Let’s be the generation that abolishes abortion

    Jan. 22, 2014, marks 41 years. Forty-one years of disregard for the sanctity of life. Forty-one years of deceit and harm to women. Forty-one years too many.
    Approximately 56 million lives have been taken since the monumental Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision in 1973. And based on figures from the abortion industry, 1.2 million children die annually.
    Because of these unfathomable figures, one-third of our generation is missing. I can’t help but feel disheartened when looking at the facts.
    Want to know something reviving, though? Our generation is conscious of this tragedy. We are mad. We are passionate and will not stand for this injustice any longer.
    We are the “Pro-Life Generation,” Catholic youth and young adults are constantly told. It feels splendid to be told that we – as young and inexperienced as we are – have the capability, smarts, passion and integrity to stop an injustice and save lives.
    Sometimes, however, the task to abolish abortion and save our country from the greatest tragedy it has ever faced is a tad overwhelming, and I think to myself, “Wow. Maybe these adults shouldn’t have so much confidence in my generation. I still need to learn how to pay taxes and use an iron before I can change the world.”
    But then I look at the busloads of young people driving hours across the nation to march together in solidarity for the respect of life. I see the passion, hear the fervent prayers and feel the desire of so many young people to spread a message of love to all. And most importantly, I see the compassion for children and support for their mothers that overflows from my peers, and I realize that we truly will be the generation that puts an end to abortion.
    There is just one catch. To be the generation that abolishes abortion, we need to show our entire generation the exploitation, deception and cruelty of the abortion industry.
    We need to teach them that being pro-life means being pro-woman, pro-child, pro-man, pro-family and pro-love.
    We need to educate them about what abortion actually is and what is does to the unborn and women, as difficult as it may be to discuss.
    We need to be unapologetically pro-life.
    To do this, it is vital that we live with a tenacious and unflaggingly pro-life mindset. This means courageously and lovingly entering dialogue about abortion and knowing our facts, even when it means feeling ostracized.
    It means not going to that restaurant or buying that product you know donates to and supports Planned Parenthood.
    It means using social media to spread a message of love, reaching out to peers who are pregnant, volunteering at a crisis pregnancy center, asking for the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe for our country, showing pro-life films to others, inviting others to pray outside of the abortion facilities and refusing to sit back when someone disrespects the dignity of life.
    There are countless ways to wear a pro-life attitude in our everyday lives, and I can sadly promise you that abortion will persist in America unless we make it a point to educate our peers and ourselves about the facts of abortion, reach out to pregnant women with love and compassion rather than angry signs and hurtful messages and, most importantly, persistent prayer.
    As terrifying as it might be, I am so grateful for the adults who inspire our generation to step up and fight for change, and especially for my peers who are brave enough to accept the call and respond with love. You are the pro-life generation. You are heroes.
    For 41 years, abortion has plagued our country with pain and lies. For 41 years, society has failed to welcome children and support women. Forty-one years too many. Let’s make this the last.
    Lindsey Frechou can be reached at [email protected].