Emily Lyons was born on July 18,1956 and is an American nurse who was gravely injured when Eric Robert Rudolph bombed an abortion clinic in Birmingham, Alabama, where she worked.
15 Facts About Emily Lyons
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Emily Lyons was a prominent figure during Rudolph's trial and sentencing, and has become an activist for abortion rights.
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Emily Lyons received a degree in nursing from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, with a focus on reproductive health, after which she worked in various nursing fields and locations, and taught nursing at the University of Arkansas at Monticello.
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The morning of January 29,1998, Lyons was approaching the clinic, when Robert Sanderson, an off-duty police officer and security guard, bent to inspect an unfamiliar potted plant in the front yard.
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Emily Lyons was severely injured: one eye was destroyed and the other damaged, her hand was mangled, a hole was torn in her abdomen that necessitated the removal of 10 inches of her intestines, and most of the flesh was blown off her legs and hand.
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Emily Lyons was badly burned, her leg was shattered, and shrapnel and nails are permanently buried in her body.
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Emily Lyons spent eight weeks in the hospital and has had over twenty surgeries; even years after the blast, she continued using a wheelchair and had poor hearing and eyesight.
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When Rudolph pleaded guilty and received life in prison, Emily Lyons was "extremely disappointed" that he would not be put to death, but noted that other lives could be saved because Rudolph had revealed where he had hidden explosives, as part of his plea deal.
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Emily Lyons has said that the bombing "flipped a switch in [her] mind," changing her from a quiet person into an outspoken activist.
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In 2005, Lyons appeared in a controversial advertisement opposing the nomination to the Supreme Court of John G Roberts, who seven years before the bombing had filed a brief opposing the prosecution of abortion clinic blockaders under the federal Ku Klux Klan Act.
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Emily Lyons spoke at NARAL Pro-Choice America's press conference opposing the Roberts nomination.
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Emily Lyons spoke in opposition to the nomination of Samuel Alito.
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Emily Lyons is the recipient of Planned Parenthood's Margaret Sanger Woman of Valor Award and the Ms.
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Emily Lyons was the subject of a year-long documentary project by the ABC News program Nightline, filmed from the day of the blast throughout her recovery during her first year.
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Emily Lyons's experiences formed part of the 2006 documentary Lake of Fire, whose title comes from threats and hate mail Emily Lyons received telling her that she would go to hell.