By Carol Tobias, President
Editor’s note. This appeared in the April edition of National Right to Life News. Please share this 42-page issue with your friends and family using social media.
National Right to Life President Carol Tobias
April is National Volunteer Month. The website for National Day Calendar states, “In the United States, volunteerism is instilled at a young age. In many parts of the country, it is the cornerstone of summer vacation or woven into after school programs. Most organizations in small towns, rural counties and the largest cities would not function without volunteers. In some families, the baton of volunteerism is handed down generation after generation.”
“Most organizations… would not function without volunteers.” That certainly describes National Right to Life. Our volunteers are representative of the best of everything America has to offer. Your dedication, energy, enthusiasm, unrelenting perseverance, cheerful personalities and loving, generous hearts are unmatched.
Our NRLC volunteers give of their time, talent, and resources to defend those whom society has labeled “useless,” “unwanted,” and a “burden.”
I was at an event recently during which I was asked to take two minutes to say a few words about NRLC. That was actually quite difficult because NRLC does so much. Two minutes just wasn’t enough to adequately describe who we are and what we are able to do because of our volunteers. But here goes….
National Right to Life is the only pro-life organization with a three-tier level of activity. State affiliates and chapters are composed of volunteers who assist innumerable people in their local community. Whether it is working with churches, schools, or community organizations, you are the personal representative of NRLC that brings the pro-life message to neighbors and co-workers.
Our goal? To change the law so that unborn children, as President George W. Bush so wonderfully stated, “are welcomed in life and protected in law.”
In order to change the law, we elect pro-life men and women, then work with those elected officials to enact pro-life legislation and fend off anti-life initiatives.
We also elect officials who will nominate judges to the various courts who understand and will uphold the Constitution. We will, someday, have the right men and women at all levels of the court system that will uphold pro-life legislation passed by pro-life elected officials and babies will be saved.
As we work on that goal, we educate fellow Americans so we can change hearts and minds. Like you, I’d love to see the day when, even if abortion was legal, no one would want one. But, sadly, that’s highly unlikely; if abortion is legal, unborn children will continue to die.
National Right to Life has several outreach programs to various communities. We have a Latino outreach, working within the growing Hispanic community. We also provide material for Black Americans for Life and Native Americans for Life. American Victims of Abortion reaches out to women who have had abortions, as well as fathers and grandparents of aborted babies.
NRLC coordinates the National Pro-Life Religious Council, which represents the pro-life community within various denominations.
Our outreach goes overseas as well. National Right to Life is working on the international scene. As an NGO (non-governmental organization) recognized by the United Nations, we work with pro-life leaders in other countries, trying to prevent the UN from recognizing abortion as an international right. National Right to Life and MCCL GO, the global outreach of our affiliate Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, are among the very few single-issue pro-life organizations working in this manner.
Along with combating abortion, NRLC is also in the trenches working to promote respect for the elderly and those with disabilities. With your help we work tirelessly to defeat assisted suicide measures in state legislatures and successfully repealed the Independent Advisory Board (IPAB), a component of Obamacare that would highly likely lead to the rationing of health care.
But all of this would be impossible without the steadfast support and actions of our awesome volunteers. You make NRLC strong. You make NRLC enormously effective.
Every time you set up an educational booth at county fairs and local community events; every time you post pro-life information on your chapter or personal Facebook page; every time you recruit donors to buy a full page ad in your local newspaper; every time you advocate for unborn children in churches and schools; every time you identify new pro-life allies; every time you build a relationship with local reporters—I think you get my point—everything you do to inform and enlighten your local community makes a difference. Your contributions make NRLC and the pro-life movement stronger.
Every time you help to elect pro-life candidates, then work with those elected officials to pass pro-life legislation, you demonstrate yet again how integral a part of helping NRLC to save lives that you are.
The above-mentioned National Day Calendar website stated, “In some families, the baton of volunteerism is handed down generation after generation.” We see that in NRLC. Our families consist of two- and three-generation volunteers. This encourages the pro-life movement and, quite frankly, scares the abortion industry. They know we are not going away!
Let me conclude with this. I want all of our amazing volunteers to know that National Right to Life has not, does not, nor ever will take you and what you do for unborn children for granted. We cherish your efforts and are very proud of our cooperative achievements which are changing hearts and minds throughout the country.
Everything you do is making a difference, which is why we will one day win this battle for life. To all of you, a sincere and heartfelt thank you.