This past Saturday our youth outreach division, Generations for Life, hosted the first Generations for Life pro-life youth conference. Thirty teens and adult mentors gathered at St. Mary of the Angels church in Chicago for a day of pro-life education, discussion and prayer.
GFL Conference Bolsters Pro-Life Teens
GFL Director Annie Scheidler and assistant Mary Shine put on a great program for teens interested in forming or already involved with pro-life clubs in their schools and churches. They demonstrated how to use the GFL curriculum with a presentation on sidewalk counseling, and creatively engaged the teens in discussion and learning through a variety of multi-media activities.
I gave talks on activism and effective communication. The highlight of the day was a frank, moving talk by Irene Vickers about the abortion she had when she was seventeen, its devastating effects on her life, and how she was made whole again by grace.
The day was a great success. “I can’t believe how much I learned today,” commented one teen. Plans are already underway for our next youth conference in the fall. Stay tuned for the date and other details.
Girls Scouts Teamed with Planned Parenthood
A Waco, Texas boycott of Girl Scout cookies launched by concerned parents has gained national attention in recent weeks, as reported on WorldNet Daily and elsewhere. Pro-life parents in Waco were outraged to discover their local Girl Scout council was cosponsoring a sex ed program with Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider. Under color of providing “health information,” Planned Parenthood distributed a pamphlet to girls as young as ten years old which included instructions on such topics as masturbation and condom use.
Parents in Waco began to withdraw their girls from the Blue Bonnet Girl Scouts Council, which was eventually down to only two girls, with the brownie program completely dismantled, as concerned citizens joined the boycott of Girl Scout cookies. The council finally ended its involvement with the Planned Parenthood sex ed program.
However, Girl Scout councils throughout the country continue to work in collusion with Planned Parenthood, a policy defended on the Today Show by Girl Scouts of the USA CEO Kathy Cloninger. With more than half the funding of many Girl Scout councils coming from the sale of cookies, the pro-life community can send a powerful message by boycotting cookies sold by councils working with Planned Parenthood. You can find contact information for your local council at the Girl Scouts of the USA website and call them up to ask whether they are involved with Planned Parenthood in any way.
Meanwhile, the Family Research Council is sponsoring a nationwide effort to convince Cloninger and the Girl Scouts to sever all connection with Planned Parenthood.
Face the Truth on Campus 4/7
Our next Face the Truth Campus Tour will be held April 7. We’re scouting sites this week, so local activists should check their mail for a postcard on the event next week, or get details at prolifeaction.org. Please join us as we expose the truth about abortion to Chicago collegians; standing up for life out on the streets can make a powerful Lenten sacrifice.
The pro-abortion radicals who confronted us during our first Campus Truth Day last week have promised to follow us from campus to campus. We’ll see if they follow through.
