By Alivia Grace Talley, YWA Ambassador and Vice President at Clemson University
“I don’t think my life is valuable, or any life. Let alone a baby’s life. I just don’t think anyone’s life has value.”
She looked into my eyes as she spoke, and my heart stopped. At that moment, it felt as if everything around me suddenly slowed down. No longer was I just pro-life tabling on my college campus. At this moment, I was talking with a student about the most important truth we should all know – how much worth and value we each have.
To any pro-abortion student I get to speak with on my campus, I want them to know that all life is valuable – especially their life.
I have experienced so much from pro-life tabling on my campus. Some students want to stop and talk about the issue of abortion, and others want to stop and yell at me for “telling women what to do with their bodies.”
It is vital that young women know they are worth so much more than what abortion has to offer. According to the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute, 42% of abortion-minded women are between the ages of 18 and 24. This means women on my campus believe the vicious lies of the abortion industry.
The abortion industry tells women they cannot graduate from school, have their baby, and have a career. They trick women into believing that the only solution to an unexpected pregnancy is to end the lives of their unborn children. However, we know this is not the truth. Thousands of pregnancy centers, all across America, exist to empower women to graduate, achieve their dreams, and have their babies.
Through pro-life tabling, I have had the opportunity to see so many hearts and minds change on abortion. One young woman shared with me that she had an abortion in her past, and I was able to provide resources to help her find hope and healing.
Ultimately, women who choose abortion do not know the significant value they have by simply being the daughter of our Heavenly Father. Before the moment you and I were created, each of us was chosen by the Creator of the Heavens and Earth Himself. Our Heavenly Father wanted to spend forever with us so much that He went to the very ends of the earth to call each of us His Sons and Daughters. 1 Peter 2:9 says this about who we are as God’s beloved children: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” Because of this truth, we do not have to question if we are loved, known, or wanted.
The day a student shared with me that she believed no one’s life had value, my heart broke for her. I told her that she did have worth, and her life had value. She shared with me that I was the first person to tell her that. Now, whenever I speak with pro-abortion students, I always keep that at the front of my mind. I tell myself, “The young women who are yelling at me just don’t know how much they are worth. The people I know from high school who are walking by this table and laughing at me just don’t know how much they are worth.”
To any pro-life college student reading this: pray for students on your campus. Talk to students on your campus. Tell them they are chosen and that their life has worth and value. It might be awkward at first or seem different, but as daughters of the Lord, we’re supposed to be different in the world’s eyes. I’ve learned that it really doesn’t matter what others think or say about me because I don’t take that to heaven. I take with me the souls and hearts I help lead to the Lord.
In the fight for life, remember who you are as His beloved daughter. And share that truth with others. As you talk to abortion supporters on your campus, tell them that babies’ lives are valuable, and their lives are, too.
You’ll be surprised. You never know who God will send onto your path. Right at this very moment, you might be sitting beside someone who just has no idea how valuable and worthy their life is.