in the womb from the destruction of abortion.”
Jeanneane is well familiar with many of those who paved that way. Her mom, Jenny Entsminger, was executive director of a network of pregnancy centers during her childhood, and continues this heroic work as a state pregnancy center coalition leader currently. Jeanneane grew up immersed in the service arm of the pro-life movement providing compassionate and vital support to women and their unborn children. This experience created a lasting impression of the needs of women experiencing unexpected pregnancies and the work necessary to serve these moms, babies and families well so they can flourish.
(With gratitude to Lisa Bourne/Pregnancy Help News for permission to use.)
Jeanneane has been both an advocate and strategist to protect Americans from the destruction of abortion. She served as general counsel at Care Net, a national network of over 1,200 pregnancy centers for five years, then in leadership at Americans United for Life, one of the country’s oldest pro-life organizations, for three years. Among many other contributions, she authored a widely used and acclaimed resource – a 600-plus-page manual titled Legal Solutions: A Legal Resource for Life-Affirming Pregnancy Help Organizations.
Jeanneane has brought this same bold determination and courage to her recent battle with brain cancer. In 2016, in her mid-thirties, she was diagnosed with Grade IV Glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer (the same cancer which Senator John McCain also battled). Now, over six years later, with cutting-edge medical treatments and the continued prayer support of many, Jeanneane continues to be cancer free.
Her story and treatment have been featured on Lifetime TV series, “Behind the Mystery,” in 2020. In 2021, she was featured in a series of interviews along with her neuro-oncologist, Dr. Karen Fink from Baylor University Medical Center.
Jeanneane shares this journey now as both a counselor and advocate for cancer patients. She meets with newly diagnosed cancer patients to inspire them and to provide a real look at her own cancer experience with hope. She also presents for the American Association of Christian Counselors and has a standing column on law and ethics in Christian Counseling Today Magazine.
In the wake of her cancer battle, Jeanneane serves the pro-life movement sacrificially with a giant heart and an enduring spirit. In addition to different projects, she is helping to shape the broad state-by-state network of support to assist moms and families in a post-Roe America through Susan B Anthony List’s Her PLAN program. The Charlotte Lozier Institute and Susan B. Anthony List are thankful for her expertise and example. Chuck Donovan, CLI president, says, “Jeanneane is the most tireless and selfless person I know, a woman of great legal insight and tremendous organizational skills. Her leadership has improved the work of many groups and added depth to their labors on behalf of the most vulnerable of our fellow citizens.”
Jeanneane’s lifetime of colleagues also give great thanks for her servant leadership, friendship, and giving example as a daily blessing in their ongoing work. As she shared with Pregnancy Help News, “I am grateful to Christ for giving me the opportunity to serve this worthy movement, and to my family, friends, and colleagues who have supported me.” She added, “I pray God allows me many more years to serve this community that has served me so well.”
Moira Gaul, M.P.H., is an associate scholar at the Charlotte Lozier Institute where she works on pregnancy center studies and women’s health-related issues.
