Why Pro-Life Groups are Essential to College Campuses

Coming down the hill from my college apartment to the end of the street where my bus stop was bothered me more and more everyday. My bus stop was directly in front of Planned Parenthood. I knew that as I would wait to be taken to school I had to stand silently while several lives were being taken right behind me. On a particular day, when the reality of it became too much for me, I looked around to see if it bothered anyone else waiting for that bus. A mix of headphones, last minute notecards, and weekend conversations surrounding me made me feel as if I was the only one who noticed. I couldn't stand there silently anymore. Something has to be done! But how? Shortly after that thought I was faced with someone new at that bus stop... a sidewalk counselor, finally someone who cared too! After asking her what I could do, she led me to the Students for Life group at Western Michigan University. This group would soon become my best friends, my family, my home. I then knew how to solve this problem.

Joining the Pro-Life movement and my Students for Life group was a very easy decision for me. I made a ton of friends and most of my current friends were very supportive. However, not everyone around me was as warm to the thought of it as I had hoped.  I'd always get asked, "Why do you bother? Do you really think you're going to make a difference?" So here it is. College Pro-Life groups do two things on their campuses in order to turn that tide and make a difference; One, bring those who are silent about their Pro-Life stances out of the shadows and into the movement and two, change the hearts of those who think abortion is an acceptable option for pregnancy. In order to bring Pro-Life people out of silence, Students for Life groups offer a welcome, caring environment to join so that students know they will not be alone. In a "politically correct" world, they are faced with what abortion does to us as humans; how it affects babies, mothers, fathers, and everyone in between. They become bothered with this and directly face their stance. Students for Life groups offer a way to stand up for that very position. Changing hearts to convert to the Pro-Life movement gets a little messier, but can be done just the same. There are three types of people that Students for Life groups think of in this aspect; people who take a stance for the Pro-Choice side, people who are faced with a pregnancy and have a very important decision to make, and post-abortive people who may feel either good or guilty about the decision they have already made. Students for Life groups help all of these types of people in a caring, compassionate manner. They expose abortion for what it really is, face people with reality, and ask logical questions to make others think about what they are accepting. They offer forgiveness, advice, donations, an ear to listen, hope, and most importantly a chance at a better life. With the presence of a Pro-Life group, people are subjected to thinking about abortion in a way that they may have never been opened up to. They let people know that life does matter!

Programs like Pregnant on Campus Initiative, Genocide Awareness Project, The Planned Parenthood Project, Pro-Life Day of Silent Solidarity, and 40 Days for Life are available for providing students with resources and education. Events such as flyering, tabling, speaker events, movie nights, going undercover, and countless others that Students for Life groups are hosting are opening minds.  I have seen victims of abortion and how it affects them and I have firsthand seen what Students for Life does to change that. Students are the biggest targets of Planned Parenthood and other abortion clinics to prey on and as young people it is our power and duty to stand against it. Students for Life is at the heart of the Pro-Life movement. They educate, challenge, support, and care about their fellow students. They open their minds, change their hearts, save lives, and change the world. So here's my answer. Yes! Yes, I do think that I am going to make a difference and I know that Pro-Life groups on college campuses are already making a difference. The tide is turning!