SUMMER 2023 NEWSLETTER

Featured Article:

History of the American Pro-Life Movement (Part 1), by Matthew Belyea

“Susan B. Anthony was a radical feminist, whom we should emulate today!”

We often hear this from people today who are for abortion and are against the pro-life movement. Another thing we hear about today is how the pro-life movement is novel and that it has its roots in white supremacy. These arguments are often reactionary, and have no base in American history. The correct reading of history leads us to conclude that many of the heroes that pro-choicers emulate, were in fact, against the murder of babies.

Long before the Seneca Falls Convention, many figures in American history argued that the right to life was inherent in all human beings. Thomas Jefferson, the author of the U.S. Declaration of Independence stated that “The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government”. Constantly, we are taught that the American Revolution fought for life, liberty, and happiness. It seems as if life was the most important out of these rights and that everyone had a right to life. Mr. Jefferson himself understood this. Whether he would’ve supported abortion or not, we do not know, but we do know that he believed in the inherent dignity of human beings. After Americans had fought for their freedom from the tyranny of Great Britain, Americans looked at the unjust act of slavery and begun to wonder if they were being hypocrites.

Fast forward to the presidency of Abraham Lincoln, we begin to see some of the defining moments in the pro-life movement in America, such as the Seneca Falls Convention, the Emancipation Proclamation, and Juneteenth. Each of these movements were influenced by the revolutionary value of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Women and slaves stood up for their equality and were granted it. The women’s movement had their defining moment at the Seneca Falls Convention, where women such as Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Sarah Norton argued for their equality, but also for the rights of the unborn. Sarah Norton, who argued for women’s admission to Cornell said that “Child murderers practice their profession without let or hindrance, and open infant butcheries unquestioned.... Perhaps there will come a day when...an unmarried mother will not be despised because of her motherhood...and when the right of the unborn to be born will not be denied or interfered with.” Another pro-life suffragist, who a famous popular pro-life organization is named after, Susan B. Anthony commented “I thank you, sir… but sweeter even than to have had the joy of caring for children of my own has it been to me to help bring about a better state of things for mothers generally, so that their unborn little ones could not be willed away from them.” when a man complimented her that she should be a mother and a wife. Many more suffragists condemned the evil of abortion as something that was inherently anti-woman.

This education in the pro-life roots of American History is not over, we only started with a small chunk in the years between the beginnings of America to the end of the Civil War. The next chunk in American History shows us the beginning of the modern pro-life movement, which we will learn about in the next newsletter.

PRAYERS:

A Prayer to End Abortion and Protect Life
From St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Troy, Michigan

Lord Jesus Christ, send your Spirit to encourage women facing unexpected or difficult pregnancies, and to inspire your people to provide these women and their families aid in their need.  Bless the unborn children whose lives are threatened.  May their undeniable presence as human persons in the womb be recognized by all.  We pray for the conversion of doctors and nurses who perform abortions, and for political leaders and activists who promote them.  May their hearts may be turned to become true servants of health and the common good.  Lord Jesus, we pray for healing in women and men who are in pain because of abortion.  By your grace, may they seek and receive your Mercy.  Amen.

Pro-Life Quotes:

“Saying that there are too many children is like saying there are too many flowers.” – Mother Teresa

“We cannot diminish the value of one category of human life–the unborn–without diminishing the value of all human life.” – President Ronald Reagan

"Abortion kills twice. It kills the body of the baby and it kills the conscience of the mother. Abortion is profoundly anti-woman. Three-quarters of its victims are women: Half the babies and all the mothers.” — Mother Teresa

News:

3-0 Panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals Finds in favor of SFLA & the Frederick Douglass Foundation:

As reported by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) who represented Students for Life of America and the Frederick Douglass Foundation in a case linked to events in 2020, today’s decision was “a major free speech ruling” as the “U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the First Amendment rights of two pro-life organizations that sought to chalk a pro-life message on a city sidewalk.” While the D.C. government may appeal the 3-0 decision, ask for a full hearing of the appeals court, or even go to the Supreme Court, it’s likely that FREDERICK DOUGLASS FOUNDATION, INC., ET AL., APPELLANTS  v. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, APPELLEE, will proceed.

Source: https://studentsforlife.org/2023/08/15/breaking-news-one-step-closer-to-free-speech-in-the-district-of-columbia-as-a-3-0-panel-on-the-u-s-court-of-appeals-finds-in-favor-of-sfla-the-frederick-douglass-foundation/

Circuit Court Finds Evidence of Viewpoint Discrimination for Excluding SFLA’s Pro-Life Perspective:

With pro-abortion attacks on free speech rising across the country, a new First Amendment victory for Students for Life of America (SFLA) is well worth celebrating as this well-overdue win makes it clear that viewpoint discrimination cannot be tolerated. A Circuit Court found evidence that the District of Columbia (D.C.) had censored pro-life free speech when officials arrested SFLA activists and others for chalking ‘Black Preborn Lives Matter’ in 2020, allowing our case to continue.

Source: https://studentsforlife.org/2023/08/15/free-speech-victory-circuit-court-finds-evidence-of-viewpoint-discrimination-for-excluding-sflas-pro-life-perspective-in-washington-d-c-case/

Five Pro-Lifers Found Guilty of FACE Act Violations for Protesting at Late-Term Abortion Facility:

Five pro-life activists were found guilty Tuesday in a federal court for violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, a Clinton-era law passed to stop sit-ins at abortion facilities. They were also charged and found guilty of one count of conspiracy to block the entrance to the Washington Surgi-Clinic in Washington, D.C.

Source: https://thefederalist.com/2023/08/29/five-pro-lifers-found-guilty-of-face-act-violations-for-protesting-at-late-term-abortion-facility/

Upcoming Events:

March For Life - January 18-21, 2024
Please email hscstudentsforlife@gmail.com if you're interested!

No September meeting.
We have a staff meeting this month with our regional coordinator, so we'll see y'all next month!

Submit Content:

This newsletter relies heavily on the contributions of group members. There are a number of items we are looking for:

1. Creative content: We have implemented a segment of the newsletter dedicated to the topically relevant artistic contributions of group members, regardless of medium. If you have anything to share, please send it in. We'll accept most mediums, including (pictures of) paintings, graphic design pieces, songs, videos, poems, etc.
2. Articles: We are accepting topically relevant articles from group members. Please note, however, that the newsletter editors reserve the right to modify articles in order to make them suitable for publication. Such modifications may include grammatical corrections and removal of potentially offensive content.
3. Quotes & Literary Passages: We are also looking for any topically relevant quotes or literary passages to fill a segment of the newsletter. Anything from a simple sentence spoken by a saint to a paragraph from a book can be accepted.

If you want to submit anything from the above categories, or you simply want to provide feedback or suggestions, please email us at hscstudentsforlife@gmail.com and we will get in touch with you shortly.