2014 is a new year, and a new opportunity for pro-lifers to stand up and take charge in the fight for life against abortion. The pro-life movement is growing stronger, and we have seen some amazing successes in 2013, like the closing of abortion clinics across the country, and a wave of pro-life laws to protect women and babies. We have momentum behind us right now, but that wave will only continue if pro-lifers continue to speak out and fight. Are you wondering how you can get involved? Here are ten ways to fight abortion in 2014.
- Educate yourself. One of the first things we all must do in order to be a successful pro-life advocate is to make sure we are educated on pro-life issues. Make sure you know what the different kinds of abortion procedures are and how they are performed. Brush up on the facts about fetal development — being able to point out that the baby has a heartbeat, for example, at only 21 days can make a huge difference to someone who might believe the abortion industry’s claims that the baby is only a “clump of tissue”. It’s also important to learn about various abortion industry abuses, such as the examples of illegal and unethical behavior uncovered by Live Action. Finally, make sure you can adequately debate the pro-life issue. Life Training Institute and Feminists For Life both have excellent resources to help you form rebuttals to the most common pro-abortion arguments.
- Be political. Whether you are someone who is ordinarily politically active or not, make 2014 a year to make your voice heard, in your local community and in Washington, D.C. 2014 is an election year, so take the time to do some research. Local politicians, governors, and members of the United States Congress will be up for re-election. Are the people representing you pro-life? If not, look at who is running against them and their position on abortion; if their opposition is pro-life, then consider volunteering or donating to their campaign. At the very least, make your position known at the ballot box. When pro-life bills are introduced, make sure to contact your politician and show your support. The amount of political involvement you take on can be as much or as little as you want, but without pro-lifers representing us in politics, abortion will continue to be taxpayer funded and legal.
Become a distributor of The Advocate. The Advocate is Live Action’s national student magazine, and it is currently distributed not only in all 50 states, but internationally as well. Many people often don’t know the truth about the abortion industry in the United States. The many crimes of Planned Parenthood fly under the radar, with a large number of Americans unaware that they even perform abortions — unsurprising, when you consider how often the media portrays them as a health care organization which performs mammograms and cancer screenings. That’s why publications like The Advocate are so important. It is a tool to start conversations and make sure that people know the facts about abortion. By becoming a distributor, you will have that tool at your disposal to change hearts and minds, as well as hopefully save lives.- Participate in 40 Days for Life. 40 Days for Life first started in 2004, and since then, campaigns are held twice a year all over the world. Thousands upon thousands of lives have been saved over the years. Participants use prayer and fasting, peaceful vigils, and community outreach to make a difference in the fight to end abortion. The next campaign is in March. You can find a campaign near you here, and if there isn’t one, then consider starting one.
- Start a pro-life organization. Lila Rose founded Live Action when she was 15 years old. It grew to an organization that exposed the abuses of Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry, educates youth through The Advocate, and has the largest pro-life platform on social media. If you want to make a difference in the fight for life, you have to start small — and that means making a difference in your own community. Start a pro-life organization at your school or church. You never know the lives you can save or the difference you might make.
Spend one day a month at your local abortion clinic. There is no doubt that plenty of women go into an abortion clinic without actually wanting to have an abortion. They’re pressured into it by their parents or their partner. They think that they have no other choice — they can’t afford a baby, they’re in school, they worry they’ll lose their job. They have no idea that there is another option, that they do have a choice. And that is where sidewalk counselors come in. Reaching out to these women in crisis can mean, literally, the difference between life and death. And it can also spare the woman of a potential lifetime of pain and grief. Sidewalk counseling might seem intimidating, but it can have a real impact.- Support your local crisis pregnancy center. The abortion lobby hates crisis pregnancy centers. They are constantly maligned and attacked, and it’s easy to see why. Giving women other options besides abortion is not something “pro-choicers” ever want to see happen. It takes away profits from organizations like Planned Parenthood, for example. If women are deciding to keep their babies, then abortionists stand to lose thousands of dollars. And as hated as they are, crisis pregnancy centers do a lot of good work. There are any number of services that may be offered at a crisis pregnancy center, like free medical care or ultrasounds, but usually, women will be offered free pregnancy tests, education about prenatal care, assistance in signing up for Medicaid, WIC, and other resources. You can sign up to counsel women if you’re interested, or you can make a donation — either a financial donation, or by donating goods like baby furniture, diapers, clothes, etc.
Attend the March for Life or other pro-life rallies. March for Life in Washington, D.C. is the largest pro-life event in the world. Every year on the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, which made abortion legal in all 50 states, hundreds of thousands of pro-lifers join in a demonstration against abortion. Can’t make it to Washington, D.C.? Keep your ear to the ground for other pro-life demonstrations you can join.- Join counter-demonstrations. Cecile Richards and her pro-abortion mob descended on Austin, Texas last summer to protest a now-infamous bill that outraged abortion advocates. Much attention was paid to these pro-aborts, but they weren’t the only ones there. Pro-lifers showed up to counter the pro-abortion protests. Activism sometimes requires us to venture into unfriendly territory. In Austin, for example, pro-lifers were subjected to abuse and vitriol from the pro-aborts. But it is imperative that we are present during pro-abortion protests as well, trying to educate people about the truth of abortion and the abortion industry and counteracting the pro-abortion lies.
- Speak out. The worst thing that we can do as pro-lifers is remain silent. Make your voice heard in 2014. Whether it’s just having a casual conversation with a friend or family member, or sharing pro-life stories on social media, it is incredibly important to make sure that you are speaking out. Pro-lifers are very rarely given a voice in the pro-abortion media, so it is up to us to get out the facts. However you do it, speak up. Find your voice and use it. Millions of unborn children don’t have a voice, and it is up to us to speak for them.
