In a first, AMAC provided a donation to the Students for Life at the University of Idaho to attend the annual Right to Life March in Washington DC in January 2019. Below is an excerpt of the report that Zachary Spence sent to us after the March’s conclusion.
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This January, I had the opportunity to attend the National March for Life in Washington, D.C., and the Students for Life National Conference in nearby Maryland. It was an adventure of a lifetime. I am so glad I went. The trip was life changing.
We had a powerful rally with speakers such as Ben Shapiro and several leaders of Congress. Their words were inspiring. Shapiro declared at one point that he had heard it said that the pro-life community was out of touch with the culture. But what place does supporting life have in a culture of death? Vice President Pence attended our rally, marking one of the first times the second highest-ranking member of the U.S. lent physical support to our cause. He also brought with him a video message from President Trump who declared his support for the pro-life movement and vowed to veto any bill brought before him that is not life-affirming.
In short, our movement has the President and Vice-President fighting beside us. Interestingly, our march was barely covered by any news agencies. Hundreds of thousands of people marched down the streets by the U.S. Capitol and the Supreme Court, and hardly anyone beyond the pro-life community heard about it. This was still inspiring for me. Perhaps some in the media and our opponents are scared. So, let it be known, the pro-life movement is coming!
The National Conference of the Students for Life of America was also an amazing experience, especially the value placed on people. It has been said one of the mistakes most commonly made by pro-lifers is focusing on the personhood of the unborn but forgetting that the pro-choice person we are talking to is also a person. The speakers reminded us to acknowledge and honor the personhood of our opponents, not just the unborn. We seek to change minds, not alienate them. If we are going to argue all human life has worth, that includes those who do not agree with us. This was powerful, and humbling.
I learned so much, too, about apologetics, about the power of showing the actual process of abortion to women, and about taking the stand and being the light in the darkness. The symbol of the Students for Life of America is a candle lighting another. My candle has been lit, and now I want to light the world.
None of this would have been possible without the support of AMAC, who kindly provided the funds to assist us in covering our plane tickets. I am proud to have been supported by such an organization. My fellow members of Students for Life at the University of Idaho proudly displayed our AMAC stickers throughout the conference. Without AMAC, we could not have attended this event. Thank you.
DO YOU REMEMBER ?
Do you remember when the DEMOCRATS shouted down God at their presidential convention ?
Who was their candidate of choice ?
For those of you who answered Crooked Hillary, mother of Chelsea, congratulations you are correct.
excellent organization, glad to see AMAC a supporter and donor
There is no “compromise” on these issues with Democrat/prog/leftists. How do you compromise on euthanasia, killing children at 40 weeks (born or unborn), refusing children a mom and dad, etc.? They must be defeated psychologically and at the ballot box.
A group of us carpooled from Baltimore to the March. When we arrived at the New Carrollton Metro, a student asked me, “Are you an Orthodox priest?” since I was wearing my cassock and outer cassock. I pointed to Fr. Joshua who was getting his subway ticket and said “I’m a deacon. He’s the priest”. The four students joined our little group and we met up with the Orthodox group when we arrived at the Mall. We started with a prayer service led by His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon. We had four other bishops in our group and several priests. We marched as a group. I had an opportunity to interact with both Orthodox and Catholic faithful. One Ukrainian priest was impressed when I read and commented on his hat. He did not expect me to be able to read Cyrillic. I told him that I serve in both English and Slavonic.
It truly was unfortunate that the press did not give us the coverage that we deserved. The only coverage was on one incident which had little or nothing to do with the March itself. I was moved by the woman who held a sign saying “I regret my abortion.” I was also impressed by the little ole nun who must had been in her 80s or 90s and by the woman in a wheelchair. The crowd was so overwhelming that some of us where not able to stay with our group.
Since I got separated, I returned to Baltimore with another little group and we had to hike back to the parking garage. There I met an old calendar Greek priest and he was impressed when I used his language. I also met an Ethiopian Orthodox man and gave him my card. His co-worker asked me if I could speak French and the two of us had a conversation in French.
I’m already looking forward to next year’s March. It was a real blessing going down with Fr. Joshua, his wife, their eight children, and his mother.
I’m very proud to be a member of AMAC because of their generosity to students such as Zachary and their support of LIFE!! Also a big thanks for all they do for all Americans! Life long and prosper☺!
All Americans should recognize that every member of the human race is endowed by his creator with the right to LIFE, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. If you don’t have the right to life, what good is your right to free speech/assembly/religion? How about any other rights recognized by (not granted by) the constitution? The entire state of NY now discriminates against a definable section of that human race, those who have not yet transitioned through the life event we call birth. Contrary to the US constitution, they do not have the right to life if that life is inconvenient to someone else. How has it turned around so much that the right to life has been superseded by someone’s “right” to kill another distinct human being?
We, as the older generation, have an obligation to enlighten those in other generations, such as the millennial generation, that a heart beats in a fetus in the 6th week of pregnancy. further, by the end of the second term, many babies are already viable and would survive outside of the womb. At that point, why on earth should it still be the “woman’s choice” as to whether to end that child’s life? What gives anyone the right to decide that another human being has no rights; even the right to live? A woman still has rights to her own body – the right to abstain from sex, use contraception, the right to opt for adoption if she has not used contraception and doesn’t want to keep the results of that decision. But she certainly doesn’t have the right to decide to end an infants life in a later term abortion. Good for AMAC for helping to champion the rights of unborn women (and men)…
With all this in mind, as a Christian, want to add some verses of Scripture:Jeremiah 1:5, which saith, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” Isaiah saith this; “Thus saith the Lord that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant, and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen.” And Genesis 49:25 says: “Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by Thee Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breast, and of the womb.” And another one is this: I Samuel 1: 5 ; “But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he (Elhanah) loved Hannah; but the Lord had shut up her womb. (1S 1:6) And her adversary provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the Lord had shut up her womb.” This is the way God works in our lives, for Hannah prayed continually for a baby/son. In the days of Christ, it was a reproach not to have children. Here was Hannah praying for her womb to be opened by the Lord. I Sam., 1:17 says “Then Eli (the priest) answered and daid, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him.” 1 Sam., 1:1:18 ” . . . So the woman (Hannah) went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad;” Also in this verse it says “. . .and worshipped before the Lord, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah, and Elkanah (her Husband) knew Hannah his wife; and the Lord remembered her.” And in 1 Sam 1:20, it says: Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived , that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked of the Lord>” And thus began one of the real great prophets of Israel, who condemned Saul the king, and he was led by the Spiriit of God to find David and pronounce him king over all Israel. Hannah is just one story in the Scriptures of God and of how He dealt with the people in such a way that you could trace the linage of a person back three, four or even more, and find their posterity or next of kin. Here is another example of God intervening in all the peoples lives, for it is God who has and is the one who is the maker of us all, and we don’t even give Him the praise and honor for His work in our lives. Like in Genesis25:23, we find this passage, ‘”And the Lord said unto her (Rebekah), Two nations are in thy womb; and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.” This indicates the present day struggle between Islam and Christianity, for this was born the person Ishmael and Isaac. So goes the way of God in our lives, and especially the new born baby; for you see at conception, God puts in that fetus a SOUL and a SPIRIT, that will live forever, and that is why you will not find anything in Scriipture about abortion, He abhors it,; for God has recorded every thought , every word we speak, and every action we have ever done. My advise is to get as close to God as you can, and believe every word Christ has said, so that you will be saved. . . . Thank you and let’s al praise the Lord for what He has done for us. For it the GRACE of GOD through Faith that will save you , if and when you are ready to leave this world. . . . . Thank you again, and I’close with Christ in my mind and heart.
Great read…this inspires a new outlook for this generation. Thank you!
Zachary is so articulate and appreciative of the opportunity to attend the March for Life and the Students for Life National Conference. It is imperative that our youth experience good people wanting the best for ALL people, especially those with no voice. Way to light your candle Zach, and thank you for being a light to others! Thank you AMAC for giving them the opportunity as well.