We had the awesome opportunity to meet and converse with admirable pro-life leaders including: Father Frank Pavone, Dr. Alveda King, Jim Pinto, Ryan Bomberger, Joy Pinto, and other inspiring leaders.  Pictures and videos we took from the event are embedded below so that you can get a taste of what the future Pro-Life Freedom Rides will be like.  Keep in mind, these events are historical. These peaceful protests, pro-life assemblies, marches, and freedom rides are going to be in tomorrow’s history books.  Abortion is not forever. We are on the winning side, the side that exults LIFE!

What can you do to support this ministry?

FIRST – Watch the videos. Gain from the inspirational speeches. They are a gift to strengthen the pro-life community.

SECOND – Attend one of the Pro-Life Freedom Ride events.  If you cannot go to the one being held in Knoxville Tenn. this October, help us to bring it to Pensacola.  Only average Joe’s like you and I can make this happen.

THIRD – Seriously consider donating to Priests for Life, the organization hosting the Pro-Life Freedom Rides.  They are in dire need of help right now because they have $800,000 in bills to pay and are a completely non-profit, donation supported ministry.

MOST IMPORTANTLY:
Please pray for an end to abortion and for the success of the efforts of pro-lifers.

Coverage of first-ever Pro-Life Freedom Ride:

Fr. Pavone – Part 1

Click here to view the embedded video.

Fr. Pavone – Part 2

Click here to view the embedded video.

Dr. Alveda King

Click here to view the embedded video.

Ryan Bomberger

Click here to view the embedded video.

Day Gardner

Click here to view the embedded video.

Dr. Tim Johnson

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Pictures from the events:

Life on the Rock

Pro Life Freedom Ride Rally

Pro Life Freedom Ride

BONUS:

For those of you actually still reading this, here’s a video clip of our president, Bernadette Ensley, speaking with Fr. Mitch Pacwa in German and Arabic.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Sign the petition to encourage Governor Charlie Crist to vote YES on HB1143!

13 week old baby

When women see the picture truth of what is living inside them from an ultrasound image, most women choose NOT to abort.  On the other hand, when women go into an abortion clinic and are told “we are removing your pregnancy” or “it’s not a baby, just a blob of tissue” they more likely will abort believing the lie that their baby is not a real baby. (Proof for this claim can be found in the study below)

In order to abuse or kill someone, it is well known that you have to dehumanize it.  The Nazis did this when their Supreme Court defined Jewish people to be NON-PERSONS.  They were described as dirty vermin in various Nazi-era writings.  The same happened to the African Americans in the United States.  They were defined as NON-PERSONS too – and considered property!  Thankfully today these lies have been uprooted.

What if white slave-owners or Nazi soldiers were forced to see the humanity of their victims?  What if they were forced to see the parents and children hug each other and have family conversations?

Today, in Florida, we have the opportunity to help mothers to see the humanity of their unborn child through the use of ultrasound imaging!  This prevents mothers from being fooled by the unscientific, ridiculous lies abortion providers say about unborn children.

We need to urge our governor Charlie Crist to VOTE IN FAVOR OF BILL:  HB1143.

More detailed information found here.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Study shows power of ultra-sound imaging to influence mothers to decide AGAINST abortion:

Dr. Eric J. Keroack, then medical director of five centers run by A Woman’s Concern in Massachusetts, studied the cases of 436 women considering abortion between October 2000 and April 2002 at a center in Revere and whose outcomes could be traced.

Of those who were considered “abortion-vulnerable” — that is, facing obstacles that they may feel incapable of or unwilling to handle but who had not yet decided to abort — 75.5 percent decided not to have an abortion after viewing the ultrasound of her unborn baby, while 24.5 percent went ahead with an abortion.

“We also observed that during the utilization of these technical advances, our clients frequently demonstrated bonding responses to their pregnancies as well,” Keroack wrote in a letter to colleagues about the study. “Our examinations were not performed with the intention of creating such responses; they were performed in a fashion consistent with accepted medical standards for diagnostic ultrasonography.”

Keroack, who later served briefly as director of the Office of Population Affairs in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, compared those figures to a similar study group from July 1998 to December 1999, before the center had an ultrasound machine.

The statistics were nearly reversed. Of the 344 “abortion-vulnerable” women whose cases were studied and whose outcomes could be determined, 61 percent decided after counseling at the Revere center to go ahead with an abortion, while 33.7 percent decided not to have an abortion.

Keroack’s study concluded: “The ability to decide one’s direction in an unplanned pregnancy is the foundational theory of the ‘pro-choice’ supporters. Allowing a patient to view her ultrasound examination implies respect for the dignity and autonomy of a patient, and her ability to participate wisely in her own plan of care.”

(Retreived from: http://www.the-tidings.com/2008/080108/ultrasound.htm  on May 6th 2010)

Pro-life Ambassador Training event!

It served to create a foundation for our understanding of abortion.   To be clear, Aaron presented a expansive history of abortion; what people believed about unborn children and what laws were in place.  We learned that science asserts that human life begins at conception, and with all further advancements, science continues to reassert this truth.   Also, statistical information from the CDC provided the various reasons why women aborted.  Lastly, we were informed on the various abortion procedures employed for younger to older unborn persons.

All this information has set the stage for us to fully grasp the topic of abortion in our country and time. This has prepared us for this upcoming week’s presentation on “Wisdom & Character.” (Wed,6PM,Bldg 11/Rm 223)

• Wisdom: Knowing the facts, having extensive knowledge on a topic, having expertise.

• Character: Employing an artful method, having an attractive manner.

For those who could not attend the first Pro-Life Ambassador event, we recorded it and will have it available online soon along with notes!  This can all be used whenever someone asks you about why you are against abortion. You can then show that you have looked deeper than the pro-abortion sing-songy slogans and studied the issue thoroughly.

Trust me. I have encountered many “pro-choicers” (as they say) who do NOT expect to hear sound logic when they speak to a pro-lifer. Prove ‘em wrong.  Remember, your beliefs are founded by irrefutable scientific facts and true logic.  If they don’t let you get a word in, it’s because they are afraid of the truth you hold.  Be kind, be friendly, and speak the truth

Short video for thought: The Miracle of Life

Click here to view the embedded video.

If any of you watched C-SPAN as I did all Sunday, you would have seen an outrageous riot on TV between both sides of the debate.  Of all things I could have likened to this event, Roe v. Wade came to mind…  January 22nd 1973, the day murder of innocent unborn children was legalized nation-wide. I wonder what Americans my age and older must have felt?  This historical case was an abuse of power, just as today’s ruling was.  Abortion throughout all 9 months of pregnancy was legalized by 7 un-elected Supreme Court judges.  Watch this movie below to visualize the significance.

Like the historical Roe v Wade ruling in 1973, today, a bill was passed that will force YOU to fund elective abortions.  In addition, it will also force YOU to buy health insurance.   It will cost YOU and YOUR children freedom, add incredibly to our tremendous national debt, and cost jobs that are already scarce right now.

Here is what our Congressman Jeff Miller had to say:

After over a year of trying to ram through a trillion dollar government takeover of our health care system, Nancy Pelosi and the majority party waited until the middle of the night to take one of the most important votes in history.  This bill was written behind closed doors using backroom deals to buy enough votes to pass, and puts the future of our great country at great risk.  It does nothing to protect the sanctity of human life, will not lower health care costs for the American family, cuts Medicare by $500 billion, and raises taxes on middle-class Americans.  I strongly denounce the passage of this bill and will work for its swift repeal.

As the UWF Students for Life president, I ask you all to pray for our nation and get active in making your voice heard.

We have rights as American citizens.  If we sit back and let others take our freedom away, that will be our fault.  In case you hadn’t noticed, the health care bill won by only a 7 vote margin.  That means if Stupak coalition (a specific group of pro-life Democrats) would have held out, stayed strong, and voted against the bill, it would not have passed. Many times, you may not feel like your one vote or one word makes much of a difference.  In the case of today’s vote, it is easy to see how each person is vital to upholding true social justice for all human persons.

Our country has taken one large step in the wrong direction.  Instead of working for a bi-partisan solution to reform health care, Congress has assaulted our freedom with this health insurance mandate that will cost MORE human lives through tax-dollar funded abortion and severely handicap our economy. These same congressmen need to hear what a big mistake they have made, and those that have stood up against the tide to do what is right need to also hear our appreciation.  Please write your representative.

Stay tuned for further updates.  We will not go down without a fight.

Come to the Kick-Off prayer vigil tonight at 7PM in front of the AMS of Pensacola!

Bring a flash light and a spirit of love.  The president has made some arroz con habichuelas- so feel free to celebrate the beginning of this powerful prayer campaign to end abortion!

40 Days for Life recap:

This is a very powerful 40 day-long event in which people of all faiths pray for an end to abortion, and specifically for the closing of Pensacola’s last-standing abortion clinic: AMS Pensacola.  Last year, we focused our prayers and peaceful pro-life presence in front of the “Health Center” abortion clinic on 9th Avenue.  The day immediately after 40 Days for Life had ended, the abortion clinic was FORCED TO CLOSE ITS DOORS!!! God works in mysterious ways – and it was by no coincidence that this abortion clinic had been finally caught for having an unlicensed clinic lab for over 413 days! God does work miracles, and if we want abortion to be unwanted, unthinkable, and illegal – we need to actively pray for this to happen.

Lastly……

…come attend UWF Students for Life

first meeting of the year!

Meeting place: Room 272 in the Commons (upstairs)

Time: 7PM

Meeting will include: COOKIES!!! welcoming new members, and ice-breaker, March for Life pictures, we will watch an amazing video Bernadette calls “A window to the womb,” and sign-up opportunities for up-coming events.

Those who would like to go to the March for Life with the UWF Students for Life group will be carpooling together in a caravan.

We will begin our drive up to the Capitol Thursday morning at 6AM and arrive in Arlington, Virginia around 9:30PM.  The driving will be shared so that no one gets drowsy and we will stop to stretch our legs from time to time.  We will get lots of restful sleep Thursday night at our hotel and wake up refreshed to march the 6 hour-long March for Life, which begins at the mall and ends at the White House.

There will be speakers at the White House and people from all over the world marching alongside us!  We will hear accounts from women and men who have suffered the agony of abortion, leaders speaking out against abortion, and maybe even the account of some people who have survived abortion.

Saturday, we will have time for sight-seeing and relaxation before our trip back home on Sunday.

$$$: The cost of the trip per person depends on the type of car they travel in and the number of people sharing a room.  The cost of round-trip carpool transportation will be anywhere from 45-70 dollars.  The cost of lodging will be around 20-30 dollars a night per person, with four people to a room.

RSVP: If you would like to come, you must email me by January 10th to come on the trip.  Please respond as soon as possible!

That’s right!  UWF Students for Life has reserved a charter bus for the trip!

Now, all we need is people to fill the bus!

The bus has room for 55 people.  Will you take up the opportunity to participate in this historical protest; to physically show your utmost support for the dignity of human life?  Most – if not all – of you are SURVIVORS of the abortion holocaust, which began after the unconstitutional Roe v. Wade ruling which legalized the prejudiced killing of human beings living in their mother’s womb.  Now you have the chance to stand up for your peers who were killed, the friends you should have had, the people who should have been allowed to live.

Many of you are deciding what you want to do with your college experience… or maybe experiencing for the first time what it means to make decisions for yourself now.  Why not do something truly amazing – something that will both change your life and change the lives of others.  Be a hero and stand up for life with us in Washington D.C.

Ways to get there:

• Ask for money for this trip for Christmas – little amounts here and there add up!
• Send a hand-written letter to your church of worship or to an organization you are a part of to see if they would consider donating some money to help you to support human life.
• Offer to do chores for people you know – or who your parents know – and ask for a donation toward your trip (during the holidays, many people could use an extra hand around the house, yard, or with babysitting).
• Put on a bake sale by yourself or with a friend.  Your sincere efforts to raise money for a good cause will be evident and people will want to donate.
• Be creative! Email me your ideas

We are doing all we can to get the word out about this amazing trip, but we certainly cannot do it without your help.  If you can come, email me as soon as possible, or at least before December 28th.  If you cannot come, tell friends and family about it.  This trip is open to all pro-lifers who are in good physical shape to walk the 6 hour long march to the White House.

Pictures of the 2008 model bus we will be taking:

You can check out Gulf Coast Tours website here.

More information about the trip to come…

Blessings!

Bernadette Ensley

When: The plan is to leave in the early morning on Thursday, January 21st and return either Saturday the 23rd, or Sunday the 24th.

How: We’re looking at renting a charter bus to get everyone there.  Sleeping accommodations are still undecided, but we’re considering staying at a local church to lessen costs.

Cost: Early estimates are $100-$150 per person (not including meals).  This depends greatly on how many people will come and where we stay.  This price will go up if less people come or we stay at a pricey hotel.

If you’re interested in coming, please contact us.  We’ll keep you updated as we figure out the details.  We really hope everyone takes advantage of this opportunity to literally take a stand for life.

Hope to hear from you soon!

There will be a recount on the success of this fall’s 40 Days for Life campaign and I highly recommend listening!  This will be a national webcast with former-director of Planned Parenthood, Abby Johnson, our local 40 Days for Life coordinators: Ernie and Mary-Beth Cyr, and other influential people who have experienced miracles in their own towns.  Also, plans for this coming Spring’s 40 Days will be discussed.  The webcast will start at 8PM Central time this Monday, and last an hour.  If you can’t catch all of it, maybe you can catch some…

Click here to go to the webcast.

Have a great weekend and remember to pass on the great news!

Bernadette Ensley

We had 12 members of UWF Students for Life in all!

That’s a great turnout for our first vigil! Even though it was raining, cold, and really early (5:30am), our group was there to defend the defenseless.

It really makes a difference when college students take a stand. We are survivors of this holocaust. We are the next generation of mothers and fathers. We have the most powerful voice on this issue.

To see pictures from this morning, take a look at our gallery page.

Thanks so much to everyone who came. We will be doing this again soon!