Brother Martin High School celebrated Respect Life Week from October 30 – November 3. Over the past month, the Crusaders for Life, Brother Martin’s Pro- Life Club, planned out a spectacular week. There were many potential ideas and projects brought up in our weekly meetings. Each day, two Crusaders For Life wrote a prayer which they read over the intercom in the morning. With the student body we prayed for the end of such horrific actions as human trafficking, abortion, and poverty. We also prayed in thanksgiving for the gift of every human life and for the progress the Pro-Life movement has made, especially in Louisiana.
Throughout the week, the Crusaders for Life planned something special for the student body each day. On Monday and Tuesday, members of the Crusaders for Life sold baby feet pins for one dollar. Each student, who purchased a baby feet pin, was able to wear the pin on their left collar for the whole week. All proceeds from the baby feet pins went to Louisiana Right to Life. On Tuesday, Brother Martin hosted the Life Bus on campus. The Life Bus is a mobile Crisis Pregnancy Center that provides resources to women in the area. Students were given the opportunity to visit the Life Bus on Tuesday during their religion classes or unstructured periods. On Wednesday, the Brother Martin student body celebrated mass as a school wide community.
In addition, a representative of Louisiana Right to Life visited campus with educational information and resources. After school on Wednesday, members of the club stayed for an hour to help set up our big project of the year. The number 1,239 was displayed throughout the whole entire campus. When students came to school on Thursday, they all saw the number and contemplated its significance. This number became the conversation piece of the day. Many students thought it represented the number of students in the school. Others thought it equalled the number of abortions in a day. On Friday morning, the Crusaders for Life President, Tanner Olsen ‘18, led the morning prayer, and explained the significance of the number. Tanner said deliberately, “One thousand two hundred and thirty-nine. You may have noticed this number on campus yesterday. What does it mean? Unfortunately, abortion is legal in every state in America, and in Louisiana abortion rates steadily rose each year from 2008 through 2014. In 2014, there were 10,211 legal abortions in Louisiana, but in 2015, the number of abortions declined by the significant number of 1,239 to 8,972. While this number represents progress, even one legal, direct abortion is too many.”
Overall, Respect Life Week provided many opportunities for students to gain knowledge and understanding on the world’s most important pro- life issues. Even though Respect Life week is over, the Crusaders For Life are working on events and fundraisers to get many schools involved in the pro- life movement. The Crusaders are proud to be a part of the Pro- Life Generation, and we can’t wait to see what is next on the horizon.
-Submitted by Brother Martin student Ryan O’ Connor, Class of 2019
