Dear Friends and Alums of U of M Students for Life,

Hello to all!

The semester is winding down, but we had an exciting start to the month of March. On the evening of March 4th, our Diag board that was on display near the Engineering Arch and South University was STOLEN! When we came up with the idea for this particular board's design, we knew it would be controversial (a photo of the board is attached). But we had no idea that pro-abortion individuals would go so far as to restrict our freedom of speech and expression on our campus. The poster was designed and paid for by our club, and formally approved by the Student Organization Resource Center. It had been on display for less than three days. We do not know who stole it, but the SORC permitted us to re-post our Juno-themed poster from the month of February.

After discussing the disappearance of the board, the club decided to respond with a flyering campaign. We chose this course of action because it peacefully lets the perpetrators know that stealing our board will not silence the pro-life voice on campus. One flyer read, "We Will Not Be Silenced!" Another was a reproduction of the missing board. We also used this opportunity to spread awareness, with a flyer comparing the treatments and cures from adult stem cell research (73), with those derived from embryonic cells (zero). You can see the four different flyer designs we posted around campus! Look under the attachments to this email.

Later on in the month, Patty Maher came to our meeting and gave a presentation on sidewalk counseling at abortion facilities. We were very glad to hear her advice, because many of our members have been making weekly trips to our local Planned Parenthood clinic to stand in peaceful protest and offer life-affirming assistance to the women who come to the clinic. Ms. Maher has started a wonderful new chastity group called Women of Dignity, which meets twice per month at Arbor Vitae. All women are invited to join this group, which can be found on Facebook (search Women of Dignity).

On March 30th, we hosted a speaker in the Union, for an audience of about 25 people (including a couple of students from the VOX campus group). Cassandra Vaughn gave an interactive and informative presentation on abortion and Planned Parenthood's racist roots. One of the most compelling moments of her talk was when she asked the whole audience to stand. She read a list of the most common reasons for abortion used today, and/or in the early years of Margaret Sanger's birth control movement which was greatly influenced by eugenics ideology. Some of these reasons are that (1) the pregnancy is the woman's first, (2) there might be something "wrong" with the baby (possible physical deformity, or even asthma!), or (3) that the woman has limited finances. It was spine-chilling to see every single member of the audience sit down as the list proceeded, indicating that they, too, could have easily become victims of abortion. This demonstration illustrated the fact that the perfect pregnancy does not exist. Ms. Vaughn was a dynamic speaker, and everyone in attendance went away with an enhanced understanding of the origins of the birth control and abortion movements.

One of our last events of the semester will be Goodness Day on April 16th. This is an annual campus-wide fair held on the Diag. Student groups will set up tables (like at Festifall in September), but as the name implies, the focus will be more on giving various items away, and less on recruiting. Students for Life decided to use this as an opportunity to educate our campus about fetal development. We will have a set of fetal models, posters, an interactive quiz board on display, and heart-shaped candy for any students who stop by. We hope to start some thought-provoking conversations; we have seen that the pro-life message is very often most effective in one-on-one interactions.

We wish you all a lovely month of April, and a wonderful Easter!

As always, everyone is invited to our meetings. Our last one will be on April 13th at 7pm in the Michigan Union. Please come, and get plugged in to SFL before the summer!

Also, check out our website! "http://www.umich.edu/~umsfl/" or find us on Facebook!

For Life,

University of Michigan Students for Life

P. S. If you are curious about current legislative measures such as the threat to freedom of conscience, the Susan B. Anthony List has a wonderful website that makes it simple and fast to send faxes, emails, or letters to your elective officials. Visit www.sba-list.org and click on "take action." Also, you can make sure Health and Human Services hears your voice at www.freedom2care.org.