7 WAYS THE YOUTH CAN STAND FOR LIFE

By Gabrielle Stafford

The pro-life movement is such an important cause, but what can we do to support it? Are there really plausible and effective ways to fight against the evil of abortion? How can the youth stand against abortion?

These are excellent questions. The horror of abortion seems to be increasing, and the disregard for human life, especially the life of the unborn, seems to be getting worse, but God is certainly moving, women are choosing life, and there are a plethora of ways that we can fight against abortion and practically help women who are considering abortion or are in pregnancy crisis situations.

Many times we may hear the argument that we, as pro-lifers, are really only anti-abortion, and that we don’t really care about the woman, but this is the farthest from the truth. Yes, there are some overly radical people out there that call themselves pro-life and seem to only care that a mother doesn’t get an abortion but they don’t offer any further help. They may yell and scream at people, telling them that they will go to hell if they murder their child, and this hardly ever helps. 

So yes, there are people out there that don’t really care about both mother and child, but there are many more who actually care about the mother, the child and their family, from pregnancy and beyond. 

Your involvement may look different than others but we all can do something in the fight for life. 

There are many places in the world that have non-profit, pro-life organizations that are actively working with women who are pregnant, need help and may be considering an abortion.

For me personally, I work with an organization called Coalition for Life St. Louis (and there are actually other Coalitions for Life in other states, such as Coalition for Life Texas, etc), and our mission is to end abortion peacefully and prayerfully by offering help, information, and counseling to women. 

Coalition for Life St. Louis is made up of an awesome team of people who are passionate about seeing an end to abortion and offering women real help. Our team of sidewalk counselors range in age from sixteen plus, with many of us being between sixteen and twenty-five. Our team has a mixture of both men and women who are all committed to being on the frontlines in an effort to see the evil of abortion come to an end, and give real help to women. 

We host various events, collect baby supplies to give to clients, offer counseling, etc, but the backbone of the organization is our amazing team of sidewalk counselors who stand on the frontlines everyday of two of our local abortion facilities every hour they are open, to speak with the woman who drive in, offering them free resources and other options. 

Some of those free resources include pregnancy tests and ultrasounds, pre-abortion and post-abortion counseling, assistance with employment, financial aid in some situations, etc. 

We want to not only help the mother think through her options and ideally choose life instead of death for her child, but we also offer to walk through the pregnancy with her and stay in contact afterwards if she would like. 

So what can you do? Well, there are many things that you can do in the fight for life and I will share 7 ways to get involved!

1) Prayer 

Prayer is the most important weapon we have in fighting against the evil of abortion. 

Yes, this fight will take being the hands and feet of Jesus and actually talking to and assisting women practically, but even beyond that this is a fight against the devil in the spiritual realm, and we cannot do it by ourselves. It takes God, and it takes us being prayerful before we even do anything else. 

We want to be there for the women and her child, and we want to see abortion end and become unthinkable, but we need God for all of it! He is the one that moves upon the hearts of mankind and helps them see that unborn life is valuable, and that abortion is indeed murder and an abomination. 

There are many organizations that are dedicated to fervently praying and taking action. One example is 40 Days for Life. 

40 Days for Life Campaigns are a wonderful opportunity to physically be present at abortion facilities, to make a stand and to pray. This organization is “an international, grassroots anti-abortion organization that campaigns against abortion in more than 60 nations worldwide. It was originally started in 2004 by members of the Brazos Valley Coalition for Life.” Click the link here to read more from the international website.

Simply put, 40 Days for Life is when you rally people to physically go to local abortion facilities to pray for 40 days straight. The organization that I work for hosts a Spring and a Fall campaign and we work to fill every hour from 7am to 7pm with someone in front of the abortion facility praying. We have individuals that come to pray and whole groups that adopt a day and their people come throughout the day to cover each hour and pray. (Feel free to reach out to me for more info.) 

This is the most important thing that we all can do – get on our knees and pray. Pray for the mother, the child, their families; the hearts of those who advocate for the death and mass murder of unborn children, and for policiticans, abortionists, nurses, and whoever else is involved in the abortion industry. 

Whether you ever end up physically going to an abortion facility or not, you can absolutely still pray. If you have a friend or someone that you know that is considering an abortion or just doesn’t know what to do, always pray before having a conversations. Earnestly pray that they would be open to the good news of the gospel, and to other options that are available. And whether you personally know someone or not, abortions are happening everyday, so pray for women who might be considering it, every single day. 

God is more than able to change hearts and minds. So pray, pray, pray!

2) Sidewalk Counseling

Proverbs 31:8 reads, “Open your mouth for the mute, For the rights of all who are unfortunate and defenseless;”

For those of you unfamiliar with the phrase “sidewalk counseling,” essentially it is when there are people standing in front of abortion facilities approaching each car as they drive in and offering them free resources and other healthcare alternatives, counseling, etc. Sidewalk Counselors are there to educate clients about their choices, offer help and love to them. 

Last year I prayerfully approached the car of a client driving into the abortion facility where I was sidewalk counseling, and she was going in for a surgical abortion. As we kept talking I found out that she actually hates Planned Parenthood (the local abortion facility), the idea of abortion and she never thought she’d ever be here, but she was a single parent with four kids and already struggling with that so she felt like she just couldn’t have a fifth one, especially financially. She was super hesitant, emotional and conflicted but as another car behind her came, edging her in I told her to just call the number on the pamphlet I gave her and don’t even go in. 

A few minutes later I was able to go to where she was parked and speak with her through the fence. Still very conflicted and emotional, I encouraged her to just come over and get a free ultrasound at the mobile medical unit that I was standing next to on the other side of the fence. She did indeed ditch her abortion appointment and recieved the free ultrasound, and later when she was finished I was able to speak with her and she said “thank you so much for stopping me.” I will always remember those words. 

Can you imagine how many abortions would have never happened if there was someone there to stop them?! 

Not every car stops and accepts the help of course. Sometimes there are people who throw insults at you, some who don’t even look at you when you’re trying to speak to them, and some cars don’t even stop at all, but speed past instead. But even though there are rejections and some are very pro-choice and might yell or give the middle finger, God is still on the move, changing hearts, and women are choosing life.

Sidewalk counselors are physically on the frontlines on a regular basis speaking to clients and constantly in prayer, and are given a very unique opportunity to fight the battle up close and personal. It can be very hard, draining and emotional, but incredibly rewarding, and even if the client doesn’t turn around, seeds can still be planted while having good conversations. 

If you’re at all interested in fighting on the frontlines I would recommend finding out if there are any organizations near you that have a team of sidewalk counselors that you can join, or you can even be the one to start a team in your area.

3) Volunteer 

Are you a medical student, or are you a retired nurse? If so you can volunteer at a pregnancy crisis center and serve mothers medically. And even if you don’t have any particular skill level or degree, there are many ways to volunteer and there are many organizations that would love to have you, or even pro-life candidates for office that you can campaign for.  

Volunteer opportunities can range from making phone calls, organizing baby showers, taking charge of collecting donations and baby items, sidewalk counseling, mailings, or even being trained to counsel women. 

There are many organizations and ministries that are working in the pro-life movement, both to help the mother, families and spread the gospel. Some of these are Life International,  Heartbeat international, National Right To Life, Pro-Life Action Ministries, Care Net, Students for Life of America. 

4) Give Financially 

Find a pro-life organization, or group that serves the mother and baby, and consider giving financially. Whether that means giving a one time or monthly financial gift. It may not seem like much, but financial gifts are important and helpful in the individual missions of organizations to end abortion and pratically serve mothers and their families. 

5) Get Informed 

Maybe you don’t really understand why abortion is murder, or you simply want to understand the pro-choice stance better, and even understand a woman’s body and the process of both the surgical and pill forms of abortions. Take some time to learn and get informed, and research in God’s Word what He thinks about children and what He thinks about murder. 

Learn about the various stages of pregnancy and when the heartbeat is detected, when body parts starts to develop, and even how there are so many emotional, physical and mental consquences and effects on women after abortions. 

I would encourage you to do your own research and get informed on what’s going on in your local communities and neighborhoods – do you have local abortion facilites near you? What’s legal in your area, concerning abortions, and up until what weeks of pregnancy are they allowed?

Attend pro-life conferences and be ready to learn, take notes, speak with inspiring pro-life leaders and advocates, and be encouraged by what’s going on and how God is moving even in the midst of everything. 

6) Support Others In The Fight

Another way that you can get involved is by supporting those who are actively advocating for life, whether they are a speaker, a politician or even an organization. 

Practically this can look like reading and sharing articles they write or videos they make, sharing verbally and/or on social media what they do and all the content they produce, and repost what they share. And above that, praying for them as well, and maybe even writing them to encourage them in the fight.

7) Engage in Conversation 

In addition to getting informed, don’t be afraid to engage in conversation about abortion, especially when the opportunity presents itself. Whether that means family, friends, or even coworkers.  

It could be a conversation that you initiate, or a conversation that you join. You may not even say a lot, you may simply ask questions, such as: 

Does the baby have a right to life? 

What do you think about late-term abortion?

Should abortion be used as a form of birth control?

Even if someone was raped, don’t you think that an abortion can be just as traumatic and life altering? 

Is abortion wrong if it causes pain to the fetus?

Do you believe it is sad and tragic when a woman dies from an abortion, whether it is an illegal back-alley abortion or a legal abortion?

Why is an unborn child not a human, but people call the murder of a pregnant woman double homicide? 

What if a woman who is financially struggling doesn’t really want an abortion, but feels like she has to. What would you tell her?

Asking questions that will make others think can be helpful in them actually taking the time to think it through, and God can use even just a few words to plant a seed and help people see how evil abortion is. 

If we’re not standing on truth and sharing truth, how will others know the truth? 

We are the pro-life generation, and there are more of us than we think that are standing strong on the truth of God’s Word, which states that, “children are a heritage and gift from the Lord,” (Psalm 127:3a).  

Psalm 24:11, 12 reads, “Rescue those who are being taken away to death, And those who stagger to the slaughter, Oh hold them back [from their doom]!

There are hundreds of children who are being slaughtered everyday, and we have a responsibility to stand up and speak up for the helpless. We can’t just standby and watch this atrocity continue to happen without doing our part to pray, and if it be possible get involved in other ways as God leads. 

I implore you to talk to God about where you can get involved in the pro-life movement and fight for life.

I’ve heard it said that when abortion was legalized (in America especially) the spirit of death has run rampant in the land, and I don’t doubt that’s true. We have to stand up to the enemy and fight against the evil spirit of murder, and protect God’s creation. 

The abortion industry is essentially at war with God. How dare they boldly defile His creation? And how dare we say nothing/do nothing about it?

We cannot and will not standby and watch the continued mass murder of God’s creation. We will fight, we will stand, and share truth, no matter the ridicule we may face. 

So, how can the youth stand against abortion? First, we can get on our knees regularly to pray, and we can engage in conversations, get informed, give financially, volunteer, and learn to sidewalk counsel. 

Now go out, fight the enemy and stand for the sanctity of life, from birth to natural death.