June 9, 2010

By Derrick Jones

Part Two today is a fiery column by the incomparable Nat Hentoff. Part Three talks about how even the New York Times is acknowledging PPFA's latest death-dealing enterprise. Over at National Right to Life Today (www.nationalrighttolifenews.org), Liz Townsend talks about an adorable ultrasound and Alex Schadenberg updates us on several successes against the pro-assisted suicide movement. 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.

Summer brings three things to Washington: 90 degree days, tourists from around the world, and some of the country's best and brightest college students for summer internships. Every year, National Right to Life hosts young men and women from across the country as part of both our college internship program and the National Right to Life Academy.

The interns are spread across the office's four floors, assisting with the day-to-day operations of ten different departments within NRLC. They'll work for 8-10 weeks through the summer, living in the nation's capital, learning the mechanics of the pro-life movement and aiding the staff with all of the projects that help our movement make a difference in the lives of the most vulnerable members of our society.

Already the interns have proven invaluable: writing features for National Right to Life News Today and scripts for our daily radio program, Pro-Life Perspective; preparing materials for the annual National Right to Life Convention; and researching state laws governing advanced directives, to name just three.

The 2010 National Right to Life Intern class includes:

• Steve Duran, a student at the Franciscan University of Steubenville is working in our Financial Services and Outreach Departments.

• Rachel Rinehart, from Virginia's College of William and Mary, is also working in our Outreach Department.

• Kelsey McCrum of Christendom College, is a returning intern in our State Organizational Development and Convention Departments.

• Joel Pavelski, a journalism student at Hillsdale College in Michigan joins our Communications Department.

• Brandon Beacham at the University of South Carolina, and a 2009 graduate of the NRL Academy program, will work in our Political Department.

• Jessica Deal, a student at the University of Dallas, will assist the staff of our Federal Legislation Department.

• Elaine Stenson, also a student at the University of Dallas, and a returning intern in our State Organizational Development and Convention Department.

• Jonathan Wolfe, another University of Dallas student joins our Development Department for the summer.

• Sean McMahon from Ave Maria University is working with the staff of our Education Department.

• Rebecca Knight, a California native at Oral Roberts University in Oklahoma is spending her summer at our United Nations Office in New York.

These interns will be joined throughout the summer by three interns who are participating in the Students for Life of America internship program. SFLA interns do three three-week rotations one with a pro-life organization; one with a pro-life Congressional office; and one at the SFLA headquarters.

This is the second year National Right to Life has participated in the program and we are thrilled to welcome Jon Scharfenberger, Mark Guillaudeu, and Jess Brown. Additionally, Wesley Robinson, a law student at Villanova University School of Law, will clerk in the Powell Center for Medical Ethics as part of the Alliance Defense Fund's Blackstone Fellowship Program.

The National Right to Life Academy, a six-week intensive training program for pro-life college students founded in 2008, kicks off with the annual National Right to Life convention. Over the course of six weeks, the students of the NRL Academy will learn the history of the pro-life movement, study the arguments surrounding the life issues and receive training in the art of public speaking and communication. The students will put what they learned to the test by participating in hands-on practicum sessions. They will be challenged to articulate the pro-life message in speeches, simulated lobbying situations and writing exercises. This program empowers young pro-life advocates to become leaders on their college campuses and beyond.

The 2010 Academy class includes:

• Abigail Richardson, a student at Anderson University.

• Anna Hogan, a Pennsylvania native attending the Franciscan University of Steubenville.

• Natalie Fohl from New York who attends McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

• Vanessa Rodriguez, a native Texan who will be attending the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston in the fall.

• Andrew Votipka, a student at the University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill.

Part Two
Part Three