By Grace Henry
How did you first become involved in the pro life movement?
I come from a very large Catholic family that has always been strongly pro-life, so I have been involved in the movement since I was young. When I was younger, my mom used to take my siblings and me to an abortion clinic to pray, so the pro-life movement has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.
Outside of my parents’ influence, I personally began getting involved when I was around twelve years old. I started volunteering for a local pro-life organization, and I volunteered behind the scenes and helped run events.
What have you learned from the people who disagree with you?
One of the things I have learned is you can have respectable and productive conversations with people who disagree with you. It does not always have to be an argument, and you can actually have good conversations with people. When it comes to the issue of abortion, I think understanding another person’s perspective is really helpful for you in being able to change their mind because you cannot reach somebody if you do not know where their experiences come from.
What challenges have you faced in doing this work? What has kept you going?
One challenge I have faced is stepping out of my comfort zone. This is definitely something I have to do with sidewalk counseling and with door to door canvassing. It has been a challenge for me, but I have learned so much about myself and have become more confident in my beliefs.
“I have learned so much about myself and have become more confident in my beliefs.”
What keeps me going is knowing I am a servant of God trying to do his work. When you have that kind of attitude, it takes pressure off of yourself. It is something God wants me to do, and he is going to be there the entire time. All I have to do is to deliver. It does not need to be perfect and done in a certain way. I just have to be obedient to God. When I do that, it is going to help me step out of my comfort zone, and do things I never thought I would do.
What advice would you give to someone interested in getting involved with pro life work?
One piece of advice I would give is try to find a friend who will do it with you. It can be scary at the beginning, but doing it with someone else can make it less intimidating. Also, do not be afraid to make mistakes. Those are going to happen, and you are going to learn from them. When you do this for a long period of time, you gain more confidence than when you are first starting. This is definitely true for me and other work I have done. I would say do not put so much pressure on yourself, and always know that there are people who support you. Always know that God is on your side, and you are never alone because the Holy Spirit is always with you. Anybody can get involved in some way in this kind of movement, regardless of what they think or know.
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