I'm Pro-Life Ask Me Why!

Tomorrow (11/11) is the November SFLI Activism Day: "I'm Pro-Life Ask Me Why!" Pro-Life students around the state will don buttons and t-shirts challenging their peers to ask the question, "Why are you Pro-Life?" The Pro-Life Action League has generously provided students with quick-reference information booklets detailing the ins and outs of what it means to be Pro-Life. I encourage everyone to wear your buttons and t-shirts confidently. The truth is on our side and at our fingertips!

Given this, I challenge you readers out there to respond: Why are you Pro-Life?

It wouldn't be fair to pose this challenge without first offering my own perspective...

I'm Pro-Life for a myriad of reasons. Throughout history, the taking of innocent life is recognized, by both religious and secular alike, as immoral. As a Catholic I feel particularly called to defend the lives of those that cannot defend themselves. As an American I feel it is important to recognize those inherent rights so eloquently described by Thomas Jefferson in the Delcaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

How can someone be equal, have Liberty, or pursue Happiness without first having Life?

A paragraph can hardly contain the multitude of reasons to be Pro-Life. If you are in need of more reasons or can't quite figure out how to tackle a tough question check out: www.whyprolife.com.

For Life,
Matt

SFLI Leadership Summit!

Our fearless leader Jessica has prepared an article for TechNews and has asked that I post it here too:

Several members of IIT Students for Life attended the Students for Life of Illinois 2009 Regional Summit on Saturday, October 24. Held at the beautiful Crown Center on Loyola University’s Lakeshore campus, the conference brought together students from over 20 campuses across Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, and even Texas to hear from three nationally-recognized speakers.

David Bereit, National Director of 40 Days for Life, kicked off the day with his inspiring speech on leadership.

Kristan Hawkins, Executive Director of Students for Life of America, followed with a talk on utilizing effective media techniques in promoting the Culture of Life.

Wrapping up the day with the topic of activism was Eric Scheidler, newly-named Executive Director of the Pro-Life Action League.

Since 2006, Students for Life of Illinois has been fostering student leaders and has become a premiere statewide collegiate pro-life organization. This year marks the third annual conference put on by SFLI. The Summit was a complimentary mix of powerhouse speakers, small discussion groups, education, and networking.

The attending members of IIT SFL left well-equipped and energized to bring back to campus all they heard throughout the day. Students for Life meets for round table discussions on Thursdays at 4:30 pm in the MTCC Blue Room. Find us on Facebook or email us at StudentsForLife@iit.edu.

IIT SFL Students with David Bereit, National Director of 40 Days for Life.

Bubble Zone in Chicago

My Friends. You may or may not be aware of a city ordinance currently awaiting the approval of Mayor Daley. The ordinance if approved would impose a $500 fine for people that speak to women approaching clinics in the city of Chicago. Not only would this stop 40 Days for Life in its tracks, it's also an outrageous attack on First Ammendment Rights. For the sake of time I have copied an email from Eric Schiedler. Please take action and call the mayor's office.

I've got a lot of urgent news and alerts to share with you today,
after our BIG LOSS in the Chicago City Council. So please take a
moment to read all the way through my message.

Today, both the pro-life cause and cherished American value of
freedom of speech suffered a grim defeat in the Chicago City
Council -- but this pro-life battle is far from over!

The City Council voted to PASS the health center Bubble Zone
ordinance, an attempt by abortionists to muzzle compassionate
pro-life sidewalk counseling.

That's the bad news. But here's the GOOD NEWS:

First, a HUGE PRO-LIFE CROWD of over 150 showed up at City Hall
this morning -- despite having only a few days notice -- to protest
the Bubble Zone.

What's more, the protest garnered GREAT MEDIA COVERAGE.

Chicago print, radio and TV outlets were all there. Several sidewalk
counselors were able to share what their peaceful ministry is really
all about: offering desperate women a real choice -- for life.

Get all the details about today's protest, including pictures of the
crowd holding "NO Bubble Zone" and "Protect Free Speech" signs, here:

http://prolifeaction.org/#bubble2

But most importantly, WE CAN STILL DEFEAT THE BUBBLE ZONE.

Before this bad law goes into effect, Mayor Richard Daley has to
approve it. We've got to convince the mayor to VETO the Bubble Zone.

We're already having such a big impact with our calls that they've
set up an automated system for the public to speak out on the Bubble
Zone. Here's the steps to follow:

1. CALL the mayor's office at 312-744-3300.
2. PRESS 1 to submit your opinion on the Bubble Zone.
3. Then PRESS 2 to vote NO on the Bubble Zone.

If already made a call before today's City Council vote, PLEASE
CALL AGAIN to convince the Mayor to veto it.

But that's not all you can do to fight the Bubble Zone. The leaders
of the pro-life ministry at Chicago's Planned Parenthood abortuary
on the near north side have planned a FACE THE TRUTH TOUR Saturday:

EVENT: Face the Truth Tour at Planned Parenthood Chicago
WHEN: Saturday, October 10, 9-11 a.m.
WHERE: LaSalle St and Division St
MAP: http://prolifeaction.org/ppchicago.map

Come out and show Planned Parenthood that, despite all their influence
and all their lies, they cannot intimidate the pro-life community.
We're going to keep fighting to save babies!

Yours for Life,

-- Eric

P.S. I want to emphasize that this is not just a Chicago issue.
Planned Parenthood wants Bubble Zone laws like this one to be
enacted across the country. So please speak out wherever you live!

P.P.S. Remember, the Bubble Zone is not yet the law in Chicago.
Mayor Daley has to sign it first. Call him at 312-744-3300 and tell
him to protect free speech in Chicago and veto the Bubble Zone.

Upcoming Events!

Hi Everyone!

Here are some of the happenings that are coming up:

Wednesday, Sept 23 @ 7pm in the MTCC Blue Room we have a meeting about the Stop the Abortion Mandate, 40 Days for Life, and the October Leadership Summit.

Friday, Sept 25 @ 4pm in the MTCC Auditorium, John-Paul Deddons, the Founder and Executive Director of Students for Life of Illinois, will be speaking to us about his story and experiences in the pro-life movement and how Students for Life of Illinois came to be.

Wednesday also marks the beginning of 40 Days for Life. For those of you new to 40 Days for Life I encourage you to check out the website: http://40daysforlife.com/getinvolved.cfm.

We hope to see you soon!

Activisim Day Wednesday September 16th

It's time for a plug for one of Students for Life of Illinois's Activism Days. This month's focus is healthcare and stopping the abortion mandate. There has been a lot of hubbub surrounding Obama's proposed health care reform. As I mentioned in my previous post, it is important to know where you get your information.

Visit the website and download the activism day checklist. If you have any questions email us or visit the Students for Life of Illinois website.

Where do you get your knowledge?

I'm sure most of you have heard by now of these white house sponsored websites dedicated to debunking "myths" related to healthcare legislation that Obama has recently been pushing. Luckily our friends at stoptheabortionmandate.com and Americans United for Life (AUL) are keeping a watchful eye and providing witness to the myths that the government is trying to push. Take some time to visit Stop the Abortion Mandate's fact guide and AUL's own investigation into the truth about abortion in healthcare.

In a time where the media (in general) tends to simply regurgitate whatever the government wants them to say it is important to thoroughly check the sources of the news you get to establish credibility and a deeper understanding of the knowledge you acquire.

Update:
In my rush to post I almost forgot to include a link to the independent fact checking website: factcheck.org. Here's their article regarding abortion in the new healthcare legislation.

Pictures!

At the request of one of our senior members I have compiled a few of the photos that I have taken throughout the past year. There will be more to come!

This picture is from one of the Christmas Parties that the Women's Center throws for it's clients. A small group of IIT SFL members volunteered at the event. We bussed tables, served food, handed out bags of gifts, and helped people to their cars.

This is a picture of some of the sidewalk counselors outside of the Planned Parenthood "fortress" in Aurora.

Vitali prays outside of the Washington Street clinic during one of our sidewalk counseling ventures downtown.

That's me in my Pro-Life Day of Silent Solidarity red duct tape. We printed up fliers to hand out to people and notified our professors before-hand so that we could keep people informed about our protest without breaking our vow of silence for the day.

This is Alejandro at the last stop of the summer of 2008 Face the Truth Tour. The Pro-Life Action League organizes various Truth Tours throughout the year but the summer tours are by far the most extensive. This year's tour began today and lucky for me it was close-by. Of the three sites we visited today it only rained for one of them. The 2009 tour will continue through next week. Visit http://prolifeaction.org/truth/tours.htm for more information. WARNING: graphic images of abortion are present both on the website and at the tours themselves.