By Megan McCrum, Program Director,National Right to Life Academy
Barbara Holt, president of North Carolina Right to Life, an affiliate of NRLC, with Academy graduate Sarah Urdzik who is a leader with the UNC-Chapel Hill Carolina Students for Life.
Even before the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, press coverage on the abortion issue has made clear that the pro-abortion movement is envious of pro-life youth enthusiasm. Recently, a tweet from a political reporter of the vigorously pro-abortion blog RH Reality Check, Robin Marty (@robinmarty), made plain the pro-abortion envy of not just pro-life youth, but of the grassroots pro-life movement’s structure. In an exchange with an NRLC affiliate, Marty tweeted: “I will confess my dream org is a pro-choice version of @NRLC, esp[ecially] with its state and local networks.”
It is with good reason that NRLC’s state and local networks should be the dream of every pro-abortion group out there. Grassroots pro-life activism at the local level is the fuel to any national movement, and the unique chain linking community chapters to NRLC state affiliates and to the D.C.- based national office, all aligned for a common purpose, is one that makes a formidable force.
Through programs like the National Right to Life Convention, held annually in a different city around the country (this year’s convention will be in Dallas, Texas June 27 – June 29), as well as this very website, National Right to Life News Today, NRLC provides education and tools to support this network of pro-life advocates around the country. One of NRLC’s educational initiatives, the National Right to Life Academy, is specifically geared to equipping college students with a comprehensive education to enhance their pro-life leadership skills.
The National Right to Life Academy is a five-week college level course held in Washington D.C. The program is akin to a pro-life bootcamp, the curriculum covers everything from the history of the pro-life movement, abortion policy, euthanasia and assisted suicide. In addition to lectures, the program also provides oral advocacy training. Students also grow through the opportunity to network with and develop friendships with their pro-life peers who are leading student pro-life groups around the country.
Since the Academy began in 2007, nearly 50 students have graduated from the program, and are currently working to grow the pro-life movement today through NRLC’s “dream” network of state and local groups. Help us continue to expand this network of inspiring and motivated young people. Pass this article today onto a college student leader you know who could be a candidate for the 2013 National Right to Life Academy. The program runs June 27 – August 3, and applications are being accepted now. Please see http://www.nrlc.org/Academy/ or email academy@nrlc.org for more information.