July 9, 2010

By Dave Andrusko

Over the last two weeks I've written about NRLC 2010 at some length. But thanks to the yeoman work of NRLC's Communications Departments, NRL News was only one of many news outlets in Pittsburgh June 24-26 to witness upwards of 1,000 activists celebrate life at the 40th annual NRLC convention. (See "Use of New Media Converges with Traditional Media Outreach at NRLC 2010" at http://www.nrlc.org/News_and_Views/July10/nv070210part3.html)

Young Pro-Lifers were a major focus of NRLC 2010

Because it focused on young people--and how they came to be a part of the Movement--among the best stories appeared in "Our Sunday Visitor" (OSV). You can read the story for yourself at www.osv.com/DesktopModules/EngagePublish/printerfriendly.aspx?itemId=6606&P so let me offer just a few remarks about the story which focused on teens attending the 25th annual Teens for Life convention and their advisors.

First and foremost, there was no one reason that, for example, James Balch or Bethany Schumacher or Derrick Jones or Joleigh Little joined the Movement. Some had parents deeply enmeshed in the fight for life, another had an older sister who modeled involvement, others first memories are stuffing envelopes for a local pro-life group, while still others had no hard and fast opinion until they researched the abortion issue.

Second, in an unprecedented egalitarian age, the old pro-abortion argument that abortion is "[strictly] a woman's issue" sounds embarrassingly lame. As James Balch told OSV, "This is a human issue, and the effects of abortion are incomprehensible."

Third, pro-life young people come equipped to handle "'animosity, preconceived, judgmental and even extreme' reactions from peers who are pro-choice," according to reporter Maryann Gogniat Eidemiller.

Like pro-lifers of all ages, they know that much resistance is rooted in uninformed emotionalism. Knowing your pro-life "Ps' and "Qs" goes a long ways towards disarming objections.

But Schumacher noted that among their peers "apathy" may be the biggest obstacle to overcome. "They say that they would never have an abortion, but that they wouldn't stand in the way of someone else's rights," she said. "Obviously, that's not how we [in pro-life] feel about it. It really is an injustice that needs to be corrected, no matter who is involved."

Derrick Jones wears numerous hats. For NRLC he is Communications Director. For National Teens for Life he is co-advisor along with Joleigh Little.

One of the themes NTL has championed for years is a simple but powerful truth: post-Roe v. Wade, any child could have been aborted, and thus if you are alive you are an abortion survivor.

"You realize that you are one of the lucky ones," Jones told OSV. "A lot of us have stories like that and become pro-life almost as a sense of duty. You realize that something has to give, something has to stop, so you get involved and educate your peers about what abortion has done to our generation and what it has done to our friends."

Please send all of your comments to daveandrusko@gmail.com. If you like, join those who are now following me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/daveha.

Part One
Part Two
Part Three