Madeline Daley, one of the National Leaders Collective’s leaders of the month, is a Hildegard Art Fellow attending Ohio University. Learn more about Daley’s activism below.  

To me, being pro-life is more than dearly held beliefs or experiences. Yes, I come from a family with two strongly Catholic and conservative parents. I believe in the logical and scientific consistencies of life at conception, and I’ve had informative experiences, such as seeing a picture of a 10-week-old baby in sixth grade, which have led me to be firmly and unapologetically pro-life.   

While these are all excellent and substantial reasons to take on the pro-life cause, it also means wholeheartedly and joyfully inviting people and their circumstances into my life and walking alongside them.   

On the same note, pro-life activism encompasses more than sharing support services and education on campus; it also involves sharing our lives with and inviting others into the imperfect parts. This is where hearts and minds change most dramatically. When women facing an unexpected pregnancy can confidently invite their friends, family, or community into their situation, that’s a good indicator that the culture of life that the pro-life movement promotes is gaining traction.   

Sharpening my apologetics while simultaneously softening my heart has grown me as a pro-life leader and Hildegard Art Fellow. Through being involved in Students for Life of America (SFLA) and the National Leaders Collective (NLC), I had many opportunities to hear from the people on the front lines of the argumentative side of this abortion issue while also speaking directly with the women who’ve decided to choose life.  

Social media and photo/video-based mainstream media mass brainwash people into believing abortion propaganda. As a pro-life media student and professional photographer/videographer, I want to infiltrate the media space for life, communicating the realities of abortion, the culture of death, and the needed empathy for women.   

Of all my pro-life activities in 2024, my top three accomplishments include highlighting pro-life artists while working for EWTN News in Washington, D.C., helping my group host SFLA President Kristan Hawkins on my campus, and making public expressions of my pro-life stance in my first fellowship project.   

While writing for EWTN News’s ChurchPOP.com, I highlighted fun news in the Catholic Church and the Catholic perspective on pop culture. One of my first articles celebrated Special K for featuring cookbook author Molly Baz on their boxes, the first pregnant woman on the front of a cereal box. Another article highlighted the release of Rachel Holt’s song titled “I Was Gonna Be,” which beautifully told the story of an abortion from the perspective of a preborn child. This article was one of my best-performing pieces from the whole summer and garnered over 3,000 Instagram likes, 360 shares on Instagram, and over 1.2 million views on X (formerly Twitter).  

Additionally, I helped my group get over 120 students to attend SFLA President Kristan Hawkins’ “Make Abortion Illegal Again” tour – our most prominent event in the lifespan of our club – and my first fellowship project, we painted three public graffiti walls with the words “Equal Rights for All Humans Born and Unborn” during a busy day on campus. We got 43 students to interact with our wall, indicating on a fetal development timeline that they believed human beings deserved to receive their human rights. Over 50% of the students chose conception!  

Before I joined my SFLA campus group, I couldn’t defend my position. Eight years later, I engage in hours of heated conversations in the middle of my college campus, train other students to do the same, and learn to allow my heart to break for women suffering and in difficult situations. I have been incredibly fortunate to learn from top leaders in the pro-life movement through the National Leaders Collective. Being just a phone call away from the staff and leaders at SFLA is a privilege that has helped me to grow confidently in my passion for pro-life activism.  

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