November 9, 2010
Kortney Blythe, Field Director at Students for Life of America, had the following article published in Human Life Alliance’s Fall Newsletter. Be sure to check back in December for Part 2!
Part 1: The Paradox of Campus Outreach
College campuses present a paradox. To an outsider, it would seem they are the perfect setting for pro-life outreach and education: A constant flow of large amounts of diverse incoming freshman, ready and excited to expand their minds, meet new people, and encounter novel ideas and differing opinions. These institutes of higher education seem like fertile ground for any entity wanting to influence the up-and-coming generation.
Sadly, however, abortion-advocating professors and staff recognize this unique opportunity as well and capitalize on the copious amount of time they have with students. For hours each day, these “educators” have the undivided attention of countless young minds, but too often, they use their position of influence to promote an anti-life, anything-goes agenda.
As a result, while most high school students enter college pro-life, a disconcerting number of them leave “pro-choice.” Given the college party reputation perpetuated by the culture and media, one might assume that college students are apathetic, only concerned with their own pleasure and self-promotion. While there is truth to this, their newly discovered freedom and independence leads them to seek out purpose, meaning, and something to fight for. The question becomes –what worldview will they choose?
Given their search for significance, it’s no surprise that terms like “social justice” and “human rights” resonate with students. The hedonistic, me-first lifestyle loses its appeal after one too many hangovers, barely recallable evenings, or STD diagnoses. Consequently, whatever the motive, young people want to impact their world for the better.
To the older generation, this may not seem like the case, but take for example, the “Causes” sect on of the student-dominated social networking site, Facebook. In its first year alone, it brought in an astounding $2.5 million to 20,000 different charities and non-profits. These are college students donating to causes they care about despite their often dismal financial situations.
So, why aren’t more of the seemingly conscientious students speaking out against abortion? There are two main reasons for this discrepancy.
First, universities tend to be a breeding ground for morally relativist, “don’t judge me and my choices” and “I’m okay, you’re okay” philosophies. Thus, the popular, trendy causes attract more students than the more controversial ones. It’s difficult for pro-life, pro-self-control, pro-chastity individuals to compete with professors who not only have unrestricted amounts of time to mold their students’ minds, but also have the support of a plethora of campus clubs touting hip causes that require little sacrifice and don’t challenge one’s lifestyle.
The second reason students neglect the plight of the preborn is because doing so comes at great personal cost. Forty-six percent of abortions are done on college-age women. About fifty-six percent of male and female students are sexually involved. Therefore, in order to truly embrace the pro-life cause, they must abstain from pre-marital sex in order to prevent pregnancy and the temptation of abortion.
This may seem obvious, but many students who are pro-life in high school, find their beliefs challenged when they become pregnant unexpectedly in college. Because abortion is not a recognized crime and is relatively inexpensive, it can be quite tempting for a scared, overwhelmed young woman to “get rid of the problem.”
On the other hand, for post-abortive students, “coming out” as pro-life on campus means admitting that their “choice” to abort was wrong, harmful, and deadly. Just sharing the secret fact that she had an abortion or he drove her to a clinic and pressured her, can be daunting. In order to be openly pro-life on campus, though, post-abortive students must first heal from the scars left by the abortion, and healing doesn’t come without a degree of pain in the process.
Yet, the battle is not hopeless. One courageous student, who refuses to remain silent while preborn humans are killed, can impact an entire campus.
Read “Part II: The Seeds of Campus-Wide Change” next time in the second half of our series “Cultivating Pro- Life Students.”
In the past five years, Kortney Blythe has been on the front lines of the abortion battle, presenting the pro-life, pro-chastity position during over 600 campus visits, dozens of trainings, and media interviews. Under her leadership, over 200,000 pieces of HLA literature were disseminated across the country. She currently holds the position of Field Director at Students for Life of America, where she identifies, activates, equips, and motivates pro-life groups across the nation. Email Kortney at KBlythe@StudentsforLife.org to find out how to start a group on campus or visit www.studentsforlife.org.