(Human Life International) Seventeen-year-old Laurence was scheduled to have an abortion the next day. The Rwandan teenager had been impregnated by the man who was recruiting her to promote contraceptive use among her fellow students. A providentially timed school workshop by Human Life International Rwanda opened Laurence’s eyes to the truth about abortion, and she chose life for her preborn baby.
Human Life International Rwanda teaches high school students about abstinence and educates them on the long-term damage caused by contraceptive use and abortion. The program invites young people like Laurence to apply prayer and other Christian disciplines in pursuit of a chaste life.
With her abortion already set for the following day, Laurence approached the Human Life International Rwanda team for help. She wanted to keep her baby, and she wanted to pursue a more spiritual, chaste life. Having been recruited to promote contraceptives among her peers by the pro-abortion advocate who fathered and then paid for her baby’s abortion, Laurence was in need of support on several levels.
Human Life International Rwanda staff helped Laurence tell her mother about her preborn baby and elicit a commitment to help with the child so that Laurence could return to school after the birth. They assisted with medical fees, baby supplies, and negotiating a leave of absence from, and eventual return to, school.
Rwanda has one of highest population densities in sub-Saharan Africa, thus making it a favorite target of population control proponents. More than 65 percent of the populace is under age 30, and this marks schools as a popular place for those promoting contraceptives and abortion to push their “culture of death” practices according to Human Life International Rwanda Director Aloys Ndengeye.
Ndengeye explained how Health Development Initiative Rwanda (HDI) is mobilizing abortion and contraceptive use among youth under the pretext of reducing teen pregnancies. This, despite the fact that abortion is illegal in predominately Christian, highly Catholic, Rwanda. Like International Planned Parenthood Federation, HDI makes a practice of regularly visiting the area’s public schools. This, he added, has resulted in “increasing venereal diseases, sexualizing our youth, and killing innocent preborn babies through abortion.”
Dr. Brian Clowes, Human Life International’s Director of Education and Research, sees Laurence’s story as representative of many young women who have been influenced by the deadly messaging of population control proponents.
“Laurence was faced with an unexpected pregnancy in her native Rwanda. The only option offered her by Western population control groups was abortion. But then she heard a pro-life presentation by Human Life International the day before her abortion was scheduled, and she chose life for her baby. We are strongly reminded of the Biblical wisdom of Proverbs 18:17, which says ‘He who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him,’” shared Clowes. “This is the task of all of the pro-life groups all over the world: to offer life-affirming options that the groups marketing abortion deliberately do not mention.”
Ndengeye added that Laurence, “is now happy being a mother, and she is thankful to Human Life International for saving her baby, a girl she named Keilla.”
Clowes observed that, “Although successes may be few in the face of overwhelming opposition, the Talmud of Judaism tells us that you ‘Save one life and you save the world’ [Sanhedrin 37a]. This is certainly true in the microcosm of the story of Laurence and Keilla from Rwanda. Every baby and every mother rescued from the deadly grip of abortion is a cause for joyous celebration.”
Ndengeye echoed that joy, saying that this is why Human Life International Rwanda, founded in 2021, exists: “Saving a life which was set for slaughter – it is the greatest treasure.”
Editor’s Note/Author’s Note: This press release was submitted to Live Action News by Human Life International, the only US-based authority on global life issues, including abortion, contraception, and end-of-life concerns. Human Life International is engaged in providing aid, training, and advocacy around the world and is the largest global pro-life and family organization, active in more than 100 countries on six continents. Human Life International provides resources and education on life issues from a Catholic perspective, while providing assistance around the globe, and prepares those training for and those active in ministry to address these matters in their vocation. For more information, visit hli.org.
