Fashion brand selling pro-life necklaces to rival Selena Gomez's abortion jewelry

By Samuel Smith, Deputy Managing Editor Sunday, September 08, 2019

A pro-life fashion brand championed by activist Abby Johnson launched a new line of necklaces months after actress and singer Selena Gomez went on television wearing jewelry celebrating abortion rights. 

COL1972, which is short for Culture of Life 1972, launched a line of four different 1972 necklaces this month that are designed to commemorate “the last year” that “a culture of life” was enjoyed for the unborn in the United States. 

In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade made abortion legal. Since then, tens of millions of babies have been aborted in the United States.

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The new jewelry line from COL 1972, a company founded last year by conservative Pennsylvania homeschool mother and children’s author, Carla D'Addesi, follows Gomez’s June appearance on ABC’s “Live With Kelly and Ryan.” 

The 27-year-old Gomez made more than a fashion statement by going on the show with a gold 1973 necklace made by New York jeweler Sophie Ratner. 

According to Sophie Ratner’s website, the $380 necklace commemorates the 45th anniversary of the Roe decision. Thirty percent of proceeds from the sale of each necklace will be donated to the pro-abortion advocacy organization, Physicians for Reproductive Health.

“In late May, when Selena was spotted with the 1973 necklace commemorating Roe v. Wade, I had probably 100 [people in] our life tribe reaching out to me over the next couple of weeks, asking, ‘Will you please counter this necklace,’” D’Addesi told The Christian Post.

“I didn't take it seriously after the first couple of people wanted us to counter. And then people were saying, ‘We’ll pay to counter this.’ That's when I started looking for a jeweler and a distributor that would be pro-life and be able to make the necklaces for us.”

D’Addesi, who runs the company with her daughters, said she found a jeweler in Philadelphia who made a mold for the 1972 necklace and now produces the solid gold and silver 1972 necklaces.

A 14-karat gold 1972 necklace costs $350, while a sterling silver 1972 necklace is going for $115. 

Manufactured by Christian Bling, COL 1972 also offers less expensive necklaces.  A silver-plated 1972 necklace is selling for $44, while a gold-plated necklace is selling for $58. 

The necklaces were first listed on the company’s website in early August. Since then, D’Addesi says that around 150 necklaces have been sold. 

“We made all different price points because we don't want to leave anyone out of our tribe,” D’Addesi explained. “So the necklace starts at $44 and go up to $350. The other side is selling their necklaces for $380 for the gold and $115 for the silver. So we are coming in under theirs.”

Along with the “1972” necklaces, customers will receive a small paper suggesting what they could say when asked by their friends or anyone else about what 1972 means.

Customers are advised to tell their friends and acquaintances that 1972 “was the last year we enjoyed a culture of life in the U.S.A.”

COL 1972 was founded to serve as a pro-life alternative for conservative families who don’t approve of how many of the biggest brands in fashion donate to organizations that promote or provide abortions. 

“We are building the life tribe in a fun, glamorous way,” D’Addesi said. “And why shouldn't we be using fashion for good. The other side is using fashion to harm our kids and harm our society. Why shouldn’t we be using fashion to help our society and our kids. We are a brand on a mission.”

Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood clinic manager whose experiences were the focal point of the 2019 movie “Unplanned,” agreed earlier this year to serve as COL 1972’s brand ambassador. 

Johnson is the founder of the pro-life group Then There Were None, which helps abortion workers leave the industry. 

"We look around and we see companies say, ‘This is ethically sourced.’ A lot of these companies that claim to be ethically sourced are donating to America’s biggest abortion provider, which is incredibly unethical," Johnson told CP in May.

"We want to have ethically sourced fashion that is actually going to protect women and their children. Momentum is growing within the pro-life movement and we see all these heartbeat bills being passed. People want alternatives."

COL 1972 also sells clothing and other fashion accessories. Since its founding, the brand has expanded to offer office-appropriate attire to equip pro-life professionals.

In addition to the necklace, D'Addesi said that COL 1972 will soon offer other jewelry for sale as well.