Kaja is a student at DePaul University and although she is very committed to advancing the pro-life message, her study abroad experience distracted her from this passion. Her trip to the March for Life reignited that passion!

Here is her story:

Enter Kaja…

Before going to the March for Life this year, I spent four months studying abroad in Bonn, Germany where my previous pro-life involvement at DePaul was forgotten and pushed aside.

At least to my knowledge, the Bonn campus did not address the issue, which made me question whether abortion actually existed in the “ultra-tolerant” and “democratic” country of Germany. However, my temporary carefree and almost indifferent attitude towards the issue cannot in any way be excused by my preoccupation with the ‘study abroad experience’. Even when I came back to Chicago, I felt disconnected from the Respect for Life group at DePaul, and it was not until the March for Life that I became re-inspired for real.

It would be a huge mistake to try to pinpoint a single event during the march and the conference that caused the major change in my attitude. However, I do remember a few moments that always stick out when I recall my experience there.

The two events occurred during the march itself: seeing the brutal and painful images projected on a screen on one of the sidewalks through which we marched and later experiencing pro-choice protestors’ aggressive signs and shouts in our direction.

The images stirred in me a strong feeling of disbelief at the enormous violence inflicted upon innocent babies, and although these images were awful and gruesome, I could not pull my eyes away. I wanted to imprint those images upon my heart so as to never stop fighting for life and human dignity.

The confrontation with pro-choice protestors also shook me, especially when a pro-choice female with a sign that called women bitches approached our group. In response to her terribly vulgar and sad poster, all of the girls in our group (Loyola, DePaul, Dominican, Northwestern, and UIC) began to chant “Women deserve better”. Guys in the group joined in right away, however that moment became particularly significant to me as a woman fighting for better choices and conditions for young mothers (and all women in general).

The conference the next day also proved to be amazing and extremely insightful. All throughout the conference, inspired and touched by speakers and activists, I often could not hold back tears. It was a beautiful environment in which I became acutely ashamed of my previous indifference. It was an environment which exposed everything I ignored in Germany and then pushed it to another level. I realized I wanted to fight for the pro-life cause for good this time.

And so after coming back to DePaul, I have rejoined the group as a board member with a position of Outreach Coordinator. So far I have contacted several groups on campus which might express interest in supporting our main goal for this school year: installing changing tables in women’s bathrooms on campus. In addition to that, all of the board members, including myself, coordinate bi-weekly meetings where education and conversation regarding the topic of life and especially abortion take place.

On a more personal note, I work hard to establish my own pro-life identity by educating myself on the topic from different perspectives, by speaking up (although that is by far the hardest!) when the question of life is being trivialized and misunderstood by some of my friends, and by seeking aid from helpful and much stronger people than myself in times of crises and feelings of hopelessness, such as Kevin (SFLI’s Campus Mentor).

Everyday I make sure my passion for abolishing abortion and spreading the message of life does not die down, and as of now I am fully dedicated to this beautiful cause.

Love Life,
Kaja :)

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Thanks Kaja!

I think it’s impressive that Kaja is able to see that she really needs to establish her own pro-life identity. This is an important realization. If you do not invest in your own knowledge and passion, you will not be much help in advancing our cause.

Kaja knows this. Do you?

What are you doing to invest in YOUR pro-life identity?

This week’s story is from Joe Paolelli of Loyola Students for Life.

Joe’s story can inspire many of us who are pro-life but have had our passion wane. There are a lot of pro-lifers out there who need to be inspired just like Joe was at this year’s March for Life!

Enter Joe…

Raised in a pro-life household and inspired by the example of my mother, who runs a pro-life ministry at our church, I was always an unwavering supporter of life. Seeing the film Silent Scream in high school particularly galvanized my commitment to the pro-life cause. However, this commitment was essentially limited to voting for pro-life politicians and wearing a pro-life button on my backpack.

I must confess that in the back of my mind, I viewed the fight against abortion as a losing battle; the die had been cast in 1973, and it didn’t appear to be changing anytime soon. My commitment would always remain, but I wondered if justice would ever truly be restored for the unborn.

Going on the March turned my dismal thoughts upside down.

I joined more than half a million people on a freezing hike through our nation’s capital and despite a bitter chill in the air, the enthusiasm was joyful and electric.

As we approached the Capitol building, I realized the true magnitude of our statement: we had come (in droves!) to call on our leaders to respect the rights of the voiceless. And seeing the enthusiasm and hope in others on the March inspired hope within me that someday abortion will be illegal, and unborn life— and pregnant mothers — will be given the respect and protection they deserve.

I found my pro-life voice on the March.

In a culture that is too shallow, distracted, and just plain afraid to talk about serious issues of right and wrong, I found my voice, and I will no longer be silent.

I will no longer be a passive member of this movement, but an active one—spreading the pro-life message with conviction, grace, and charm. As we chanted in Washington, “We are the pro-life generation!” And we have a voice!

[image credit, nytimes]

With all the students from Illinois who attended the March for Life, there are many moving stories of their experiences. So, I’m going to post these on a weekly basis so you can continue to be inspired by these amazing students!

Today, we have a reflection from Molly Dettmann of Dominican University who has already started making an impact on her campus. After being inspired by the March for Life she sought out the help of SFLI Campus Mentor, Kevin Grillot to learn how to turn that inspiration into meaningful action.

Enter Molly…

Ever since I was little, the issue of abortion has been very real to me. I grew up in a pro-life family and my parents taught me at a young age the importance of life and how sacred this special gift is.

However, the March for Life was always some giant exciting event that seemed very distant and far away. I would hear about it occasionally, but the opportunity to attend seemed more like a bucket list item than an actual reality. It wasn’t until I got older and started college that I became much more aware of the importance of being up to date with the current issues in our country.

I attend a small private liberal arts college and while I was sitting in seminar last semester, my professor started giving a litany of her political beliefs and views on abortion which radically differed with my pro-life values. Before I could even find the courage to voice my opinion, the whole class was agreeing with my professor and I soon realized the uphill battle I would be fighting in the tolerant world we are living in today. I was outnumbered, upset, and felt alone in my beliefs about life.

However, great moments are born from great opportunities. I soon saw an advertisement on campus for the March for Life!

Was it a risk?

Yes.

Was I nervous?

You bet.

But did I answer the call to attend the March? Yes I did and it was an experience that changed my life and inspired me in more ways than one.

From the moment I met up with the other students from the Archdiocese of Chicago for the March, there was an incredible sense of a family, love, and hope. Fear was replaced by courage, anxiety replaced by excitement, and loneliness in my beliefs replaced by the vibrant spirit of thousands of students my age who were coming together to stand for life!

At the actual march, I will never forget the moment when our group of about 60 students turned the corner on a street in D.C and the sight of over 500,000 people of all different ages, races, and backgrounds, guys and girls, babies and grandparents, children and students, moms and dads, completely filled the streets and all you could hear were chants and cheers for life!

I will never forget that moment.

It was then were I realized that I wasn’t alone, I was supported beyond my belief and that I was apart of the largest social justice movement since the movement for Civil Rights. Now that’s awesome!

The next day at the Students for Life of America “Be Courageous” conference, I along with over 2,000 other students like me received the information, inspiration, and the tools we would need to be advocates for life on our campuses and to spread the message of life while encouraging others to be silent no more.

One of the speakers said, “Silence in the face of evil is evil itself”. This quote hit me like a ton of bricks. I couldn’t be silent anymore while trying to not hurt anybody’s feelings about abortion or to not cause conflict; I have a duty to the 55 million who never got the chance to speak up because abortion silenced them forever. I would spread the message of life through words and works of love.

Today, I am proud to say that I am no longer afraid to spread the pro-life message to those around me.

Our pro-life group, Stars for Life, has many great events planned for this semester and I have already had multiple students approach me about learning more about what they can do for the pro-life cause and just wanting to learn the truth about abortion.

It is an unbelievable feeling to know that just through talking with others and standing up for what’s right, that I can play a role in saving the lives of innocent children. It is never easy to be a voice when everyone else is silent and fear is always knocking at the door, but courage is not the absence of fear; but the willingness to act in spite of fear.

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Thank you, Molly for your willingness to act in spite of fear!

For those who want to keep up with the great work of the pro-life students at Dominican, go here:

Dominican Stars for Life Facebook Page.

The following speech was delivered by Zac Davis, former SFLI intern and President of Loyola Students for Life at their vigil for the 40th anniversary of Roe v Wade. Only a sophomore, Zac is part of the new generation of pro-lifers who will bring an end to abortion.

Enter Zac…

January 22, 1973.

On this day 40 years ago, abortion was legalized in the United States of America.

The number 40 holds significance in several regions of life. In Judaism, rain fell for 40 days and 40 nights and the people wandered in Exodus for 40 years. In Christianity, Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights in the desert, and 40 days were said to have passed between Christ’s resurrection and ascension. In Islam, the prophet Muhammad was 40 years old when he first received revelation from the angel Gabriel, and the Quran states that a person is fully grown only when they are 40. This is consistent with secular thoughts today: people say “life begins at 40,” and just recently a film was released titled “This is 40,” which seems to define being middle-aged.

It takes 40 years for a new generation to rise up.

In the past 40 years, we’ve witnessed more than 50 million reported abortions. 50 million children torn from the womb, 50 million mothers pushed to the fear and anxiety of an unexpected pregnancy, who felt abortion was there best option. 50 million fewer fathers; 50 million fewer siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles. 50 million fewer first days of school.

There are more than 50 million reasons to stand up for life, but I argue that we need only one.

We only need to focus on one friend or roommate or co-worker hurt by the tragedy that abortion brings. We only need one instance of the anxiety that a woman feels when she’s shocked by a pregnancy test. We only need to witness one birth of a child to see how beautiful our gift of creating life truly is.

So here we stand today.

Solemnly acknowledging the passing of 40 years since the legalization of abortion in the United States of America. The gravity of the situation leaves many questions to be answered.

This is our generation’s response:

“We are sick of the culture of death. We’re sick of seeing our peers suffer from more abortions. We’re sick of missing brothers, sisters, cousins, nieces, nephews, Godsons and Goddaughters. We’re sick of seeing single moms struggling without any resources.

Together, we are screaming: ‘We are here. We have value; so do you and so does everyone else. Let’s treat each other as such.’”

As important and essential as they are, our first steps as the pro-life movement cannot be to sidewalk counsel in front of an abortion clinic, or to march on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
Our first steps must be in the way we treat the very people close to us.

I believe much truth is found in declaring, “nothing you say to anyone matters, unless they know you love them first.” We cannot change minds and hearts exclusively, and we have a responsibility to make ourselves available to anyone should they ever seek help in dealing with a crisis pregnancy.

We cannot escape the last 40 years, but they do not shackle us. Abortion will end. We need only one reason to stand up for life, but we need far more than one person to do it.

There is a story from the desert mystics that teaches us an important lesson.

Abba Lot went to see Abba Joseph and said to him, “Abba, as far as I can I say my Little Office. I fast a little. I pray. I meditate. I live in peace and as far as I can. I purify my thoughts. What else am I to do?” Then the old man stood up, stretched his hands towards heaven and his fingers became like ten lamps of fire, and he said to him, “If you will, you can become all flame.”

We stand at this vigil with the flame from our candles as well as the flame within us. If we will it, we can become all flame; the flame that fuels the fire our cold culture of death so desperately requires. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. reminds us, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”

Our movement needs each of our flames. We need the lawyers to fight in the courts, the people in the medical field to save lives, the mathematicians to provide statistical analysis on abortion, etc. etc. We must find ways to use the gifts and talents we have to save and better lives. But consistent through all gifts and all vocations, we find the call to love. Love is our most valuable weapon in this war on life.

Share with everyone you encounter the joy of the pro-life movement. We will and must take time to enter into solemn silence to remember the countless heartbreaks from abortion. But in-between those times we must take every opportunity we can to celebrate life.

The purpose of a vigil, at least taking the root of the word, is to keep watch. Tonight we keep watch and bear witness to the tragedy of the last 40 years. But we must move from watching to action. We cannot let the issue of abortion become an intellectual playground for debate. We must make this issue personal. We must do everything we can within the bounds of love to end this.

I conclude with the words from the second inaugural address of Abraham Lincoln: who also faced a nation who found itself severely polarized in regards to an issue of severe destruction to human dignity.

“With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”

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Thank you Zac for your inspiration and leadership at Loyola and with Students for Life of Illinois!