Action Alert
The Culture of Life Studies Program invites all kids 3rd-12th grade to enter our Pro-Life Essay Contest! This year’s contest, cosponsored by the Institute for Excellence in Writing, Contend Projects, and Team Iron Will, runs now through November 7, so there’s still plenty of time to enter.
Any student in that age range, regardless of where he or she goes to school, can enter the contest.
Prizes range from cash to awesome pro-life gear to a book signed by Mark Hart!
Visit prolifeessay.com for the prompts, prizes, and submission guidelines!
Week in Review
JD Vance Defends Abortion ‘Edge Cases’
At an event for Turning Point USA, Vice President JD Vance was asked why he wavers on abortion. The student who asked the question stated that she is 100% pro-life and wanted to know why the vice president’s position has changed and, at times, flip-flopped.
The vice president stated that he and President Trump are firmly pro-life, however, he and the president believe there are “edge cases.” Vance went on to defend abortions in cases of rape and mothers’ health, telling the student that “we have to be realistic” about the fact that “tough cases” come up.
The reality is that our administration is not firmly pro-life. In fact, they have made shocking decisions that advance several anti-life agendas. We know straight from the vice president’s mouth that they believe in abortion exceptions, but we also know from their policy decisions that this administration takes little to no issue with the abortion pill and has made policies to advance IVF, which kills more children every year than abortion.
When I saw this video clip of the vice president’s remarks, I had two thoughts. First, kudos to that young woman who had the bravery to ask the vice president these questions in front of a huge audience. Second, we must pray for the vice president.
Working for the total protection of the preborn can at times be a very isolating fight. We know that this is not the most popular or most flashy side of the pro-life argument, but that’s because it is the hardest to understand.
No one, including the president and vice president, wants to watch a woman suffer through a difficult pregnancy. No one wants to suffer in general; it’s not in our nature. But our faith calls us to something higher.
My prayer is that the vice president, as a fellow Catholic, can come to understand that it is never our place to decide who lives and who dies. We are not given the authority to decide which lives are worthy of living. That right belongs to God and God alone. Further, in the tough cases of abortion—the ones the vice president called “edge cases”—rare as they might be, it is still not a justification for the murder of another.
As I told a crowd of high school students a few weeks ago in regard to rape, the act itself is horrendous and should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. But violence will not erase violence. Abortion will not take away or heal the violence that woman experienced. In fact, in many cases, the woman will be left with psychological trauma from both the rape and the abortion.
In regard to the mother’s health, over 400 doctors have stated that there is never a medical reason to end a child’s life via abortion to save the life of the mother. When a woman has a high-risk pregnancy, that doctor is now responsible for the lives of two patients, not one. His duty is to do everything in his power to save both mom and baby. Sometimes that means delivering early, or sometimes it means surgery that can help amend a fetal defect. But it never means killing one patient to save another.
Hard truths though they be, these are still the truths we hold as Christians who value all human life as a gift from God. Please join me in praying for our president and vice president. People have their hearts changed and eyes opened all the time, and we must pray for their conversion to defend human all human life!
Now Is the Best Time to Check ALL’s Charity Watchlist
With the season of charitable giving upon us, don’t forget to use American Life League’s free Charity Watchlist tool to make sure your favorite charities align with your values.
Updated on the first Monday of every month, the Charity Watchlist takes stock of nearly 200 of the most popular charitable giving organizations. The Watchlist rates these charities on a green-yellow-red system, which donors can think of like a traffic signal. Green means “go,” yellow means “proceed with caution,” and red means “stop!”
ALL staff research each charity in great detail to determine if the charity in question either donates to or supports anti-life causes of any kind. The list specifically focuses on any connections to abortion, contraception, embryonic stem cell research, promotion of the LGBTQ+ lifestyle, and connections with organizations such as Planned Parenthood.
To navigate the list, simply scan each section to find the charity you are looking for. To find more detail on why a charity is given a certain color, simply click the “More Information” tab and click the “Source” link. This will take you to a printable PDF with links and sources for all the information our research team found on the charity in question.
If you don’t see a charity on the list and would like to have it added, please give us a call!
Access our FREE Charity Watchlist here.
ALL in the News
ALL’s Charity Watchlist served as the subject of an article calling out pro-abortion nonprofits. The article, written for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, called out two popular charities that fund breast cancer research but that also support abortion.
Susan Ciancio, editor of Celebrate Life Magazine and director of the Culture of Life Studies Program, penned an op-ed on a new book about saints and exorcisms. The article was published by LifeSiteNews.
Susan was a guest on the Spirit Catholic Radio Network. She discussed pro-life education using the Culture of Life Studies Program and CLSP’s Pro-Life Essay Contest, which runs now through November 7.
ALL’s national director Katie Brown Xavios regularly posts updates about American Life League and its important work on social media channels X and LinkedIn. Follow her accounts to stay up to date.
Twice a week, Judie’s commentaries are distributed to an expansive media list. The list contains over 100 media outlets such as Fox News, The Federalist, Breitbart, and The Daily Caller, among others. Judie’s commentaries are each featured on the front page of ALL.org.
Pro-Life Education
Culture of Life Studies Program
Pro-Life Citizenship: This lesson booklet shows high school students the importance of political action and helps students understand their role in government, even when they have not yet reached voting age. Throughout the pages of this 26-page booklet, students learn about what it takes to form their moral conscience and how the moral conscience plays an integral role in helping voters carry out their civic duty. ORDER HERE
ALL’s Education Materials
Total Protection: Preborn Children & Politics: Pro-life people accept the truth that each and every preborn child is a human being. Each one is a person and deserves total protection from society and from the law as well. Many of us, however, are often challenged when it comes to using this truth as a basis for public policy. We are told that we simply do not understand politics, that to seek protection for every baby is to be socially and politically irrelevant. Yet, what will happen to the pro-life movement if we divorce ourselves from the truth? This brochure explains. SHOP NOW
Pro-Life Social Media
VIDEO: Empowering Young Voices with a Pro-Life Essay Contest
On a recent episode of The Katie McGrady Show on SiriusXM’s Catholic Channel (channel 129), host Katie McGrady chatted with Susan Ciancio, director and executive editor of American Life League’s Culture of Life Studies Program, to discuss a timely and inspiring opportunity for students: the annual Pro-Life Essay Contest.
Now in its eighth year, the contest invites young people in grades 3 through 12 to reflect deeply on the dignity of human life through thoughtful, age-appropriate writing prompts. Running throughout Respect Life Month in October and through November 7, the contest is open to any student eager to articulate the importance of building a culture of life.