February 25, 2014

In our country, more specifically on our university campuses, we often hear the word “awareness” as it relates to various issues. A newfound awareness of an issue creates knowledge of the previously unknown and this knowledge can create passion to change something. This happened to me on the issue of abortion—and I was deeply affected by it.

On January 24, 2013, I, as well as my pastor and two other peers, traveled to Washington D.C., to participate in the annual March for Life and the first ever LCMS Life Conference. The information that I gathered about the ugly truth of abortion was sickening, but that information sparked a passion in me to seek change.

When terrible facts are made clear, the natural instinct of most people is to try and change something—but then we recognize that change is not an easy task. We make excuses as to why we do not have time to strive for change. (I avoided life-issue-awareness groups because I knew that change requires hard work and dedication.)

The 2013 March for Life slapped me in the face! Over 55 million American children have been killed through abortion over the last 40 years since the Roe v. Wade (and Doe vs. Bolton) Supreme Court decision! Yet, my generation is the pro-life generation and we will never stop fighting until Roe is overturned.

Upon our return from Washington D.C., we asked ourselves, “How can we make a difference?” We wanted to spark a passion in students for defending the unborn child. We decided to start an organization on our campus called Bulldogs for the Unborn. Our goals are to educate and make students aware of the reality of abortion by hosting pro-life speakers, plan pro-life events such as community diaper drives (in support of local crisis pregnancy centers), take students to the March for Life in Washington D.C., every year, and, last of all, but most important, to proclaim the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to those who are repentant of their sin and are in need of guidance and care.

Now, you may be asking yourself, “What can a college organization possibly do to overturn Roe v. Wade or reduce the number of and perceived need for abortion?” You also may be asking, “How can I—one single person—make a difference For Life?” Let me tell you a story.

Last year, I had the honor of being a residence assistant on campus. I took care of a hall of 23 girls. I disciplined them when they broke rules. But, I also held them when they cried on my shoulder. They called me “mom.” One day, a few of us were sitting in the hall, on the floor, just talking about life. I don’t remember how, but the subject of abortion came up. One girl, (I will call her “Hayley”) seemed a bit confused about her stance on the issue. Her roommate kept saying, “Abortion is ok if the mother is unable to take care of the child.” Of course, I politely made it clear that I did not agree with her. I gave the reasons for my beliefs and she was not able to argue her case against mine.

When I returned to school that next semester, I noticed that Hayley was no longer a student at Concordia. I wanted to check up on her so, naturally, I looked on her Facebook page. What I saw was rather shocking. I read a status update that said, “24 weeks along! I can’t wait to meet my little baby boy.” Hayley was six months pregnant. As I let that sink into my brain, I realized that she would have been six or seven weeks pregnant when we had that conversation on our hallway floor. She possibly chose life because of that conversation!

Not being aware and informed about abortion may have led me to ignorantly argue my case and potentially cause Hayley, my friend, to have an abortion. Today, that beautiful baby boy has a mother’s love. Today, that beautiful baby boy is alive—thanks be to God!

I believe those types of victories will be a small part of getting Roe. V Wade overturned someday. Learn the arguments. Be courageous. Fight for life. We are the pro-life generation. We survived Roe. We pray that Roe will not survive us.

Hilary Murray is a senior at Concordia University Nebraska. She currently serves as the president of Bulldogs for the Unborn, the student life group at Concordia.