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Warwick Pascoe – Making of a Masterpiece
Warwick Pascoe – Making of a Masterpiece
If people understood how beautiful the masterpiece of human beings is, they would value life so much more. Warwick Pascoe opened his talk with this question, “Has anyone ever told you that you are a masterpiece?”
No one argues whether or not the baby in this picture is human and whether or not it should be protected. Warwick gives presentations in schools, colleges, prisons, and in business settings all over New Zealand where he shows the beautiful masterpieces of the child developing in utero. Warwick teaches about fetal development in the hope of creating better understand of the masterpiece of human beings -- even at the earliest stages of development in the womb. There is no debate about what has been created in the womb. It is the value of what has been created which is debated. Therefore, respect the value of your own masterpiece and those of others. Help others to see the masterpiece of human development because every individual is a unique masterpiece.
Panel Forum: Advocating Life on Your Campus
Panelists:
Kristina Garza of Survivors
Joe Langfeld of Human Life Alliance
Rebecca Roughneed of Youth Defence
Allison Aranda of Life Legal Defense Coalition
Kristina Garza, Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust
“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.”
~ Mother Teresa ~
In 2006 Kristina ran into Survivors Campus Life Team, which does abortion education on college campuses, on her campus. She was handed a peice of literature that later led her to do something about abortion. Always pro-life, however apathetic, Kristina started to speak out against abortion because others were, and had reached out to her. Kristina said “You never know the seeds you’re planting.” No matter how much time you give, God will use you. It’s important that you at least do something!
Joe Langfeld, Human Life Alliance
“You’re prolife. So what? What are you going to do about it?” Joe Langfeld started his talk off with this challenge.
Human Life Alliance (HLA) reaches millions of high school and college students accross the country with their pro-life literature. HLA works hard to create materials that reach students where they’re at. Many students after reading the literature say “they would never have read it if they knew it was pro-life”. Thanks to fantastic marketing, HLA has created attention grabbing images which attract people to read their materials. With this in mind, Joe strongly reminded conference attendees to reach people where they’re at. Remember, what you’re marketing may not be appealing to you as a pro-lifer but it may be to someone who is not pro-life.
Joe reminded the young people present “Your beliefs will show up in your actions everywhere you go.” Joe shared that many years ago he quit a job when the political candidate he worked for decided to change his position on abortion to pro-abortion after formerly being pro-life… The politician acknowledged he knew abortion was wrong but for furthering his work he would change sides and support pro-abortion legislation.Joe told an amazing story of a woman that contacted Joe after having received a piece of HLA literature two years prior. The young woman later used that literature to convince her own mother not to make her have an abortion, and her child is alive today because of it.
In closing Joe posed this challenge: “Think about doing something big and bold. What can reach the most people as possible?”
Rebecca Roughneen, Youth Defense
Rebecca, her comrades, and vigilant pro-lifers that came before her, have helped to maintain an Abortion Free Ireland! Rebecca considers the most important pro-life work to be that which is done on campuses reaching young women.
Rebecca recalls when a friend of hers in college became pregnant and traveled to Europe to obtain an abortion (in Ireland abortion is illegal). Rebecca regrets and feels bad for not speaking up to help her friend from aborting the child. After this experience Rebecca felt called to be active in the fight against abortion. Rebecca encourages everyone to at least give an hour a week to the pro-life movement because “every person here can end abortion!”
Several years ago, during a time of great political struggle to keep abortion illegal in Ireland, seven youth people took to the streets with images of aborted children and they coordinated constant prayer vigils and rallies. If those seven young people, 20 years ago in Ireland, had not stood up and fought against abortion, abortion would be legal today in Ireland. Ireland is abortion free to this day and it’s because people give whatever time they can to stand against the injustice of abortion of the babies.
Rebecca closed by saying, “It’s so easy to save babies. A lot of times, all it takes is you standing there in front of the abortion clinic praying.”Allison Aranda, Attorney at Life Legal Defense Coalition
Life Legal Defense is willing to persevere in the long process to stand up for what is just and right and will work with pro-lifers who need help in legal cases. Allison shared her shock when years ago she heard of Survivors Campus Life Team and other people who were arrested for talking about abortion while standing on a public sidewalk. This made no sense to her and she was appalled! Soon there after, Allison went to checkout Survivors activism for the first time, only to be immediately surprised upon arrival, because the police were already at the clinic and were trying to arrest the group for holding signs on a public sidewalk and for writing with chalk “Choose Life” along with other pro-life messages. She was shocked because they weren’t doing anything wrong! She said, “Really, for using chalk that washes off?” Since then Allison has worked, with groups like Survivors, to educate pro-life activists and prayer warriors about their civil rights and how to defend those rights when erroneously challenged, even when the challenge comes from law enforcement.
Sometimes people will do whatever it takes just to keep your message from getting out into the community, and they are successful at times by just taking your signs or holding you in a police car for an hour. Don’t allow people of authority to bully you into not standing up for what you believe in! Unfortunately, there will always be an attempt to silence your pro-life work, just because of your message and not because you’re doing something wrong.
Jill Stanek, JillStanek.com – New Media and Social Media:
The next HUGE pro-life frontier
Jill began by sharing about demographics of the present generation -- Generation Y-- (those born between 1982-2002). Jill explained that my generation is one of “Digital Natives” because we are so in tune with technology from texting, Facebook, Twitter, smart phones, and more. Considering the saviness of Generation Y, Jill encouraged conference participants to blog, and went on to share a little bit about how her own personal blog reaches thousands of people every single day. That’s a lot of people who can be influenced simply through utilizing technology and writing about abortion. (See Jill’s blogging tips given during the social/new media session on day 1.)
