Twenty-two young interns became pro-life witnesses to Michigan residents this summer, dedicating two to three months of their time to sidewalk counseling and door-to-door canvassing as part of their internships with Protect Life Michigan.
Detroit Catholic reported that Audrey Whipple, Protect Life Michigan’s internship coordinator, told Detroit Catholic that the interns, who ranged from high schoolers to college students, keep track of the number of people who verbally confirmed that they partially or totally changed their mind on abortion as a result of the interns’ work.
The interns engaged thousands of people throughout the summer in their target area of southeastern Michigan. According to Detroit Catholic, Protect Life Michigan said that as of Aug. 14, the interns reached “over 148,000 people with the pro-life message” and that there are now “3,665 fewer pro-choice people and 2,542 more pro-life people” in the Novi area.
Whipple provided examples of the techniques the interns use, saying that providing images and using the “human rights argument” have been some of the most effective methods.
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“We establish that both the pro-choice person and (pro-life people) believe in human rights for all human beings, and after laying out the science that abortion intentionally takes the life of an innocent human being, wouldn’t that make abortion a human rights violation?” Whipple told Detroit Catholic.
“Sometimes they instantly agree with us on the spot, and it’s a light bulb moment,” she added. “Sometimes it takes a lot more conversation and thought, but as long as we clearly lay out the pro-life position with them, that would be someone who is considered to be reached.”
Intern Rose Skrobola told Detroit Catholic that another conversation made her realize the difference that small actions can make in another person’s life.
“One of the interns was going door to door, and she talked to this guy who had previously received one of our pamphlets,” Skrobola said. “He (told her) he used to be pro-choice to a certain extent, and then he saw the literature that we dropped on his doorstep, and he changed his mind.”
“It’s just really amazing to see the impact that small things, things you maybe wouldn’t imagine, would have such an effect,” Skrobola said.
Another intern, Florence Brighton, shared a powerful experience she had speaking with a man who was pro-abortion at first. The intellectual arguments were not changing his mind, Brighton explained, but in talking with him about the personal impact abortion has had on him, a change occurred. In that conversation, he became pro-life.
“This summer has shown me how broken we all are, both myself and others,” Brighton added. “And two, the healing power of Jesus and how he sees all of us, and he wants us to feel complete and whole.”
Whipple told Detroit Catholic that she sees the transformative impact the internship had on the young people sharing the pro-life message, as it has deepened their love for unborn children.
“Many of these students are 15-16 years old, changing dozens of minds individually this summer,” Whipple said. “I think that is something they didn’t realize they had the capacity to play a part in, but the more they have done it, the more they have realized how little it has to do with them and how much it has to do with God.”
LifeNews Note: Hannah Hiester writes for CatholicVote, where this column originally appeared.
