Students around the world and across the United States will silently speak for unborn children on Tuesday as they take a vow to not speak in their high school, junior high and college classrooms so their peers understand what happens in abortions.
“Tomorrow, students will be sending a loud and clear message that abortion must end and all innocent human life must be protected from conception to natural death,” said event organizer Bryan Kemper, founder Stand True Ministries and Youth Outreach Director for Priests for Life.
The young people will sacrifice their voices tomorrow for the Pro-Life Day of Silent Solidarity, and they will do it in honor and memory of a young abortion abolitionist and her unborn daughter who were killed in a car accident recently. As Bryan Kemper told LifeNews recently, this year’s event is dedicated to Students for Life of America leader Kortney Blythe Gordon and her baby Sophy.
“The day is about sacrifice and that is why it is fitting that this year’s event is dedicated to Kortney,” he said. “Kortney was a beacon of light and sacrificed more than anyone can ever imagine in her fight as an abortion abolitionist.”
For the eighth annual Pro-Life Day of Silent Solidarity, students at 1,200 colleges, high schools, middle schools and home schools have pledged to remain silent in solidarity with thousands of unborn children permanently silenced by abortion every single day.
“Last year, we heard back from 64 girls who canceled their abortions because of the Pro-life Day of Silent Solidarity and dozens of kids who changed their hearts and are now pro-life,” Kemper said. “These are just the ones we have heard back from; we have no idea how many lives were actually saved. But we do know that just one life makes this whole day worth the effort.”
Father Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life supports the effort and encouraged students to get involved, asking, “Are you willing to give up your voice for a day for those who will never have a voice?”
Here are three testimonies from last year:
- “I attend a Baptist college so I knew I wouldn’t get much of a chance to spread the word so after my last class I went down to the mall and was there for about 20 minutes before a group of teenage girls walked up to me and asked what I was doing. I handed them a paper and one started to cry. I took off the tape and asked what was wrong. I found out that 2 of those girls had just set up an appointment for an abortion. We sat and talked for almost an hour; it was clear that God was at work. Not only did these girls cancel the appointment but I had the privilege to lead them to the Lord.”
- “I was surprised as to how much I prayed; I have never prayed that much in school, ever. There were originally five people doing it this morning and by the end of the day it doubled. I was super happy. You never know how many people are affected by the things you do.”
- “There was another woman considering abortion, so again I broke my silence and had a 15 minute tear-session/convo with her and she too opted for adoption! I’m so far beyond ecstatic and I am yet again radically affected by this!”
The Pro-Life Day of Silent Solidarity started in 2004 after a student from McNeese State University asked Kemper, “What can I do to work with other students around the country, in solidarity, to help end abortion?”
“When this student asked me, a spark went off in my head,” Kemper said. “I replied, “What if we got students to not only act in solidarity with others, but also with the children that are dying every day?” As soon as I said it, I knew God had set something in motion inside of me. Now, something that started its first year as just a few thousand students from 300 campuses has grown into a world-wide outpouring of love and action. The Pro-life Day of Silent Solidarity is in it’s 8th year, and last year we had students from more that 4,000 campuses in 28 countries stand together in solidarity. We have heard of hundreds of girls who have canceled abortions because of this day every year.”
“Hearts are being changed, babies are being saved, and women are being spared the trauma of post-abortive pain. People are coming together in unity to promote a culture of life,” Kemper said.
Kemper is urging pro-life students to register again, even if they registered last year, so the group can keep an accurate count of participants worldwide. The Pro-life Day of Silent Solidarity is a project of Stand True and Priests for Life and is co-sponsored by LifeNews.com, Students for Life of America and Survivors. For more information, visit www.silentday.org.
