05/05/2026
CLARE CAULFIELD'S 2026 MARCH FOR LIFE MESSAGE
The Risk of Keeping Your Pro-Life Convictions to Yourself
What made you come out to the March this morning? It wasn’t just to take a nice walk in the sunshine, because it’s kind of cold this morning. It was snowing at our house this morning! So, what made you come out to march?
My guess is most of you would say, to defend the right to life of the unborn. The unborn deserve to have their right to life recognized both legally and societally. Abortion should be unthinkable across the country.
But here’s the thing, it’s pretty easy to say that, standing where you are today. You are surrounded by scores of other people who think exactly the same thing you do. It’s easy to shrug off the dirty looks and people thinking you’re crazy because you’re surrounded by others.
But what are you going to do Monday? What are you going to do on Monday, when your coworker asks you how your weekend was? Are you going to tell him you came to the Erie March for Life? Or are you going to tell him anything but, because it’s just too hard a conversation to have. I’ve been especially struck by this issue this semester. Gannon Students for Life has had several events throughout this semester and we’ve encouraged our club members to invite people in their classes, in the cafeteria and just around campus to come to these events. But it’s difficult. It is an uncomfortable conversation to have. It’s hard to turn to the person sitting next to you in class and invite him to come to a pro-life event. Because he’s definitely going to think you’re weird and he’s probably never going to talk to you again. The risk seems too great.
But have you considered another risk? Have you considered the risk of not talking to those around you? Maybe your coworker, he’s on the fence about abortion. Everyone around him says abortion is good, it’s a woman’s right and it’s something to be celebrated. But he’s not so sure. He’s starting to think maybe the unborn is human and has a right to life. He just needs one person to explain the truth to him. Or maybe the girl sitting next to you in class, she just found out she’s pregnant this morning. She’s scared and she doesn’t know what to do. She just needs one person to say she believes in her and that she can do it. So, what’s the risk of not talking to those around you? Your coworker, he never changes his mind about abortion. He lives the rest of his life supporting it, thinking it’s the right thing to do. And the student sitting next to you in class? She has the abortion and she never gets to hold her child, enjoy her child’s smile, and eventually see her child get married and start a family. Which seems to be the greater risk to you?
You are here to publicly announce that the unborn have a right to life. Are you willing to live that out privately, as well as publicly? Don’t be afraid to take the risk of speaking to the people around you who might not agree with you. Because the risk of not talking to them is far greater. By acknowledging the pro-life truth both publicly and privately, we will make abortion unthinkable.
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Clare Caulfield is a student at Gannon University majoring in mathematics. She serves as President of Gannon University's Students for Life organization, a chapter of Students for Life of America. In June 2023, after winning oratory contests conducted by People for Life and the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, Clare took first place in the National Right to Life Oratory contest with a speech acclaiming and defending the work of Pregnancy Resource Centers.
