Choosing life is always the right choice … but not always the easiest.  Purdue University Students for Life has created a video to raise awareness about resources available for pregnant students on their campus.

Take a few minutes to watch their beautiful video and remember that there is support when you choose life!

You might also check out Students for Life of America’s Pregnant on Campus Initiative.

Awesome video produced by Students for Life of America (SFLA) explains how Planned Parenthood’s (PP’s) business model is fueled by promoting sex among teenagers.  Key points:

1. PP is Big Business that sells one thing, abortion.
2. They need to sell as many as they can, so …
3. They turn teenage children into loyal customers.  First, they start with sex ed programs that promote promiscuity.  Then, they sell low-quality contraception to teens, guaranteeing that many of them will contract STDs and get pregnant.
4. When the teens return to PP with unplanned pregnancies — unplanned by the teens, but most assuredly planned by PP — PP offers “counseling.”  The purpose of the “counseling” is to help PP achieve revenue goals by meeting abortion sales quotas.  To sell more abortions, PP sales teams push teens toward abortion and away from parenting and adoption.
5. Each abortion sold to a teenager brings in $450.
6. Planned Parenthood is about abortion.  No matter what.

This just in from SFLA:

With many pro-abortion speakers presenting at commencement ceremonies across the nation, Students for Life of America (SFLA) is proud to offer a respectful way for graduating pro-life students to Stand for Life with the first-ever Pro-Life Grad Cap Stickers.

The stickers simply read “Pro-Life” and are meant to go on the top of the graduation cap. There is a hole cut through the center of the sticker to allow the tassel on the cap to pop through, and they are die cut to look great on any color cap!

These stickers offer a way for graduates to respectfully show their pro-life values during their graduation.  It’s a means to grab the attention of the university, fellow graduates, parents, and media; especially at ceremonies featuring a pro-abortion speaker.

Buy a grad cap sticker for $2 by clicking here!

The Students for Life of America (SFLA) is hosting a webcast tonight.   We got this e-mail from SFLA Executive Director Kristan Hawkins:

Pro-Life Friends,

The Obama Administration and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services have launched a massive effort to mandate that all Americans pay for abortion-causing drugs.

The new mandate, which was released last month, will violate our civil liberties and free exercise of religion by forcing every American and every U.S. employer, regardless of religion or conscience, to pay for abortion-causing drugs, like Ella, in health insurance plans.

Just 2 weeks ago, President Obama’s Secretary for the Health and Human Services Department, Kathleen Sebelius, admitting during a Congressional hearing that this Mandate is needed because, “reducing pregnancies will cut health care costs.”

Put bluntly, this mandate, due to take effect this summer, will violate the very principles our nation was founded on – your freedom of religion and conscience!

What could be next?  A one-child per family policy like China or involuntary euthanasia like Europe?  Secret forced sterilizations like those administered in the 1920’s?  The madness needs to end!

This Obama, Abortion Drug Mandate must be STOPPED!

http://www.studentsforlife.org/freedom

Learn what’s at stake — and discover how YOU can help to stop this Obama, Abortion Drug Mandate by joining a one-time-only LIVE webcast event this Tuesday, March 13, at 9 PM Eastern (6 PM Pacific, 7 PM Mountain, 8 PM Central.)

The live event will be approximately 25 minutes long. There’s no charge to participate. If you have access to the Internet — even with a dial-up connection — you can listen in on the live webcast audio and submit questions.

During this nationwide event, you will discover:

• The shocking facts about the Obama, Abortion Drug Mandate that has been forced on the American people, without even a vote in Congress…
• The devastating implications of the Mandate — facts the abortion industry doesn’t want Americans to hear…
• Why respected leaders, national organizations, and pro-life people are joining together in record numbers to challenge this attempted power-grab…
• The exact action steps YOU can take to make a difference at this crucial moment…
• … And much more!

Register for the webcast at: http://www.studentsforlife.org/freedom

In an historic display of unity, pro-life and pro-family organizations are joining together for the “Where’s the Freedom?” Webcast. During the event you will hear from nationally known and respected leaders including:

• U.S. Senator Rand Paul
• Kristan Hawkins, Students for Life of America
• U.S. Congressman Jeff Fortenberry
• Tom McClusky, Family Research Council Action
• Helen Alavare, Law Professor at George Mason University
• David Bereit, 40 Days for Life
• …and others!

The announcement of this important webcast is being sent out to thousands of pro-lifers across America, and there is limited space available for this live event, so you are strongly encouraged to register now!

To get on the webcast, go to: http://www.studentsforlife.org/freedom

For Life,

Kristan Hawkins
Executive Director
Students for Life of America

Please forward this announcement to every pro-life college student you know!

Want to learn what it takes to work in the pro-life movement full-time?  Want to find out where you best fit into the pro-life movement?  Want to work to save the unborn for an entire summer?

Be a 2012 Missionary for Life!

Apply now to be selected for a competitive, 9-week rotating pro-life internship this summer!

Nowhere else will you get the one-of-a-kind experience of meeting pro-life and conservative leaders, learning how the pro-life grassroots movement works, and seeing Congress in action!

Selected candidates will start their rotating internship in Manassas, VA in June and finish in August.

Candidates will work for 3 weeks in each of the following offices: Students for Life of America headquarters, another national pro-life organization, and a pro-life Congressional office on Capitol Hill.

As a Missionary for Life, your housing will be provided. Missionaries will stay with selected host families in the D.C. area.

To apply,

• Submit your resume
• Send a short paragraph on why you want to be selected as a 2012 Missionary for Life
• Tell us if you will be able to bring a car (as some host families do not live near public transportation)
• Applications are due March 18, 2012!

Apply now!

What past Missionaries said about the SFLA Missionary for Life Program:

“This experience has given me not only knowledge of the workings of the pro-life movement but as well contacts within the movement.  Networking is key and I feel that the people I have connected with are people that can aide me in being successful in my future pro-life work.”  (Emily Espinola, Franciscan University)

“Spending this summer as a Missionary for Life intern has equipped me with the knowledge, resources, and the inspiration necessary to make me twice as effective as a student leader. Having gained a more comprehensive understanding of the pro-life movement, I now know all the different angles from which I can approach the issue on my campus and am now streaming with new ideas of how I will help bring about a culture of life on my campus.” (Steven McNulty, Clarion University)

“Thanks to my experiences this summer with SFLA, I will now spend a lifetime devoting time to the pro-life movement.  I’ve had the opportunity to work with some of the most devoted pro-life activists in the nation, and they have truly inspired me to work tirelessly for the unborn.” (Jennifer Kacerosky, University of Florida)

Great article in the Weekly Standard by Fred Barnes on the progress of the pro-life movement in recent years.  He said

That the pro-life movement is bigger is a given. It’s also younger, increasingly entrepreneurial, more strategic in its thinking, better organized, tougher in dealing with allies and enemies alike, almost wildly ambitious, and more relentless than ever.

***

They’ve begun piling up successes. In 2011 alone, 24 states have enacted 52 new restrictions on abortion. Five now require an ultrasound before an abortion, two insisting that the screen be viewable by the mother. Four bar abortions after the baby is able to feel pain (at approximately 20 weeks). Eight have opted out of Obamacare. Five ban abortions by webcam (in which a doctor, not in person but videoconferencing with the mother, prescribes pills to induce abortion). Six trimmed or eliminated funds for Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider. Texas led with a $64 million cut.

Although he didn’t mention CBR by name, he quoted from a piece by abortion industry leaders Frances Kissling and Kate Michelman, who lamented the effictiveness on our work when they noted that “Advocates of choice have had a hard time dealing with the increased visibility of the fetus.”  Kissling and Michelman were very specific about how our movement is making the fetus visible:

“… in recent years, the anti-abortion movement [meaning CBR and others] successfully put the nitty-gritty details [meaning pictures] of abortion procedures on public display [meaning university campus exhibits], increasing the belief that abortion is serious business and that some societal involvement is appropriate.”

These pictures are precisely why our successes continue to build.  (For more on this, see previous FAB post here.)

Barnes went on to highlight the work of two good friends, Lila Rose of Live Action and Kristan Hawkins of Students for Life of America (SFLA). Live Action’s under-cover investigations have exposed Planned Parenthood covering up for child abusers and sex traffickers at numerous abortion facilities all over the country. Lila was a recent guest on my show (audio here).

SFLA has established pro-life groups at hundreds of universities and colleges around the country. At CBR Southeast, we work closely with SFLA to start pro-life groups in our region and train student leaders how to be more effective at leading pro-life activism.

We are sad to report that Jon Scharfenberger has died of his injuries from the October 8 auto crash that also claimed the lives of Kortney and Sophy Gordon.  Jon went to be with our Lord at about 9:45 am this morning.  More here and here.

Jon was the Pregnant on Campus Coordinator of the Students for Life of America (SFLA).  Jon had many successes in his short time at SFLA, including establishing a pro-life campus group at Florida International University that was successful in saving the life of a pre-born baby, a mere one week after its creation. You can read more about this story here.

We will post information about arrangements as it becomes available.  More information from SFLA website here.  Donations to cover funeral costs are being accepted here.

Please pray for the Scharfenberger family during this enormously difficult time.

FAB will give updates, as available, on the condition of Jon Scharfenberger, the Students for Life of America (SFLA) staff member who is fighting for his life in Macon, Georgia.  Jon was critcally injured in Saturday night’s tragic auto crash that claimed the lives of Kortney Gordon and her preborn child Sophy.

Tuesday, October 18:  We are sad to report that Jon Scharfenberger has passed away from his injuries.  He died earlier today.

10:45 pm, Monday, October 17:  Jon has spiked a fever of 108 degrees F, which can be lethal. Urgent prayers are needed as this battle has taken a terrible turn for him.

10:30 am, Monday, October 17:  The doctors have induced a 72-hour coma in Jon.  Now is the time for prayer and fasting for Jon and his family.

5:30 pm, Saturday, October 15:  No further updates.  Pray for Jon’s condition to stabilize so that he can be transferred to a hospital specializing in brain trauma.

12:45 am, Friday, October 14:  Late Wednesday, Jon’s condition destablized for a time.  Throughout the day Thursday, his condition regained some sense of stability, but the issue is still in doubt.  Please pray for God’s healing for Jon, and pray for his family’s strength and comfort as the battle rages.

1:00 pm, Wednesday, October 12:  Jon has shown significant improvement since yesterday.  His condition remains extremely critical, but he is trending in the right direction, especially over the past 15 hours.  Please continue to pray.

2:00 pm, Tuesday, October 11:  There is a ray of hope.  Jon’s neurological condition has stopped deteriorating and has held steady through the night and through the morning.  From eye movements through his closed eyes, he is showing response to meaningful people in his life.  Having lived through the day yesterday, and having no further decline today are very hopeful indicators, though he remains in extremely critical condition.  The next 24 hours are crucial.  Specific are being withheld at the Family’s request.  Please keep up the prayers.  (link to source)

Sunday, October 9:  We are stunned to learn of the death of our dear friend Kortney Blythe Gordon, who was killed (along with Sophy, her preborn child) in an automobile accident near Macon, Georgia last night.  Story here and here.  Kortney was the National Field Director for Students for Life of America (SFLA), and was in Georgia to attend the Students for Life of Georgia conference that was held yesterday.

Three passengers in Kortney’s car were seriously injured.  Updates on the passengers and their progress are given below.

Please pray.

Update, 1:00 am, Monday, October 10:  SFLA staff member Jon Scharfenberger was also seriously injured in the crash.  His prognosis is not good.  We’ve been told that the other two passengers have regained consciousness.  Updates are being posted on the SFLA Facebook page.

Update, 10:30 am, Monday, October 10:  No further word on Jon.  He is still in critical condition and is in the ICU.  SFLA is hosting a webcast at 5:00 p.m. ET tonight for those who want to pray and offer their words of support for Kortney’s family and of encouragement for Jon. David Bereit of 40 Days for Life, Reverend Pat Mahoney of Christian Defense Coalition, and Claude Allen of Gerard Health Foundation will be on the call to lead us in prayer and discussion to honor the lives of Kortney and her daughter Sophy, and to offer words of encouragement for Jon and his family. We encourage you to join the webcast by clicking here.

Update, 2:30 pm, Monday, October 10:  The other two persons injured in Saturday’s crash have been identified as Leo Buckle, President of the Students for Life group at the University of South Carolina, and Ginny Stone, a pro-life activist from a pregnancy center in Durham, NC.  Ginny’s condition has been upgraded to stable.  Both Leo and Ginny are expected to live, although they have sustained extremely serious internal injuries requiring extensive surgery.

No further word about Jon, except that he is in extremely critical condition.

More details about the accident have been published.  According to a press report, Quenby Means Jr., 56, of Irmo, SC, was southbound on Eatonton Highway (US 129), about 8 miles north of Gray Ga., when he attempted to pass two cars in his SUV.  He crashed head-on into Kortney’s northbound SUV.  Kortney and her passengers were on their way home from the Georgia Students for Life conference in Macon.

Update, 4:00 pm, Monday, October 10:  Jon’s condition is worsening.  We are told it will take a miracle for him to last until tomorrow.  Please pray for this awesome young man.

Update, 8:30 am, Tuesday, October 11:  We’ve learned that, as of last night, Jon had pulled out of the steep decline that was reported yesterday.  His condition has leveled off, which is a good news, but Jon still has a long way to go.  SFLA is asking for prayer and fasting.  A special time of prayer is requested at noon today and every day for the next 10 days (link).

Amanda Lord and Kortney Gordon of SFLA describe ways for campus pro-life groups to win hearts, change minds, and save lives.

Yesterday and today, CBR and Students for Life of America (SFLA) are hosting our 6th Annual Student Leadership Conference in Knoxville.  The theme for this year’s conference is Overcoming Common Obstacles to Effective Campus Outreach.  We have students here from Indiana, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and even from as far away as Louisiana.

It’s one of the biggest obstacles to effective pro-life activism.

Perhaps the most important task for any pro-life campus group is choosing projects that are both strategic and effective.  Unwise choices leave the most important work undone.

But the transition of leadership from one group of leaders to the next is also very big.  In fact, we frequently encounter groups who have suffered greatly because the former leaders did not effectively pass the mantle of leadership on to the current crop.  Poor project selection and poor execution have been the inevitable result.

But we aren’t doing nothing to help the current leaders identify and train the next crop of leaders.  Each year, we co-host, along with the Students for Life of America (SFLA), our annual Pro-Life Student Leadership Conference.

SFLA has also been working very hard to improve the transition of pro-life leadership on campus.  Here is a video by SFLA’s Mary Kate Cavazos:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXQZRc_TmBE