Section 1. Section 2. Section 3

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1 To: Christian College and University Administrators, Faculty, and Students From: Christian College and University Students for Life Group Leaders Re: The Pro-Life Leadership of Christian Schools Section 1 For over forty years, abortion has been legal until birth in our country. Over fifty-five million preborn babies have been aborted in that time. This violence against the preborn has injured mothers, fathers, families, and society, causing untold misery and spoiling the beauty of life and marring the image of God in each person. As students of Christian schools of higher education and sons and daughters of the living God, being pro-life is part of who we are. The Christian schools we attend have taught us about the beauty of God s image and the value of all life. Taking the truth we have learned in our schools, we have gone to the lost and hurting of the world and we have seen pain up close, especially the pain of abortion. Today, we envision a world without abortion. We look forward with hope to the imminent time when our Culture of Death will be transformed into a Culture of Life, led by Christ s Church. Even atheists and agnostics agree that if the Christian Church would stand united against abortion, it would end, Kristan Hawkins, President of Students for Life of America, said recently. Through the power of God s Word and Spirit, it is at this time that we are writing to compel our administrators, our pastors, our teachers, and our fellow classmates to take decisive action; to lead the charge in abolishing abortion in our lifetime. Section 2 We are called to make a difference in this world through Christ s love. While every school has a slightly different mission, there is a common theme in the mission statements of most Christian universities: preparing students for a life committed to Christ. Our schools share common values that are taught not just in our classrooms, but in all facets of our lives as students. We re taught to be bothered and moved by injustice, and to become servant leaders in bringing justice to the world. We re taught to see the worth of all individuals, show them truth, and lead them to Christ. It is with this mission in mind that we exhort our peers, our professors, and our administrators to join with us in the movement to abolish abortion. Section 3 At first glance, it may seem like there is no need for a Students for Life club on a Christian campus. After all, do we really need a politically charged issue brought to campuses that are thought to be deficient of sex, pregnancy, and abortion?

2 We do. Almost half of all abortions occur in women under the age of 25, the age of most of our students 1. In comparison to secular schools, sex and pregnancy at Christian schools statistically occur at the same rate 2. Furthermore, roughly 65% of women who have obtained abortions identify as being Protestant or Catholic. 3 As followers of Christ, we have a responsibility to establish and maintain an environment in which all lives are valued and protected and where women facing an unplanned pregnancy are supported. We are not condoning extramarital sex by taking this stance. It is our place to offer forgiveness (Matthew 18:22) and promote life (Proverbs 24:11-12). When confronted with a difficult situation involving sexual sin, Jesus neither ignored the problem nor condoned it. Instead, He told the adulterous woman to go and sin no more (John 8:11). If a new life is brought into the world in the process, the young mother and father need support so that an even greater sin the taking of an innocent human life, made in God s image is not committed. Many Christian schools are often unintentionally an unwelcome place for young women who become pregnant. These women are embarrassed and too ashamed to tell anyone about their pregnancy and as a result of this fear, they are likely to consider abortion or dropping out of school, which increases the likelihood that she and her child will live in poverty. While some Christian schools do help pregnant students, the resources are not publicized and therefore may as well not exist. A student facing a crisis pregnancy will first look to the internet, where the abortion industry has a strong presence. That is why Students for Life has created the only nationwide directory of resources for pregnant and parenting college students. Section 4 Christian colleges and universities allow a unique opportunity for Christian and non-christian students alike, that they may be exposed to the teachings of the church and influenced by it. The Christian campus not only represents the educators, but also represents the Church, and should do so in a manner consistent with the Christian understanding of the dignity of the human person. Section 5 A fellow believer at a Christian college sought to establish a pro-life student group. Instead of being met with support from her campus leaders, she had to go to such lengths as to submit the 1 Guttmacher Institute, State-by-State Trends in Abortion in the United States 2 Religion and Sexual Behaviors, Amy Adamczyk, Department of Sociology, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, th Avenue, New York, NY Guttmacher Institute, Induced Abortion in the United States

3 charter club application twice, write two official explanation letters to student government, and have separate meetings with the university s president, dean of student life, campus pastor, and student government central committee. The student attempting to create the organization had to wait an entire semester before her student government even held a vote to determine her group s status. Sadly, her story is not unique. A brother in Christ attending a Christian university was one of several students attempting to form a Students for Life club. The student government was hesitant to approve the organization because of the political nature of the issue. However, the student government easily approved the campus s Gay-Straight Alliance, a group that discusses a topic that is just as political. Yet another sister in Christ was met with even more obstacles. The student met with the faculty advisor of the university s student government on several occasions. He told her that the topic would be very controversial, and he was hesitant to even let her begin the application process. She submitted the application according to the school s requirements, but the vote that would either approve or deny her group was postponed several months. She was asked to be present at the vote to answer questions about her club s intentions, and there she discovered the student government had not even reviewed her application. The next day, she received an stating that her application had been denied, the only explanation being that the topic was too controversial. Even after she explained that she only intended to educate her peers, the student government told her to reapply the next semester. These are just three examples of Christian colleges placing obscene obstacles in the way of prolife students. In nine years, Students for Life of America has started over 800 campus pro-life groups. They have found that the hardest place to start a pro-life student group is at a Christian college or university. This is an embarrassment. We cannot be deluded into thinking that the same late-night behaviors prevalent at secular schools are not happening at our schools. Our classmates, friends, and sisters are being driven into the hands of the abortion industry by apathetic peers, faculty and administrators. Many of our Christian universities inadvertently create environments that promote abortion by expelling or evicting students who become pregnant out of wedlock or if they don t do this, they do nothing to stop myths that this is the school policy. One such story occurred at a Christian college where a student chose to withdraw from school because she felt she had to choose between her education and the life of her child. The young woman never knew that the school s pregnancy policy was on an individual case basis and that she might not have been expelled. At this very same university, another student, confiding in her resident assistant that she was pregnant, chose to withdraw from school rather than face potential consequences. If either of these women had known of the school s policy, they could have chosen both their child and their education. However, the school did not make such knowledge available. Another tragic tale is that of a student organization that wanted to help bring a message of healing to a woman that they knew had chosen abortion. The students printed documents explaining the grace and forgiveness of Jesus and asked permission to distribute them throughout

4 the campus. University officials prohibited the distribution, claiming that they feared litter. How sorrowful it must have been for these students to dedicate so much effort into creating a project that would explain the Gospel to lost souls, only to hear fellow believers call it potential litter. Section 6 At the very least, Christian colleges and universities, from the administration to the student government, should not be openly hostile to pro-life clubs. Pro-lifers should face no more scrutiny or obstacles than other student groups on campus. Students for Life clubs are a much needed resource for students at Christian schools. We believe that all Christian schools should be doing much more than the very least when it comes to the greatest injustice we ve ever known. They must walk the walk and support women in crisis pregnancies on campus. The school health center must not provide any abortifacients or referrals to abortion facilities and should have a list of local, life-affirming resources, such as Pregnancy Resource Centers, to which they can refer pregnant students, if the health center doesn t offer the resources those women need. Being a pregnant or parenting student isn t easy, but Christian schools can implement policies to help those students finish their education (the ultimate goal for every student) like providing scholarships and financial aid for pregnant and parenting students, flexible class scheduling and diverse options for when classes meet, an excused leave of absence for child birth, and help finding adequate on- or off-campus housing. Also, small things can be done on campus to help a woman be less likely to consider abortion, like installing diapers decks in at least one men s and women s bathroom per school building, lactation rooms for nursing moms in a central location on campus, and a designated department or student ambassador to help support and advocate for mothers on campus and their needs. Also, school counselors, Resident Advisers, and Campus ministers should be trained on how to best help mothers on campus and navigate school policies. The importance of effective communications cannot be overstated here. If students don t know about these resources, they may as well not exist. Section 7 Considering the larger problem of abortion in our nation, Christian colleges and universities are uniquely positioned to lead the cause for abolishing abortion. They are educating hundreds of thousands of students every year, including the future pastors and secular leaders of America, and should seek to instill in them a moral compass which will guide them for life. Think of the multiplied impact our colleges can have by equipping future pastors and other leaders to defend and protect life, and to be leaders in the pro-life movement. We call on all Christian colleges and universities to include pro-life leadership training in their curriculums.

5 Jesus Christ is the light that shines in the darkness, that the darkness cannot overcome (John 1:5). It is our responsibility to bear the light of Christ and banish the darkness of abortion. With every member of our communities working together, we believe we will abolish abortion in our lifetime. Signatories: Michael Boes - Creighton University Joseph M Day - Providence College Elise Stewart - George Fox University Elisabeth Ciarrocca - Messiah College Stacie Martin - Messiah College Janelle Wanzek - University of Notre Dame Evan Stone - Bellarmine University Rachel Brown - Liberty University Elizabeth Knodel - Seattle Pacific University Sarah David - The University of Scranton Gabriel Vance - Ohio Dominican University Ashley Childress - Westmont College Sarah Wade - Aquinas College Bethany Glock - St. Louis University Sean Maguire Liberty Law Laurel Bader Lindenwood University Nic McDonald Creighton University Jessie Moore Indiana Wesleyan Noah Banks University of Portland Bethany Janzen, Corban University Rebecca Frazer, Asbury University