Turning Pro-Life Knowledge into Action.

Just knowing that something is wrong, isn't enough. Think about it for a minute. Knowing that something is wrong won't make it stop.

My favorite pre-teen pro-lifer, James, pointed out recently that while 72% of 13- to 19-year-olds are pro-life (according to a 2003 Gallup poll), a much smaller percentage of that number is actively working to bring about an end to abortion and euthanasia. To his way of thinking, there's something wrong with that picturemore of them should be taking a stand. (And, honestly, when an 11-year-old approaches you with downloaded polling data in hand, it's time to stop and listen.)

My assistant from this summer also chimed in on the issue. When asked if she had any ideas for an NRL News article on youth, she immediately responded, "How about the importance of not being apathetic and sitting around doing nothing?"

Amanda, who at 20 already has five years of pro-life leadership experience under her belt, is also the president of her school's pro-life group. A group which, although it is located on a large Catholic college campus and boasts over 500 members, only has 1020 people actively involved. (Apparently, this causes her some frustration.)

As James and Amanda know (and are not shy about reminding us) their peers understand that abortion is wrong, but they aren't standing up in large numbers to do something about it.

So what do we do? It may seem like a complex problem, but the solution is quite simple. We've realized over the past few years that education is not enough. Kids who know that abortion is wrong probably won't have onethat's the good news. But as with adults, there is frequently a gap between knowledge and action.

We need to take it to the next level. We have stressed the importance of pulling young ...