Students for Life of Illinois

This is a short summary of what Students for Life of Illinois (SFLI) has done this academic year. We have built a great deal of momentum and we are looking forward to even greater accomplishments next school year with a full-time staff!

On October 27^th, we hosted the first annual Students for Life of Illinois Conference. This conference was a tremendous success! I am still learning of ways that it affected students throughout the state. Here are some of the highlights:

• As a result of the conference, two student pro-life groups were started at Lewis University and Northern Illinois University!
• Over seventy people were energized and educated to redouble their efforts for Life!
• The talks at the conference played a role in the decisions of two students to become nurses to help the unborn in the medical profession!
• Eight students became officers of SFLI!

This spring, SFLI worked with pro-life students at the University of Illinois and at Northwestern University to hold Pregnancy Resource Forums. These roundtable discussions brought together community members and university administrators and staff to discover the resources available at these universities for pregnant and parenting students. We are now working with these pro-life students to create a roadmap to distribute this vital information to the students who need it on their campuses. We are on the way to giving students real choices!

In the fall, SFLI discovered that Planned Parenthood of East-Central Illinois was being funded by several local businesses. We started an e-mail campaign and spoke with local churches. The e-mail campaign respectfully outlined the fact that Planned Parenthood is the largest abortion provider in the U.S. and suggested alternative charities. One of these businesses, an office supply store, realized the error of its ways. From our efforts, they promised to stop funding the abortion business!

In July and in January we held two leadership retreats to train students in leadership skills. Not only do we help students with leadership skills, but we also connect them with leadership positions. SFLI connected two pro-life graduates with pro-life jobs. Katharine now works part time at Fidelis in Chicago and Emily took a Field Representative position with Students for Life of America for the Fall 2007 term.

With the help of Lisa Kuslikis, our Sidewalk Counseling Coordinator, we held a sidewalk counseling training session at Loyola University. An experienced counselor came and instructed students on how to talk to women considering abortion. We are planning on holding sidewalk counseling sessions on many other campuses.

Two buses of students again descended upon our nation’s capitol to stand up for life. One bus left from Chicago while the other left from Champaign. Each carried students from several different schools all with the same goal: To stand up for the unborn. Students marched together at the national March for Life from the mall to the Supreme Court building. They attended the Students for Life of America Conference and the Cardinal O’Connor Conference at Georgetown. The March for Life is consistently one of the most inspiring events for pro-life students. Seeing 200,000 people standing up for life is truly empowering!

Loyola University, DePaul University and Augustana College all held a series of events called “Life Week.” Pro-life students at each school organized a variety of educational events designed to educate students for a full week on different aspects of the dignity of the human person. Students held prayer vigils, watched movies, heard lectures and witnessed displays. Life Week has become more popular on campuses over the last two years and we are supporting this trend.

Lastly, we were instrumental in persuading an Illinois States Attorney to file a motion to reconsider the 1995 Parental Notice of Abortion Act. When federal Judge David Coar decided to keep a permanent injunction against the parental notice law, Students for Life of Illinois had to act. Other pro-life groups sent e-mail blasts and started phone chains to encourage their local States Attorneys to file a motion to reconsider. We did our part by forwarding this appeal to those who needed it along with information on additional States Attorneys. One of those additional States Attorneys, Ed Deters, followed through with the motion. This allowed legal proceedings to move forward!

Life is Good!