“The pro-life issue is close to my heart. And defending pre-born babies is a huge part of what we do at Focus on the Family,” said Jim Daly on the DalyFocus blog. “Few people are more vulnerable than pre-born children and women facing unplanned pregnancies.”

He continued by highlighting Students for Life of American President Kristan Hawkins, stating:

“And few people have a greater passion to protect the vulnerable than Kristan Hawkins. She’s the head of Students for Life, a pro-life organization working primarily on college campuses. She also does nationwide interviews on the topic of abortion.”

On Monday, Feb. 19, Focus on the Family Broadcast, hosted by Jim Daly, president of Focus on the Family, and John Fuller, vice president of the audio division, aired an episode with Students for Life of America (SFLA) President Kristan Hawkins. She talks about the genesis of her pro-life work, inspiring stories from the pro-life movement, the importance of supporting women through pregnancy, and how changing minds leads to saving preborn babies and the lives of mothers. Through SFLA’s near 18-year presence in the United States, Kristan shares how SFLA’s goal of winning the minds of young people as a crucial strategy to protecting the unborn.  

As a teenager, Kristan was motivated to get involved in the pro-life movement and started volunteering at a pregnancy resource center. She saw first-hand the difficulty situations of women who were abused, confused or impoverished. They were seeking help, but they didn’t need an abortion – these women needed true support.  

“I grew up in a pretty sheltered, stable family. A great family. There was no financial poverty, no spiritual poverty,” said Kristan. “To meet some of these women who came into the center, many of them had already had abortions in their life.”  

Kristan shares how she saw abortion perpetuate abuse.  

“(Women) are coming in there to talk to somebody. She needs diapers for her two-year-old. Her boyfriend is abusing her. Hearing these stories and realizing that abortion isn’t this great solution for any of these women, no matter how terrible these circumstances are, it’s this band-aid, and in a lot of ways, it allows for the abuse to continue on.”  

During the conversation, Kristan emphasized the importance of supporting women through pregnancy, and how one person standing with them can be the difference between life and death for a preborn baby.  

“I wrote a book back in 2010 where I interviewed Students for Life (of America) leaders and young women around campus who all had an abortion story,” explained Kristan. “In every story, every person we interviewed, the difference between life and death was one person. If she was able to find one person to tell her she didn’t have to have the abortion – not that they had all the solutions and all the answers to everything going on in her life at that time – but just saying you don’t have to do it.” 

Kristan also discussed how to handle criticism, attacks and misinformation from mis-led pro-abortion activists and supporters with grace, understanding and truth. Part of combating the pro-abortion side is to say and show what the pro-life movement is doing, according to Kristan. SFLA and Students for Life Action (SFLAction) set up informational tables, host pro-life speaking tours, draft and support pro-life legislation and initiatives, offers resources through Standing with You and more.  

“It’s more than just doing,” said Kristan. “It’s more saying what we’re doing.”  

Watch the full interview with Focus on the Family and Kristan Hawkins on YouTube. 

READ NEXT: UNC Chapel Hill Abortion Supporters Threw a “Pro-Choice Party” to Protest Kristan Hawkins, Complete with a Bounce House & Condom Pinata