Abortion is known as one of the most controversial topics in the world, including the United States. However, controversial or not, the Catholic Church’s stance is that it is a grave sin.

At OLSH, there is a group that is dedicated to defending the stance of the Catholic Church: that all life is sacred from birth until death.

Mrs. Snatchko, Theology teacher at OLSH and moderator of the student Pro-Life group, said, “Since the first century, the Church has taught against abortion and affirmed the grave evil that it is. The Catechism [the Catholic Church’s rules of morality and governance] states, ‘Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person – among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.’”

At OLSH, the Pro-Life group is dedicated to defending the lives of the unborn. It promotes the pro-life movement by providing its members with a safe place to speak their minds on pro-life issues, it provides them with a solid understanding of why the lives of the unborn must be defended at all cost as followers of Christ. In addition, it equips students with the tools needed in order to protect the God-given right to life, and how they can defend it in their own words. They watch videos and documentaries to deepen and expand their understanding of this controversial subject.

The group has been around for a long time at OLSH; however, it’s uncertain when exactly the group was founded, or who created it. According to Mrs Snatchko, “The Pro-Life group was created not only for students to come together to defend the sanctity of human life, but to have a place of fellowship and common purpose.”  To promote the group, they make posters and signs to hang up around the schools in the hallways.

According to sophomore Elena Restaine on why she joined the Pro-Life group: “I joined becuase I believe that our generation of pro-life believers can really change how other people think about everything that goes into the pro-life movement.”

Currently, they are gearing up for the March For Life, set to happen on January 24th, 2020, in Washington, D.C. All of their efforts for this year will culminate in the biggest event for the Pro-Life group. In this march, they will raise their voices in public to government officials. The purpose is to let them know that the younger generation still believes that life is the most precious gift of God, and our voices will not be silenced.

If interested in the Pro-Life group, contact Mrs. Snatchko at csnatchko@olsh.org.