While Gallup polls indicate that this generation of young people is pro-life, it can be difficult for them – having been taught all their lives that truth is relative – to move from the understanding that abortion is wrong to the conviction that abortion should be illegal, she explained.
"We 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," she said.
Charmaine Yoest, president and CEO of Americans United for Life, agreed that there is a need to continue building on the "dramatic success" achieved in the past decade.
The 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 "clear, direct and strategic plan" for moving ahead.
Despite the hostile atmosphere at the national level, there is significant hope for pro-life advances at the state level, she explained.
In 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.
"We're seeing a tidal wave of pro-life legislation sweep across the country," Yoest said, noting that the "accumulation of victories" is encouraging.
While 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's infamous 1973 decision and "start legislating for a post-Roe America."
Yoest also pointed to the importance of changing minds and hearts through one-on-one engagement with women in need.
She 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.
"By working with those women, we shape the culture," she explained.
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Michelle La Rosa is deputy editor-in-chief of Catholic News Agency. She has worked for CNA since 2011. She studied political philosophy and journalism at the University of Dallas.