PRO-LIFE RESOURCES NRLC Chapters 10 Things Chapters Should Do Starting Now: The 2004 Countdown.

It's 2004 already! No, I can't believe it either. After a break for Christmas, it's back to doing everything we can to help unborn children and their mothers.

There is much at stake over the next 11 months. Unlike our opponents, we do not have unlimited funds, which requires that we use our time and resources with maximum efficiency.

Here are some ideas to keep your chapter productive, along with suggestions for your members to undertake as individuals. We have our work cut out for us, so without further ado, I offer the following.

1. Petitions: The Unborn Victims of Violence Act, also known as the "Laci & Conner Peterson Law," is waiting to be acted on in the Senate. President Bush is eager to sign this law, which would recognize unborn children who are injured or killed during the commission of violent federal crimes as crime victims. We're collecting petition signatures supporting this important legislation, so please continue to have the petitions signed and returned to National Right to Life. To order free petitions, please call 202-626-8800, ext. 143.

2. Voter Registration: Do whatever your state allows to help register people to vote. Have voter registration cards available at every booth and with every petition for which you solicit signatures. When people sign the petition, there's a box to check if they are registered to vote. If they are not, help them, either with a motor-voter form, your state's mail-in form, or written directions for registering in your state. Make it as easy as possible. It is vitally important that pro-life people are registered to vote.

3. Be Visible: There are a lot of events on the community calendar this year, including local festivals, county fairs, and church bazaars. Your chapter should have a presence at as many as possible. Staff a booth if it's allowed, or just hand out pro-life balloons. Most importantly, be there! A visible chapter in turn makes the life issue more visible, moving people to think more about the implications of aborting more than one in every four babies conceived. Being visible will help grow your membership as the more people you encounter, the more people you have a shot at recruiting.

4. Host a Speakers Bureau: Chapters should form a "Speaker's Bureau" to provide "expert instructors" for those community organizations and school teachers open to the presentation of the pro-life view. Chapters should focus on local Knights of Columbus, Elks, Kiwanis, VFW and Rotary clubs. High school classes in government, social studies, American history, psychology, philosophy, sociology, biology and health, to name a few, would be very valuable venues at which to present. Coordinate locally with various groups and professionals to address all aspects of the pro-life issue.