Club Spotlight: NGU Students for Life
Alyssa Waller, Staff Writer
When it comes to pregnancy in America, 18% end in abortion. That is nearly one in five pregnancies that are terminated before full term. This means that every single day here in America there are around 2,363 babies that are killed by abortion.
The pro-life stance follows Scripture, specifically referencing Psalm 139:13-14 ESV which states, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.”
NGU Students for Life started a few years ago, but this is the first year that they have been affiliated with Students for Life America, making NGU Students for Life a chapter. The club started so that they could do something within our society so that they can create a bigger difference in our country by starting small within our very own community.
Rachel Davidson, a sophomore psychology major, is the president of NGU Students for Life. This is her first year being president of the club.
Davidson shared, “Our goal is to make society aware of the abortion issue, but also making abortion-minded families aware that there are other options and that their baby is not just a clump of cells but is actually a life.”
Students for Life America is a group of students who believe life begins at conception, despite the belief that a lot of people within society hold — that life might begin when the baby is born or when the heartbeat is detected with available technology.
Davidson said, “Students for Life is a group of students who believe that abortion is wrong because life begins at conception.”
Students for Life America is represented in all 50 states at different universities. They are actively working across the country. There are different opportunities to be involved, such as prayer walks and sidewalk counseling. Davidson said, “We exist to engage our community, fight for life and against abortion.”
NGU Students for Life meets every other Monday in Avery 201. The next meeting will be on Oct. 4. If interested, just show up to the meetings to be a part of it and to know what is going on. There are different opportunities to get involved, just send an email to Davidson and let her know or sign up at the meeting.
In the future, the NGU Students for Life club is planning to have tables in the stud and in the dining hall as well. Davidson says, “The best way to get involved is to let us know.”
Events they have planned include fundraisers for mothers who have chosen life. They will also have mothers who have chosen life come to speak at future events.
There are prayer walks every Saturday at the Greenville Abortion Clinic, where students can get involved with Love Life Greenville. The Greenville clinic happens to be the biggest abortion clinic in South Carolina. Davidson said, “If we have the opportunity to fight for life at the biggest abortion clinic in our state, then we need to be using that.”
Next semester, they are planning on a ‘Sidewalk Day’ event where every Student for Life Club across America will be participating by drawing on the sidewalk with chalk. One can become a sidewalk counselor, recruit members, and get trained.
The abortion industry targets college-aged women, between the ages of 20 and 25 years old, with 34% of all abortions are performed on college-aged women. In total, 46% of abortions in the US are committed on women who are under the age of 25.
NGU Students for Life are working with a lot of women on campus who have had abortions by communicating with them and letting them know they are still loved.
After a woman has an abortion, her risks grow higher for eating disorders, guilt, depression, suicidal thoughts, substance abuse, different types of cancer, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, liver cancer and ectopic pregnancy, which causes the baby to be developed outside the uterus.
Women who have had an abortion are 34% more likely to develop an anxiety disorder and 37% more likely to become depressed. They are also 110% more likely to struggle with substance abuse, and 105% more likely to have suicidal behavior. The effects of abortion are extremely damaging to even the mother who is having an abortion.
Recently Texas passed a heartbeat bill, one has also been passed here in South Carolina. A few weeks ago, workers at the Greenville Abortion Clinic had staged a protest, and are filing a lawsuit against the heartbeat bill.
A lot of people have expressed concerns about being penalized for getting abortions, although they would see no penalty. Davidson said, “There are a lot of misconceptions with it, a lot of people believe that a woman would be criminalized if she had an abortion, but actually it is the abortionist that would have the penalty.”
*Featured Image: Photo courtesy of Rachel Davidson, sophomore psychology major and president of NGU Students for Life.
