Meet the Team Part 2

Anita's Story:

I am a cradle Catholic. Being pro life was an assumption in my house. It was never explicitly talked about but it was something unspoken that I always believed. When I was in my early 20's I got my Bachelor of Arts degree and had always planned on getting into the social work field. A few years after my degree I was doing various different jobs and my mom mentioned The Back Porch to me, telling me what it was about.

However, at the time I didn't think much of it and wasn't interested. I truly thought dealing with pregnant women and their children would have been too fluffy of a job and I wanted something more purposeful. I ended up getting my social work degree and nearing the end of my degree I really had no idea what I wanted to do. Doing my degree had really shown me just how liberal the profession was and I didn't know if I could do social work and be Catholic at the same time. However, during the last practicum for my degree, I interviewed my parish priest, who at the end of the interview said that he knew of a job opening that he thought I would be good for. Turns out he knew the executive director at The Back Porch. I knew right away that God wanted me to take this job and as predicted I ended up getting the job. Before working at The Back Porch, abortion had never been something that I was passionately involved in. It was more something that I disagreed with, but was out of sight and out of mind. Furthermore, I had no idea how front lines The Back Porch actually was or how much it dealt with abortion minded women and men. I had assumed that it dealt mostly with pregnant women intending to keep their babies. Once I started working for ALIES and The Back Porch, I became more passionate about pro life issues.

Meg's story:

One of the things I am most grateful for in my life is my family. Growing up we had family dinners together every night. Arguments would ensue along with discussions on topics such as politics, philosophy, current events etc. This meant that at a young age I was trying to formulate what I believed while also navigating the beliefs that the modern world was trying to push on me. A topic often discussed was the issue of abortion. Both of my parents have been active in the prolife movement, and I think I can say this without putting words in their mouths, but the prolife movement is what ultimately convicted them of their faith.

Similarly, when I began wrestling with my faith, I began to question all of my worldviews. I've always been prolife but after a close friend went through with an abortion, it was no longer a far off issue. I couldn't ignore the pain it causes. William Wilberforce, who led the the campaign for the abolition of slavery in Britain, has a great quote that has always stuck with me " You may choose to look the other way, but you can never say again that you did not know."

Gabrielle's Story:

I’ve been nominally pro-life for as long as I remember. It seemed pretty intuitively obvious to me that we shouldn’t kill people to solve problems. But left to my own devices, I probably wouldn’t have started working in the prolife movement. I’ve never liked stirring up controversy.

But God called, and I knew I had to answer. It’s a challenging transition, working with people intimately affected by abortion. Working in the prolife movement can be incredibly discouraging and challenging, but I’ve also seen the fruits of that little “yes” to God.

I’ve watched as God has used us to build a chapel, expand the work we’re doing and continually save babies and families from the scourge of abortion. I’ve seen little miracles and big ones. God really is faithful.

I firmly believe that, simply because it’s right to defend the vulnerable, everyone should be pro-life. I also believe that everyone ought to be doing something to support the pro-life movement (even something simple, like praying or donating). But more importantly, I have seen and believe that there is nothing better than being faithful to God. And God calls some to particular ministry.

If God is calling you, answer. I promise it will be worth it.