CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Despite pro-life setbacks in the Nov. 6 election, there is still hope and ample opportunity for progress in promoting a culture of life in the coming years, pro-life advocates are saying.<\/p>\n\tKristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, explained that the election \u201cconfirmed for every pro-lifer that we cannot rely on politicians to abolish abortion.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe first must change the culture and then the culture will shape our politicians and laws,\u201d she told CNA.<\/p>\n
\tOn Nov. 6, President Barack Obama was elected to a second term by the American people after committing himself to furthering tax-payer funded abortion without restrictions.<\/p>\n
\tDeep political divisions between the U.S. House and Senate also make it unlikely that major federal pro-life legislation will pass in the coming years.<\/p>\n
\tAt the state level, a Florida measure that would have prevented taxpayer funds for paying for abortions failed, while a parental notification law for girls under 16 seeking an abortion in Montana was passed. An attempt to repeal the death penalty in California also failed to win voter approval.<\/p>\n
\tBut Hawkins believes there is still important work to be done in changing minds and hearts across America.<\/p>\n
\tThe election \u201cshowed that we can't be afraid to talk about these \u2018hard issues,\u2019\u201d she said, pointing to the Democratic Party\u2019s strong emphasis on abortion at its national convention and throughout the campaign.<\/p>\n
\tThe Republican Party failed to respond with an equally strong emphasis, she said, and exit polls indicate that \u201cthere were a lot of pro-lifers missing\u201d on Election Day.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe need to march forward, courageously, doing what we have been doing for the past four years,\u201d Hawkins asserted. She listed her priorities as reaching out to women in need, spreading the pro-life message and working through local efforts to expose and de-fund Planned Parenthood and remove its presence from schools.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe need to work to develop better alternative and resource centers in our communities, so no women is ever forced to sacrifice her kids to and to put her life in the hands of Planned Parenthood,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
\tHawkins also stressed the importance of reaching out to young people. While support for Obama was down from 2008 among young voters, the president still captured a significant majority of the youth voting bloc.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThere is much more work to be done educating young people about abortion,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\tWhile Gallup polls indicate that this generation of young people is pro-life, it can be difficult for them \u2013 having been taught all their lives that truth is relative \u2013 to move from the understanding that abortion is wrong to the conviction that abortion should be illegal, she explained.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe must continue forward, speaking to our young people about their worldview, why life is intrinsically valuable, and how making a horrific act such as abortion illegal is the morally right thing to do,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\tCharmaine Yoest, president and CEO of Americans United for Life, agreed that there is a need to continue building on the \u201cdramatic success\u201d achieved in the past decade.<\/p>\n
\tThe election was definitely a loss for the pro-life movement, she said, but the good news is that groups like Americans United for Life have a \u201cclear, direct and strategic plan\u201d for moving ahead.<\/p>\n
\tDespite the hostile atmosphere at the national level, there is significant hope for pro-life advances at the state level, she explained.<\/p>\n
\tIn the past four years, Americans United for Life has promoted the passage of nearly 100 pieces of pro-life legislation in states across America, including sonogram laws, clinic regulations and other abortion restrictions.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe\u2019re seeing a tidal wave of pro-life legislation sweep across the country,\u201d Yoest said, noting that the \u201caccumulation of victories\u201d is encouraging.<\/p>\n
\tWhile she acknowledged that it would be good to have Supreme Court justices who respect the right to life, she added that it is still possible to navigate around the court\u2019s infamous 1973 decision and \u201cstart legislating for a post-Roe America.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tYoest also pointed to the importance of changing minds and hearts through one-on-one engagement with women in need.<\/p>\n
\tShe cited efforts to partner with pregnancy care centers to show women that although abortion may be a legal option, it is not a good option.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cBy working with those women, we shape the culture,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n
\n
![](\"https:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA\")
<\/a>\n<\/div>\n![](\"https:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~r\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews\/~4\/ergA0nf-l-g\")
<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Washington D.C., Nov 9, 2012 \/ 04:11 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Despite pro-life setbacks in the Nov. 6 election, there is still hope and ample opportunity for progress in promoting a culture of life in the coming years, pro-life advocates are saying.<\/p>\n
\tKris…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-us"],"yoast_head":"\n
Pro-life leaders aim at cultural change after election losses<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Washington D.C., Nov 9, 2012 \/ 04:11 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Despite pro-life setbacks in the Nov. 6 election, there is still hope and ample opportunity for progress in promoting a culture of life in the coming years, pro-life advocates are saying. Kris...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/11\/pro-life-leaders-aim-at-cultural-change-after-election-losses\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pro-life leaders aim at cultural change after election losses\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Washington D.C., Nov 9, 2012 \/ 04:11 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Despite pro-life setbacks in the Nov. 6 election, there is still hope and ample opportunity for progress in promoting a culture of life in the coming years, pro-life advocates are saying. Kris...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/11\/pro-life-leaders-aim-at-cultural-change-after-election-losses\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Catholic News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-11-09T11:11:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"CNA Daily News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"CNA Daily News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/11\/pro-life-leaders-aim-at-cultural-change-after-election-losses\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/11\/pro-life-leaders-aim-at-cultural-change-after-election-losses\/\",\"name\":\"Pro-life leaders aim at cultural change after election losses\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-11-09T11:11:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-11-09T11:11:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1\"},\"description\":\"Washington D.C., Nov 9, 2012 \/ 04:11 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Despite pro-life setbacks in the Nov. 6 election, there is still hope and ample opportunity for progress in promoting a culture of life in the coming years, pro-life advocates are saying. Kris...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/11\/pro-life-leaders-aim-at-cultural-change-after-election-losses\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/11\/pro-life-leaders-aim-at-cultural-change-after-election-losses\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/11\/pro-life-leaders-aim-at-cultural-change-after-election-losses\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Pro-life leaders aim at cultural change after election losses\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/\",\"name\":\"Catholic News\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1\",\"name\":\"CNA Daily News\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"CNA Daily News\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/author\/cna-daily-news\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Pro-life leaders aim at cultural change after election losses","description":"Washington D.C., Nov 9, 2012 \/ 04:11 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Despite pro-life setbacks in the Nov. 6 election, there is still hope and ample opportunity for progress in promoting a culture of life in the coming years, pro-life advocates are saying. Kris...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/11\/pro-life-leaders-aim-at-cultural-change-after-election-losses\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Pro-life leaders aim at cultural change after election losses","og_description":"Washington D.C., Nov 9, 2012 \/ 04:11 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Despite pro-life setbacks in the Nov. 6 election, there is still hope and ample opportunity for progress in promoting a culture of life in the coming years, pro-life advocates are saying. Kris...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/11\/pro-life-leaders-aim-at-cultural-change-after-election-losses\/","og_site_name":"Catholic News","article_published_time":"2012-11-09T11:11:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA"}],"author":"CNA Daily News","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"CNA Daily News","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/11\/pro-life-leaders-aim-at-cultural-change-after-election-losses\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/11\/pro-life-leaders-aim-at-cultural-change-after-election-losses\/","name":"Pro-life leaders aim at cultural change after election losses","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-11-09T11:11:00+00:00","dateModified":"2012-11-09T11:11:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1"},"description":"Washington D.C., Nov 9, 2012 \/ 04:11 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Despite pro-life setbacks in the Nov. 6 election, there is still hope and ample opportunity for progress in promoting a culture of life in the coming years, pro-life advocates are saying. Kris...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/11\/pro-life-leaders-aim-at-cultural-change-after-election-losses\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/11\/pro-life-leaders-aim-at-cultural-change-after-election-losses\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/11\/pro-life-leaders-aim-at-cultural-change-after-election-losses\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Pro-life leaders aim at cultural change after election losses"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/","name":"Catholic News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1","name":"CNA Daily News","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"CNA Daily News"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/author\/cna-daily-news\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1031"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1565"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1565\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}