Louisiana Right to Life Youth Director’s Jacob Tonglet, Ashley Gilliam, and Abby Rose Nicoles, with Education Director Alex Seghers
On Saturday, June 4th the Youth Programs Team of Louisiana Right to Life spoke at the Post-Roe Summit on the panel “Post-Roe Gen Z Trauma, Healing, and Education”.
This panel addressed various topics such as their experiences on campuses, the expectation of a post-roe world for students, the struggles of reaching youth with the pro-life message, how to respond with compassion in challenging situations with students, the importance of educating students, and opportunities the youth programs team offers students all across Louisiana.
Jacob Tonglet and Ashley Gilliam at Post-Roe Summit
The Youth Programs Team spoke about their experiences with students on high school and college campuses, including the uprise in conversations about abortion with their peers. Statistics show that 47% of American women enter college identifying as pro-life, with only 27% remaining pro-life after graduation. We know this is due to many factors, a main area being lack of proper education and support for students. This lack of education and support for pro-life and pro-abortion students alike, coupled with the uprising of mental illness and the current culture, demonstrates that the overall view of human life has been majorly devalued among students across the nation.
The Youth Programs Team pointed out a few action steps older generations could take to counter this, including:
The importance of addressing mental health concerns and seeking out appropriate counseling:
As reflected in suicide, anxiety, and depression rates, many students struggle to see their own lives as valuable. Due to this, the abortion debate has to focus more on restoring the value of human life at all stages, including students battling mental illness. All generations should be equipped with compassion and the necessary resources to develop a life-affirming culture for students.
Starting conversations with their students:
Many students frequently hear about abortion from peers, classmates, and on social media. They hear a lot of different perspectives, some of which may be spreading misinformation or failing to acknowledge the dignity of the pre-born person. Parents, teachers, and youth leaders have the responsibility to step up and educate on the truth of the abortion issue in a compassionate way. This ensures that their students will be better equipped and informed as they live in a world saturated by the abortion debate and the culture of death.
Seeking out educational opportunities for their students:
The Louisiana Right to Life Youth Programs team offers free educational presentations to all age groups covering topics such as fetal development, abortion procedures, Planned Parenthood, the effects of abortion, pro-life persuasion, having a consistent life-ethic, and more. The team also hosts pro-life retreats, PULSE Immersion Weekends and PULSE Leadership Insitute, that are designed to educate, equip, and empower high school and college students to be pro-life leaders in their communities. (Find out more at ProLifePulseLa.com)
Supporting students and youth in their local communities and beyond:
There are many opportunities for youth to be involved in the pro-life movement in their local communities on a monthly basis! Pulse teams are located all over the state of Louisiana as a resource for pro-life students to connect with other students and grow their pro-life vision and mission. The youth programs team is also a wonderful resource for youth of all ages to be supported through their pro-life activism.
