Cedarville University students involved with Students for Life will travel to Washington, D.C., next week to participate in the annual March for Life on Jan. 23, joining hundreds of thousands of pro-life advocates calling for the protection of unborn children.
ChurchLeaders sat down with Cedarville University Students for Life President Rachel Hartford and Vice President Ruby Stedman, as well as Tiffany Thomson, an assistant professor in the Department of Communication. During the interview, they emphasized the importance of the younger generation participating in the 52nd annual March for Life.
“My primary reason I want to go is because to see other pro-lifers joined together in that amount is so encouraging in this fight,” Stedman said. “I think often it’s easy to feel like you’re alone fighting in an issue that’s so contentious, but when we go to D.C., it’s worth the travel because there are so many others there joining with you.”
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“I think it’s really important for us as a student body to take a public stand for life. As Christians, biblically, we should be pro-life, but often it stops there or it stops at Pro-Life Sunday when the pastor gives a sermon about it,” said Hartford, who shared she was adopted. “So I think it’s really important for students to be engaging in culture and their civic responsibility and also just to wrestle with the complex cultural issue that has [ethical] and moral dilemmas for some people.”
Hartford also shared how attending the March for Life encourages participants when they return to their local communities, reminding them they are not alone in the movement.
“It’s so great to allow others to know that people are watching this large group of people who are fighting together for this particular issue and advocating for it,” Thomson said, “because often the other side of the story is told or seems to be more prominent in the news.”
“So to see such a large group of people show up of all ages—from the youngest kids to those who have been there for many years—it’s just great to see their support for the issue right now,” she added.
Stedman emphasized the importance of demonstrating to lawmakers that Christians are willing to publicly oppose abortion.
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“It’s a really good reminder for our lawmakers and exercising our civic duty and walking out our faith because it’s not something we should marginalize,” she said.
Hartford said the current administration has shown it is listening to the pro-life movement, pointing to the Big Beautiful Bill defunding Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider. According to its 2023-2024 Annual Report, Planned Parenthood provided 402,200 abortions.
“So we can’t slack off now. It’s very important to be there physically and also for our students to not just say, ‘Oh, I’m pro-life,’ but to actually go out and take that stand directly,” Hartford said.
ChurchLeaders asked Thomson how important it is for the younger generation to serve as a visible voice for life.
“We’re always commanded and reminded to train up the next generation but to also have them in action,” she said. “[So] they’re not just learning to say words or do the easy thing and put something online, but to say, ‘I can do one step more than that by actually attending in person.’”
“And so I think it solidifies both for the public and within the hearts of the individual,” said Thomson, “that they can say, ‘I’m going to put feet to the words that I’m writing.’”
Cedarville University students will travel to Washington, D.C., next week to participate in the annual March for Life on Jan. 23, joining hundreds of thousands of pro-life advocates calling for the protection of unborn children.Click to Post
