The National Right to Life Committee is holding its 43rd annual convention in Dallas starting today, in hopes of building up those in the pro-life movement. At the same time, young people within the pro-life movement will be having their own convention.
NRLC spokesman Derrick Jones tells OneNewsNow that leaders from throughout the country are gathered for three days of workshops, education, and networking.
"This is bringing together our chapter leadership, our state leadership, individual activists all coming together to learn the latest developments that are affecting the pro-life movement," which includes, he says, "advances in stem-cell research [and] new legislative efforts, including bills to protect pain-capable unborn children."
While the pro-life movement suffered setbacks in the 2012 election, more people have come to terms with life issues. A Gallup poll shows an increase in people describing themselves as "pro-life." The convention, Jones says, is a serious one for delegates.
"This gives them a chance to kind of come together for a few days, recharge, regroup and get ready to go back and really go," he offers, "but also [it's about] educating newcomers and getting them excited to get involved and take the pro-life message back to their communities."
According to the pro-life spokesman, that is vital because most of the successes in passing pro-life bills in recent years have been on the state level.
One of the featured speakers at the NRLC gathering is Texas Governor Rick Perry, who just today called a special legislative session to allow the GOP-controlled statehouse another attempt at passing a pro-life bill after angry pro-abortion people in the gallery interrupted a vote this week.
Teens for Life gathering as well
Amanda Gilioli of Wisconsin is on the National Right to Life youth advisory board and tells OneNewsNow that no effort has been spared to obtain standout pro-life speakers for the Teens for Life gathering.
"We're having Wesley J. Smith, Melissa Ohden who is an abortion survivor, Bobby Schindler who is Terri Schiavo's brother, [and] Senator Ted Cruz from Texas," she shares, adding that the list includes several youth speakers because young people are influenced by their peers.
Gilioli says life is an issue of growing importance to her generation.
"Abortion just affects our generation a lot more powerfully than maybe generations before," she sahs. "I think we recognize that our parents had a choice and they could have chosen differently than what they did, and I think that really affects us. You know, we see that people in our classrooms are missing and we know people who had abortions or different things like that."
Her hope is that young people attending the convention will leave fully prepared to go home and energize other youth to join the ranks of the pro-life movement.
Contact: Charlie Butts, Source: OneNewsNow.com
