Annabelle Barlow, one of the National Leaders Collective’s leaders of the month, is a Students for Life of America William Wilberforce Fellow attending the University of Kentucky in Lexington, KY. Learn more about Barlow’s activism below.

I have always had a passion to protect the innocent and to help those in a vulnerable place. This passion has fueled my desire to be involved in the pro-life movement and to fight for preborn children. My youngest brother was adopted from birth since his mother was a drug addict and experienced an unplanned pregnancy. The beauty of adoption and how that played out for him also inspires me to fight for a culture of Life that champions adoption. It is incredibly tragic to see a culture that does not respect Life or see it as the gift that it is. This tragedy further gives me the desire to help create a culture that loves those already born and also fights for the freedom of babies to be born.

Before becoming an NLC leader, I was on the leadership team of my pro-life group at the University of Kentucky, and I helped lead tabling events and also coordinated volunteering between our club and the local pregnancy resource center. I was honestly very unexperienced in discussing the issue of abortion with people and felt very fearful when going out on campus to discuss this issue. I applied for the William Wilberforce fellowship in order to grow my leadership skills as well as to help give back to my community through meaningful projects within my fellowship. Since becoming a Wilberforce Fellow, I have attended many trainings and had many discussions with mentors in SFLA that have helped me grow in confidence in my conversation and leadership skills. I have also learned in many ways how to be empathetic to people wanting to discuss this issue and to be a good listener. Discussing something as complicated as the issue of abortion is very profound and teaches you so much in life beyond just arguing.

This year, I led my group in hosting Lydia Taylor Davis in the fall semester. According to her tour manager, we hosted one of the largest outdoor tablings with hundreds coming by to listen and debate her. Her speech in the evening had a total of over 70 attendees. My group and I also planned a fundraiser for a local pregnancy resource center in Lexington. We raised $4,000 by planning a trivia night at a local country club that generously donated their space. It was a great way to get the whole community involved and to learn to plan a fundraiser. Finally, 16 of us attended the National Pro-Life March & National Pro-Life Summit.

Being in the NLC has increased my knowledge of the movement and my passion to fight for preborn babies. I love the shared comradery of the other fellows and the support we all give one another as we fight together for Life.