Several members of our team are in Fairhope, Ala., today for the first-ever PULSE Gulf Coast event! This two-day training program for high school and college students is a spinoff of our popular PULSE Weekend Immersion program in Louisiana.
We have a great group of students from southern Alabama who are joining us for the next two days to improve and strengthen their own pro-life leadership skills. Please join us in praying the students will be emboldened to be new leaders of the pro-life generation!
For a Pro-Life Louisiana,
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American Doctor Examines Charlie Gard
Have you been following the tragic story of Charlie Gard, the 11-month-old British boy who suffers from a rare genetic condition known as mitochondrial depletion syndrome? Friday, a judge granted an American doctor, who specializes in conditions such as the one affecting Charlie, access to see Charlie. The doctor is examining Charlie and meeting with his parents today and tomorrow.
You can follow the latest developments in the case at charliesfight.org and on Facebook (click here). Also, to read a great analysis of the circumstances and relevant legal and ethical standards of the case, click here.
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Gabrielle Gremillion, right, is shown with the top 4 finishers in national oratory contest.
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Gabrielle giving her speech.
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CONGRATULATIONS to Gabrielle Gremillion, a homeschool student from Baton Rouge, who represented Louisiana in the National Right to Life Oratory Contest held in conjunction with the national convention this summer in Milwaukee. Gabrielle won fourth place with her speech "Abortion is a Tragedy to Women."
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Northshore PULSE Team members show off a pro-life message chalked in downtown Covington.
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What Are Our PULSE Teams Doing?
* The Northshore PULSE Team held its first get-together July 6 with a picnic at the Columbia Street Landing in downtown Covington. Students from area churches, homeschool groups and high schools discussed their overall vision for the team and chalked pro-life messages on downtown sidewalks.
* The New Orleans PULSE Team is planning a chalk night July 25 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Students will meet at the Louisiana Right to Life office (200 Robert E. Lee Blvd.) at 5:30 then carpool to the lakefront. Food will be provided.
* The Houma-Thibodaux PULSE team will hold its kickoff meeting Aug. 15 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Rotolo's Pizzeria, 100 E. Bayou Road, Thibodaux. Plans for the group will be discussed, and pro-life chalking is also planned.
* A PULSE Team Leadership Day is also in the works for these three teams on Aug. 19. Stay tuned for more details!
PULSE teams are a way to unite high school and college students who want to further their pro-life education, participate in more community activism and fellowship with other pro-life students. Email Alex Seghers or Ashlen Sandoz for information on PULSE team events in the Greater New Orleans area, or Krista Corbello for information on teams and events in the Acadiana and Lake Charles areas.
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Students for Life
to Meet This Month
Louisiana Students for Life will host a meeting for the officers of the state's college pro-life groups
this month to discuss plans for the upcoming school year and to learn how state leaders can assist
and collaborate with the individual college groups.
The meeting will be held Friday, J
uly 28 at 6 p.m. at the Jambalaya Shoppe, 9380 Old Hammond Hwy., Baton Rouge.
Dinner will be provided.
For more information, call 504-835-6520 or email:
* Joseph Zeringue
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St. Landry Dinner
is Tuesday; NOLA East
Dinner is July 29!
In OPELOUSAS: Louisiana Black Advocates for Life will host a "Dinner for Life" from 6-8:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 18 at Arpeggio's Restaurant and Event Center, 204 N. Main St., Opelousas.
Opelousas Police Chief Donald Thompson and Bambi Polotzola, founder of St. Landry Abilities and director of the Governor's Office of Disability Affairs, will be honored.
A complimentary dinner will be served, but a headcount is needed. Please RSVP to:
*
Kathy Allen
337-290-9595 or kathy@
lablackadvocates.co
m
*
Letitia Peyton
337-308-9120 or
Click to Download Flyer
In NEW ORLEANS:
New Orleans Right to Life and Louisiana Black Advocates for Life will host a "Dinner for Life" from 5:30 - 7 p.m. July 29 at the St. Maria Goretti Parish Hall, 7300 Crowder Blvd., New Orleans.
Dinner is $5 per person, and it's first-come, first-served.
Dr. Kathy Allen and Rev. Corey Hicks will speak.
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One Young Man's Journey to Where Life Began
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Adoption Documentary's Trailer Has Been Released
'I Lived on Parker Avenue' Screened; Film to Be Publicly Released in March
David Scotton was adopted at birth and raised in Louisiana. While a college student at LSU, he decided he was ready to meet his birth parents.
His journey was documented by New Orleans-based director Philip Braun III, and the short documentary
I Lived on Parker Avenue is the result of Braun's work. The film's social media campaign has just begun with the release of the trailer for the short documentary film.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH TRAILER
The full film, produced by New Orleans-based Joie De Vivre Media, will be released March 8. It's the story of a mother's agony in choosing what's best, the joy of a couple starting a family, and young man's search for where his life began.
The film has been a work of love for Scotton, Braun, and the film's producer, Louisiana Right to Life's own Benjamin Clapper. Their passion for sharing the message of adoption is strong, and they are excited to share the story with the public.
As he boards a train headed to Indiana, David fears how this reunion might reshape the life he cherishes with his family down South.
Waiting for him are his birth parents, now divorced. His birth mother, Melissa, is a tattooed, four-wheeling country girl who reveals a tender and maternal soul as she excitedly awaits the reunion. But nineteen years after giving birth to David, she still wrestles with her decision. Brian is David's reserved birth father who has kept David a secret from even his closest family. He is burdened by what David will think after all these years, especially when David learns about their visit to the local abortion clinic.
Back in Louisiana, David's parents, Jimmy and Susan, reflect on the tragic death of Susan's two sons and anticipate the opportunity to thank Melissa and Brian in person for David.
From the revelation of David nearly being aborted to the touching reunion with his birth parents, this film provides an uplifting message of love.
Will you help us share this film with others?
High Schools: You Can Host
High schools can host a pre-release screening of the documentary during the 2017-18 school year, which will include an introduction, video message from David Scotton, and an onsite discussion and Q&A time with a representative about adoption, the film and the film's message.
For more information on how to schedule a showing at your school,
click here.
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Bringing New Information Back to Louisiana
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Krista Corbello, Alex Seghers, and Benjamin Clapper at the National Right to Life Convention.
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LARTL Staffers Learn New Pro-Life Information on Trips Outside of Louisiana
Several Louisiana Right to Life staff members have been on the road this summer, learning about additional resources and methods of educating local communities on pro-life issues.
Executive Director Benjamin Clapper and Youth Programs Co-Directors Krista Corbello and Alex Seghers attended the National Right to Life Convention in Milwaukee in late June. They were all able to sit in on several general and breakout sessions and hear current pro-life information, and each also spoke at the convention.
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Alex Seghers and Krista Corbello at the Pro-Life Women's Conference.
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Earlier in June Corbello and Seghers were two of the 300 women gathered in Orlando, Fla., for the second annual
Pro-Life Women's Conference coordinated by Abby Johnson. The pro-life movement has the stereotype of not caring for women as much as they care for babies, accused of being "pro-birth," but Krista and Alex saw otherwise at this pro-woman conference.
Women on various panels gave heart-wrenching testimonies about their child's adverse diagnosis in the womb and experiences as birth mothers in the process of adoption. Physicians shared their success in life-affirming practices they believe truly are pro-woman, and activists articulated how to engage the black community. Breakout sessions involved experts from different pro-life ministries, including Embrace Grace, Rehumanize Int'l, Save the One, Sidewalk Advocates for Life, Feminists for Life, and Radiance Foundation.
"These are the compassionate, compelling stories and concrete resources we are incorporating into our pro-life talks, PULSE Immersions, and PULSE teams for the next year," Alex said. "We are especially advocating that the high school club moderators and college clubs throughout Louisiana provide such tangible, holistic pro-life information to their fellow students and communities."
Krista said she also hopes to implement pregnancy loss, particularly for students whose siblings died by miscarriage, into the curriculum she uses when doing presentations to youth groups and schools.
"By using my experience grieving my father's abortion to connect with students whose siblings died by miscarriage, I think I can help people understand the value of the unborn from personal experience," she said.
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Dr. Kathy Allen, right, is shown with a visitor to her booth at the National Black Catholic Congress.
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Just last week Dr. Kathy Allen, state director for Louisiana Black Advocates for Life, traveled to Orlando, Fla., for the National Black Catholic Congress XII.
Louisiana Black Advocates for Life was one of 25 exhibitors and the only black pro-life organization at the Congress, which was attended by more than 2,200 Black Catholics from dioceses across the U.S.
Kathy had the opportunity to talk with attendees about Louisiana Black Advocates for Life efforts to work for justice for the unborn and to network with other pro-life and social justice advocates to share resources and discuss collaboration.
"Implications for black pro-life advocacy are that our flaws and brokenness, rather than being sources of shame, can be avenues to effectively minister to women and men who have been impacted by abortion, or other related issues," Kathy said. "This is extremely important for the Black community, where shame and silence often prevents the healing that can lead to greater dialogue between generations and gender groups."
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Nov. 2:
January 20, 2018:
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