By Mary Kizior
The pro-life movement has grown immensely over the past few years. The March for Life gets bigger every year, pregnancy resource centers actively save babies from abortion and give support to moms in need, and student pro-life groups are booming. These are all necessary and powerful ways to give witness to the gospel of life. However, there is one area of pro-life activism we sometimes don’t put enough focus on—educating the next generation. Pro-life education is key to ending abortion an other threats to human beings.
If we want to spread the message that every human being’s life is a precious gift from God, we need to start by teaching this message to our children. Saint John Paul II recognized the importance of education in building a culture of life when he wrote in Evangelium Vitae: “Closely connected with the formation of conscience is the work of education, which helps individuals to be ever more human, leads them ever more fully to the truth, instills in them growing respect for life, and trains them in right interpersonal relationships.”
Changing our culture from a culture of death to a culture of life will not happen overnight. Even though each successive generation of college students is becoming more and more pro-life, children and young people still need a pro-life education founded in the gospel of life in order to stand up for their beliefs.
We must educate the next generation, not only on the facts of pro-life issues, but on how to live and act in a pro-life manner. Pro-life education is key to transforming hearts and minds. It is education that forms the moral consciences of our young people—the future of the pro-life movement.
The culture of life is a way of life that upholds and respects the dignity and sacredness of every human being from the first moment of creation until death. A culture of life celebrates the God-given gift of life in the preborn, in the elderly, the sick, and the disabled by treating each person with dignity and respect and thanking God for that gift of life.
Teachers play an integral role in building up and emphasizing this way of life because of the example they can show their students. Saint John Paul II further states in Evangelium Vitae that “to be truly a people at the service of life we must propose these truths constantly and courageously from the very first proclamation of the Gospel, and thereafter in catechesis, in the various forms of preaching, in personal dialogue and in all educational activity. Teachers, catechists and theologians have the task of emphasizing the anthropological reasons upon which respect for every human life is based.”
As teachers and homeschooling parents, you have the unique opportunity to impart the culture of life to your students. As students prepare for college, they need to develop courage to face the culture of death. It takes courage to recognize and stand up against the threats to life. It is never too early to start training your students in the culture of life. Parents and teachers need help to spread the gospel of life in every grade level and academic discipline.
Our young people have been bombarded with lies about the dignity of the human person through our school system. Isn’t it time we reclaim our youth by guiding them to the truth?
Mary Kizior is the product development and marketing manager for the Culture of Life Studies Program. Her work has appeared on LifeSiteNews.com, Christ Is Our Hope magazine, Celebrate Life Magazine, Defend Life magazine, the Peanut Butter and Grace blog, and other blogs.
This article has been reprinted with permission and can be found at cultureoflifestudies.com/blog/pro-life-education/.
