Tag Archives: Students for Life of America

We Must Engage: Why You Must Vote Pro-Life First

Posted on by Kristan Hawkins

Abolishing abortion isn’t going to happen overnight, and there are many steps we must take to get there. Politics isn’t going to be the final resting ground for the abortion war. It’s going to happen in everyone’s town – when the abortion facility down the street closes and those within your church and community start rising up to take care of those mothers and fathers desperately in need of help. It’s going to happen when no woman feels like she has no other choice than to kill her child.

However, what will it take for us to get to that point? Can we abolish abortion simply by telling folks abortion is wrong, i.e. educating more Americans and providing and promoting more abortion alternatives? What about the abortion industry, the supply of abortion, i.e.  the number of abortion facilities; the amount of taxpayer money the abortion Goliath, Planned Parenthood, receives; the money Planned Parenthood receives to go into our taxpayer-funded schools where they tell students that abortion is a healthy procedure and that asking parents for help is an out-dated notion?

Sadly, today, many in our society wrongly equate morality with legality. And even more sad is the fact that some women, even after being educated about abortion and offered every possible resource needed, still choose abortion.

Thus, ending all demand for abortion means we are going to have to make abortion, once again, illegal. And making it illegal means we will have to elect pro-life leaders who can appoint pro-life justices and pass pro-life laws.

We will have to engage in the political system.

I know that many of our movement’s victories have been slow, way too slow, and I’m not happy about that either. But lives have been saved. Every time an abortion facility shuts down, a mother hears the heartbeat of her child and decides against the abortion, one Planned Parenthood affiliate is kicked out of a school system, and a mother is told she can’t abort her 23 week old baby who can now feel pain – babies are saved. Not at the pace we expect or want, but they are saved. And they were saved through laws and grassroots, pro-life activists, like you and I, who elected pro-life officials and held their “feet to the fire” after they were elected.

My post today isn’t meant to be a great philosophical piece of today’s time. It’s a realistic piece written from one abortion abolitionist, mother, wife, and non-profit leader.

Let me clarify here: I’m not getting paid to stump for a particular candidate. My organization isn’t rich; you can check out my bank statements or look online to see how much debt I’m in, if you really want.

I spend 3 days a week away from the 3 most wonderful human beings on this planet: my sons, Gunner and Bear, and husband, Jonathan, to travel the nation speaking to adults and students about why they should care about abolishing abortion. Gunner, my 3 year old baby boy, has cystic fibrosis, a deadly genetic disease, which makes me realize that everyday he has on this earth is precious. To the outsider looking in to my life, I’m a pretty crazy woman. Some have even snidely remarked that I’m not a good mother and wife because of my “career” choice.

But I make this sacrifice, and yes, every moment away from my family is a sacrifice, because I want to abolish abortion in my lifetime.

I do it because I love doing what God has called me to do – this mission of abolishing abortion.

How is that for some street cred? I hope by now I have convinced you that I’m not an evil, Washington, D.C. special interest firm looking just for votes for one candidate.

But I do have to admit one thing to you: I am a lobbyist. Today, I’m writing to you to lobby for the preborn and their moms.

Recently, there has been some chatter on college campuses and in pro-life circles about why pro-lifers should care about the elections coming up on November 6th.

There’s even been some online banter from anti-abortion folks who have said you can’t be a “real” abortion abolitionist if you vote in the Presidential election.

I think this is dangerous talk, which divides and takes away momentum from everyone’s goal of abolishing abortion in our lifetime. Because whether or not we agree on strategy, we all agree on our goal: ending all abortions.

Let me be clear: There will never be a perfect candidate running for any office. As a Christian, I know this because Jesus Christ isn’t running for office.

And we are all sinners. Therefore, all candidates are sinners, just like us. 

And just so you know, the guy I really wanted to be elected President, didn’t even run.

However, those Americans who oppose abortion and want to see it ended in our lifetime must vote on November 6th, and we must vote pro-life first.

What do I mean about “voting pro-life first?” I mean that before we check that box we must consider the candidates who are running and decide which will be the most likely to help our movement achieve our goal of abolishing all abortions.

Ask yourself: Which candidate, regardless of his party affiliation, religion, etc, will help us take the first step in ending all abortions in our nation?

Will I vote for the person who has voted against giving medical care to babies born alive during an abortion; has increased the amount of money going to the largest abortion Goliath in our nation, Planned Parenthood, by 30%; has appointed 2 ardent pro-abortion Supreme Court justices; and has stripped freedom of religion and conscience away from the Catholic Church and pro-life, secular employers like myself and has told us all to shove it?

Or will I vote for the person who has pledged to defund Planned Parenthood (a move that will undoubtably save lives), appoint only Supreme Court justices that are in favor of reversing Roe and Doe, reverse the hideous HHS Mandate, and stop taxpayer funding international funding of abortion?

Now, I can’t guarantee what either candidate will really do if elected President, and I know that just because a candidate promises something, doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. And I also know that once a candidate who declares himself or herself pro-life and wins, should never be left alone.

We should always be asking and expecting for more.

However, can I morally justify not voting in this election for President? Nope, I can’t. And the Catholic Church (check out Evangelium Vitae) and leaders of the Protestant churches have said the same. Priest for Life’s political responsibility site sums it up best: “The role of citizens and elected officials is to promote intrinsic moral values as much as possible today while continuing to work toward better candidates, laws, and programs in the future.”

Too much is at stake. Too much has been done these past 4 years that I can’t ignore and just hope.

God gave us this awesome gift: America. He placed us in what I believe to be the best nation in the world, a nation where real change is possible. And He’s called each and everyone of us not to segregate ourselves from our neighbors, co-workers, and the rest of our countrymen but to engage and to be His light.

In this election on November 6th and in every election, until all abortions are ended, lives are at stake.

And I hope you will join me in voting pro-life first this November. Sign up at www.ivoteprolifefirst.com to be a Get out the Pro-Life Vote Volunteer to make calls to other pro-lifers encouraging them to get out and vote. The deal couldn’t be any sweeter: help save babies and get a cool t-shirt that you can use to promote our abolitionist message.

3,300 precious preborn babies were thrown in the trash today. I will not do the same thing with my vote. I will vote for them.

Religious Liberty Thrown in the Trash

Posted on by Kristan Hawkins

A letter by SFLA Executive Director, Kristan Hawkins

Dear Friends,

Today marks the beginning of the end of religious and conscience rights in America.

As of today, employers, just like myself, will be forced to make a false choice between providing a vital service to their employees and violating their consciences and values.

No matter what your faith or view of abortion may be, the HHS Abortion Pill Mandate is an egregious attack upon the rights of all people of values and faith in America.

Today, the religious liberties of all Americans have been thrown in the trash. And it’s the same trash can where the 3,300 precious babies that will be legally aborted today will be thrown.

While the courts have given a momentary reprieve to one family business in Colorado, today, all other businesses that employ more than 25 employees across America have been given the false choice of abandoning their conscience or religious beliefs or being taxed and fined out of business. And the clock has started ticking for Houses of Worships and other religious institutions to apply for an exemption before their deadline on August 1, 2013. Unfortunately, the requirements are so narrow that many who will apply will be not be exempt. Even Mother Theresa’s Order, the Missionaries of Charity, will not qualify for an exemption.

How many times have you heard news pundits and policy experts talk about how abortion and other social issues aren’t important when it comes to elections and the happenings here in Washington, D.C.?

Yet, time and time again, here we are – when abortion has become a fundamental issue and division line for our nation.

Friends, polls show that the majority of Americans are now pro-life and understand the importance of religious liberty and conscience rights.

And we know that HHS Abortion Pill Mandate isn’t about equality for women, and those of use who oppose it aren’t waging a war on women.

We are waging a war for the soul of our nation, for the very beliefs that this nation was founded upon.

Congressman Jeff Fortenberry has proposed the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act. If passed, this simple piece of legislation will stop the HHS Abortion-Pill Mandate and any other mandates like it “dead in its tracks.”

Congress is leaving Washington this Friday for their August recess and will be returning to their districts until Labor Day. Because it’s an election year, I guarantee you that your Members of Congress will be out and about during this month of August campaigning for job in Washington.

Today, please take 3 minutes and click the above image to personally email your Members of Congress and tell them to pass the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act.Then tomorrow, please work on these important action steps:

  • Call your House of Representatives Member and Senators’ District Offices (You can find their phone numbers at House.gov and Senate.gov) and ask if there will be any town hall meetings or public events you can attend.
  • Attend an event this August and encourage them to support the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act.
  • If they are already supporting the legislation, thank them immediately and ask them to ask House and Senate leadership to allow it to come to the “floor” for a vote.
  • If they are not supporting the legislation, ask them why and share your concerns.
  • If there are no events you can attend, ask for a meeting with your House of Representatives Member and Senators and organize a group to join you.

And don’t be afraid to email me personally if you have any questions during this process!

America was built on the idea of preserving and protecting our deeply-held beliefs. We must not comply with this direct affront to our liberty. Please take a stand today and let your Members of Congress know that you will not stand for this injustice!

SFLA Releases Poll Results on Young People, Abortion, and the 2012 Election

Posted on by Kristan Hawkins

A note from SFLA’s Executive Director, Kristan Hawkins:

This May, SFLA commissioned a poll of 800 18-24 year-olds, a large sample for a small demographic, because we wanted to have a practical, non-political conversation with this generation on the big issues. We know this November’s election will be a defining moment for this generation, and we wanted to get a sense of where they think we are headed. Our national team is out there every school day visiting over 250 campuses a year, and we currently work in 49 states with over 720 groups on undergrad, law, and medical school campuses. However, we know that when it comes to youth and their attitudes on social issues and elections, there are a lot of assumptions made. And yet, what we have been witnessing and what has been reflected in recent polling by other organizations especially Gallup is that the tide is turning in this generation on issues, especially abortion. Below are some of the results from the poll that SFLA is sending to Republican and Democratic leaders in Washington, D.C.

 

SFLA MEMO (Click here to download.)

TO:           Democrat and Republican Leaders
FROM:   Kristan Hawkins, Students for Life of America
RE:           Young adults and their views on social issues and the 2012 elections
DATE:     June 22, 2012

College age voters (18-24 year olds) are an oft-overlooked group in a Presidential election that many experts are expecting to swing narrowly in either candidate’s favor. Common dismissals of the youngest generations’ dwindling influence at the ballot box run counter to recent turnout trends.

In 2008, voter turnout among college-aged youth surged to its participation highest level in 16 years. Moreover, while other influential swing groups are parsed out from any and all possible angles, our knowledge of the newly-minted voter is comparatively meager – 43% of 18-24 year olds in the last Presidential election were first-time voters.[1]

Challenged to uncover the prevailing attitudes, opinions, and preferences of this under-studied subgroup, Students for Life of America commissioned one of the first-wide scale quantitative studies of 18-24 year olds in the 2012 election season.[2]

The survey research project, which garnered 800 responses, included a special focus on life issues, allowing young voters’ own voices to cut through the ‘conventional wisdom’ and forge a new narrative.  Indeed, survey findings showed little connection to the overwhelmingly liberal attitudes lazily ascribed to these voters – confirming an increasing pro-life trend among Americans while presumably giving Big Abortion heartburn over the battles ahead.

Our results tracked similarly to other national polls that have been released on abortion in recent years. Yet there are surprisingly few surveys of the 18-24 demographic with such a deep dive as that was commissioned by SFLA.

With skyrocketing student debt and grim unemployment prospects for those out of college, young voters’ collective love affair with the President has abated. Results from the recent recall election in Wisconsin were consistent in showing a far less liberal voting bloc than the one four years and if that election is any indication , young adults are much more open to voting conservative in 2012 than they were in 2008.  Our results speculate that when young adults learn more about the President’s radical policies on abortion and the curtailing of religious freedom, their support for him drops. We found that more young adults are less likely to vote for a candidate who forces someone to go against their conscience or religious beliefs, which is part of the mandate included in the President’s healthcare law.

Here are our key findings:

The HHS Mandate carries negative political currency for two-fifths of young voters: The plurality of young Americans, including every major demographic and geographic group, said they would be less likely to vote for a candidate who supports forcing institutions to pay for procedures that violate their conscience or religious beliefs (42 % vs. 24%).

Young adults are going to vote in 2012:  18-24 year olds belie their disengaged reputation as an overwhelming majority (77%) predicted their participation in the fall elections.  While survey respondents can be notoriously culpable of over-estimating their participation in “socially desirable” activities such as voting, the high levels of engagement suggest that young voters may more closely resemble 2008 (49% turnout among this subgroup) than the midterms elections of 2010 (24% turnout).

Youth are “pro-contraception” not “pro-abortion”: While youth were much less likely to self-identify as pro-life than the public as a whole, there was also scant evidence of a desire for total and complete abortion on-demand, a characterization that seems to escape much of the major media narrative about this generation.

This nuance was particularly evident when a 27%-plurality selected “abortion should only be legal in the cases of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother” as the position most similar to their own on abortion. In fact, condensing the six positions showed near-parity between the two sides (45% pro-choice, 44% pro-life).

Support for Plan B in vending machines on college campuses, paired with the high percentage of Planned Parenthood supporters who are unaware of the organization’s abortion offerings, suggest they are “Pro-Contraception,” but not necessarily “Pro-Abortion.”

Obama still leads among young adults, but they think he has done a bad job: Obama’s popularity among youth voters has dimmed in the four years following his last election, but he still leads Romney 53%-25% lead on the ballot test. Few voters are paying close attention at this early stage of the race, suggesting the ballot test remains fluid. Nor should Obama’s head-to-head advantage obscure his legitimate vulnerability on job performance: nearly one-half (49%) graded his tenure as “fair” or “poor”.

Youth Signal Significant Opposition to Sex-Selective Abortions:

Nearly three-quarters (74%) of 18-24 year olds support making sex-selective abortions illegal in the United States. Students must be reminded that sex-selective abortions are not just a problem for foreign lands, but the crisis extends to their veritable backyards as well.

What they don’t know is hurting them: College-age youth diets are the source of some notoriety – if not jealously – as the dubious nutritional offerings at dining halls and fast food chains across the country have many a concerned parent once again urging their child to “Take their Vitamins.”

In our case, 18-24 seem to be suffering a Vitamin “F” deficiency – that is, an unhealthy diet of disinformation and ‘comfort food’ from the Left leaves many with distortion perceptions about the offerings of agencies like Planned Parenthood. Among the most telling responses included that nearly half (48%) of college-age adults did not know whether Planned Parenthood offered abortions to pregnant women, with an additional 11% believing Planned Parenthood did not offer abortions at all.

The knowledge deficit also colored their perspectives on the Presidential candidates’ positions on abortion. Nearly one-third failed to ascribe any view on abortion for each candidate (32% for Obama, 33% for Romney).

Young adults don’t like Obama’s socially liberal record: Reactions toward Obama’s shocking vote against the Born Alive Protect Act while a State Senator in Illinois painted another perspective on information deficit, as this discovery carried a net -11 political currency and led one-in-three (34%) to become “less likely” to vote for the President this Fall. Obama’s image suffered an even more pronounced slide among undecided voters (43% “less likely”), indicating that the ballot test may narrow if the President’s personal popularity is tempered with a remembrance of his radical voting record from the not-too-distant past.

 

Methodology:

Students for Life of America commissioned the polling company, inc./WomanTrend to conduct an online survey of 805 adults ages 18 to 24 from May 25 – June 1, 2012.  Opt-in online panels of respondents were utilized and targeted specifically for adults ages 18-24, while also including controls for gender, race/ethnicity, and geographic region. Sampling controls ensured that a proportional and representative number of interviews were collected, as those characteristics are reported by the latest publicly available figures from the U.S. Census Bureau. Potential survey participants received an e-mail inviting them to participate and a URL address for them to link to the web-based questionnaire.

The original survey contained a total of 45 questions, including one screener, 27 substantive inquiries, and 17 demographic queries.  77% said there were likely to vote in the upcoming elections

The margin of error for the survey is ± 3.4% at a 95% confidence interval, meaning that in 19 out of 20 cases, the data obtained would not differ by any more than 3.4 percentage points in either direction had the entire population of adults ages 18-24 in the United States been surveyed. Margins of error for subgroups are higher.

[2] 805 adults ages 18 to 24 in late May/early June

SFLA on FoxNews Rallying for Freedom!

Posted on by Kristan Hawkins

This past weekend thousands of pro-life advocates spoke out across the country against the forced funding of birth control through the HHS mandate. Students for Life of America stood with hundreds of fellow advocates for life at the Rally for Religious Freedom in Washington D.C. on June 8, 2012. Speakers such as Kristan Hawkins, executive director of Students for Life, Michelle Bachmann, David Bereit of 40 Days for Life, and many others voiced their opposition to the HHS mandate which would force non-profits and churches to pay for birth control for their employees.