Caitlyn Helm McCoy graduated from the University of Florida in August 2024 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and minors in history and innovation and currently works as the legislative assistant for Florida with Students for Life Action (SFLAction). Read about her journey to the pro-life movement and her activism during college.  

Being raised by a single mom and business owner, pro-abortion politicians and community members frustrated her whenever they claimed that women could only choose between a career or being a mother, but hardly ever both. Because of her firsthand experience and watching her mother raise her and embrace her career simultaneously, she knows doing both is 100% possible. Tired of the same old pro-abortion talking points, she pushed herself to get involved with the pro-life movement on her college campus, a place where a career can be valued above children’s.  

After McCoy joined Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) and served as president for two terms, she joined a Students for Life of America (SFLA) group at the University of Florida. This SFLA group became more than a weekly meeting but a launch pad for awareness and activism regarding different ballot initiatives in her state, such as Amendment 4, which, if passed, would have enshrined abortion up until birth. Thankfully, the abortion extreme failed, in part thanks to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the hard work and education activism of SFLAction.

While in college, McCoy organized diaper drives for a local Pregnancy Help Center (PHC) and hosted tabletop displays that defended life from conception. During her senior year at the University of Florida, SFLA Kristan Hawkins visited on her speaking tour. McCoy loved listening to her talk with the students at the tabling event before the speaking event and was excited to see such a bold voice for Life in the “Swamp,” University of Florida’s nickname.

McCoy covered the reversal of Roe v. Wade (1973) at the United States Supreme Court and then returned a year later on the anniversary of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022). This motivated her to return to college and discuss the importance of protecting life at conception. 

She encourages college students not to be afraid to stand up for Life, even when it feels like everyone on campus is against them. Even though it can be scary to talk about pro-life beliefs, lose friends, or watch their follower count drop and hate comments jump on social media, standing up for every precious Life is well worth the sacrifice. Because McCoy had a fantastic community around her during this time, she realized that it wasn’t quite as scary as she thought, and while she did lose friends, she gained even better friends in the pro-life movement. 

If you are considering joining the pro-life movement after graduation, this is your sign! Whether it is a full-time position or just signing up for a deployment, the work that Students for Life of America does impacts the culture and saves preborn lives.  

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