Become a Lawrence County Right To Life Hero

TENNESSEE RIGHT TO LIFE VOLUNTEER TRAINING

LAWRENCE COUNTY Right to Life

lawrencecountyrighttolife.org

WHO WE ARE

Tennessee Right to Life is the state affiliate of National Right to Life and Tennessee’s oldest pro-life organization.

Lawrence County Right to Life is a local chapter of Tennessee Right to Life.

We are devoted to promoting respect for life at all its stages, ages and conditions. We do this through education, legislation and grassroots activism regarding the life issues of:

Abortion

Infanticide

Euthanasia

Post abortion healing

We also serve as a resource for people facing difficulties dealing with life issues.

WHO WE ARE NOT

Graphic Images

Crisis Pregnancy Center

40 Days for Life

Our main mission is to educate the public and advocate for pro-life legislation on the state level.

We work with the Tennessee Right to Life Political Action Committee to elect Pro-life candidates to office.

STATISTICS

Since 1973: 65M abortions in the United States

Approximately 862,320 abortions in the U.S. each year.

7 abortion facilities in Tennessee: Bristol (1), Knoxville (2), Nashville/Mount Juliet (2),

Memphis (2).

Lawrence County does Not have an abortion clinic.

HELP RESOURCES

There are approximately 50 pregnancy help centers in Tennessee including

mobile units.

In this area we have:

Hope Haven Pregnancy Center hopehavenpregnancycenter@outlook.com

Pregnancy Centers of Middle TN   pcofmt.com

Cumberland Crisis Pregnancy Center ccpchope.org

Find more at care-net.org

TENN LIFE-AFFIRMING LAWS

AS OF JANUARY 1, 2021

“Trigger law” - abortion would be banned if Roe v. Wade were overturned in whole or in part.

Health plans offered in the state’s health exchange under the Affordable Care Act may not provide coverage of abortion.

The use of telemedicine to administer medication abortion is prohibited.

The parent of a minor must consent before an abortion is provided.

A woman must receive state-directed counseling about abortion in person and then wait 48 hours before the abortion takes place.

Public funding is available for abortion only in cases of life endangerment, rape or incest.

A patient must undergo an ultrasound before obtaining an abortion; the provider must show and describe the image to the patient.

An abortion may be performed at or after viability only in cases of life endangerment or severely compromised health.

The state prohibits abortions performed for the purpose of race or sex selection, or in response to genetic anomaly.

Prenatal Life & Liberty Act and the Unborn Child Dignity Act requires that the bodies of aborted babies be buried or cremated.

THE JOURNEY TO BIRTH

At conception (fertilization), a single, separate, living cell is alive – a blastocyst. A unique individual exists for the first time; one who has never been before and will never be again.

A separate person who resides within the mother. Nothing will be added except oxygen and nutrition.

On about the 6th day, the growing human being attaches to the wall of the mother’s uterus and continues his or her journey to birth – an embryo.

LIFE BEGINS AT FERTILIZATION – This is why we do what we do.

FETAL DEVELOPMENT

18- 21 days – Heart starts to beat.

6 weeks – Brain waves can be measured.

10-11 weeks – All organ systems are in place, now known as a fetus, fingers and toes are

present.

14 weeks – Fingerprints are present, can grasp an object.

18 weeks – Eyebrows and eyelashes begin to form, baby sucks their thumb.

21-22 weeks – Babies have been known to survive.

ABORTION TIMELINE

CHEMICAL ABORTION (RU 486) - up to 10 weeks after conception

Drug (mifepristone) is given at the abortion facility to break down the lining of the uterus so that the baby dies.

Another drug (misoprostol) is given to induce labor. The woman may deliver at home.

SUCTION ABORTION – 5 to 15 weeks

Cervix is dilated and a suction apparatus is inserted into the womb and the baby is removed through a tube.

DILATION AND EVACUATION (dismemberment abortion) 12 weeks to 3rd

trimester

Cervix is dilated and forceps are inserted into the womb and the baby is pulled from the womb in pieces.

Remember the Planned Parenthood videos.

OTHER METHODS – saline, drugs injected into the heart, other born-alive

methods.

PRO-LIFE WORK IS

IMPORTANT

Women and children are being harmed every day by abortion. Approximately

3,000 abortions are performed every day in our country.

Media is predominantly pro-abortion.

Most churches are doing little to defend life.

Schools for the most part ignore the Sanctity of Human Life.

Abortion advocates are becoming bolder

Shout your abortion

Extreme legislation

Culture of death is gaining momentum on end-of-life issues.

POSITIVE PRO-LIFE

EDUCATION

Your interaction with someone may be the only information they receive about life issues and our educational display may be the only face-to-face interaction someone may have about life issues.

Presenting facts about fetal development demonstrates the humanity of the unborn child. At the booth, the fetal models help put an abstract concept of life into concrete facts. They are scientifically correct, attract young and old, and are not controversial.

Promotes the pro-life position in a positive light.

Educates voters so that people of life can be elected to office. It matters who is in office. Tennessee Right to Life PAC endorsements are an important part of electing legislators who will be strong advocates for LIFE once in office.

ENGAGE IN CONVERSATION

There are no unimportant discussions about LIFE. One day your conversation may be repeated to a woman who is pregnant and considering abortion (or to her mother or the father of the

baby).

You may not change a person’s mind in one conversation, but you can plant the seed.

We are not in this work to simply have a label or at the booth to simply oversee the materials.

We are here to change hearts and minds and SAVE LIVES. We must ENGAGE OTHERS.

Pro-abortion activists may not change their minds, but your victories will be seen in reaching those whose support for abortion is marginal or poorly defined. So don’t spend precious time

on those who are activists.

GOAL:

TAKE THEM TO THE NEXT LEVEL

PREPARING TO WORK THE

BOOTH

Review this material and any instructions about the event the week of the event.

Once you’re in the booth, take time to familiarize yourself with the literature, materials and merchandise.

Be prayerful with the attitude that you want God to be able to use you to reach others with the truth, clearly and with joy and kindness.

You are representing Tennessee Right to Life, please dress neatly. Jeans are ok. A pro-life T-shirt would be great, especially one of ours!

Please avoid excessive talking or texting on your cell phone while in the booth. Avoid food if possible.

HOW TO ENGAGE?

LOVE, NOT CONDEMNATION

Give them a chance to talk and ask questions or make comments so you know where they are coming from.

Talk about the mothers as well as the babies.

Talk about how society has failed women by making them believe that abortion is their only option.

Talk about how women and girls are sold On abortion as a quick fix to an unexpected pregnancy when, in reality, it is a forever decision that many never get over.

If a visitor is making condemning remarks, explain to them that many times, girls and women are also victims of abortion and are looking for someone to offer help.

Women and girls are not the problem, the abortion industry is the problem!

IMPORTANT TO

REMEMBER

Tennessee Right to Life is a non-partisan group and we are

SINGLE ISSUE!

Topic of faith – best if it starts with the visitor. Don’t let it become a point of

contention, but a point of unity. Strive to not talk about different

denominations.

THE TRUTH ABOUT PLANNED

PARENTHOOD

Planned Parenthood is the largest abortion provider in the nation.

No PP facility performs mammograms.

Abortion accounts for 86% of PP’s business. Their focus is abortion. That’s where they make their money.

Undercover video revealed PP executives and abortionists attempting to profit from the sale of

organs and parts from aborted children.

PP actively works to defeat ALL protective measures for abortion vulnerable women and their children (even Viable Infant Protection Act, Informed Consent etc.) They are not “pro-choice”, they are pro-abortion.

DIFFICULT QUESTIONS

Rape

The circumstances of conception do not take away the truth that this child is a human being worthy of protection… he or she has a heartbeat, brainwaves, fingers, toes…

Act of violence against the woman. She needs to be taken care of and protected not handed over to an industry that will benefit from the death of her child.

Violence of abortion does not take away the violence of the rape but instead turns the mother into the attacker of her own child.

Trauma from the rape is horrible, don’t add to that more guilt and turmoil. “I got over my rape, but I never got over my abortion.”

Shauna Prewitt, a victim of rape, doesn’t understand pro-lifers who take exceptions… “why wasn’t my child deserving of your

efforts to save babies?” Her child helped her through…they were a “team.”

Incest

Oftentimes abortion is used to cover up the crime and allows the perpetrator to continue the abuse.

Sadly, our culture assumes the rape and incest victims want abortion and at such a vulnerable time, she may be easily convinced

to abort her child.

These women deserve better than abortion. They deserve our care, compassion and protection!

MORE DIFFICULT QUESTIONS

Life of the Mother

Cases where life of mother is in danger are extremely rare (most states allowed that exception before Roe).

When only one life can be saved, it should be saved.

Health of the mother is a totally different matter especially in respect to legislation (Doe v. Bolton).

Abnormalities and Disabilities

Diagnosis are often wrong.

Often disabilities are much milder than expected.

Disability does not take away the value of that life.

It is a form of discrimination .

END OF LIFE ISSUES

The voices for legalizing euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are becoming louder and

more insistent. Legalizing these in law can have devastating consequences.

Sends message that some lives aren’t worth living.

Creates opportunity for elder abuse – the elderly are coerced, pressured or forced into “choosing” to die.

Sets up a kind of discrimination against those with disabilities – it’s less expensive than treatment.

Puts doctors in conflicting roles.

Creates a duty to die.

Creates a slippery slope to killing people without their permission.

THANK YOU FOR TAKING A STAND

THANK YOU FOR CHOOSING LIFE 

AND VOLUNTEERING YOUR TIME

THE FIGHT CARRIES ON!!