Pro-life club gathered for the first time this year on Sept. 30 in N-13. Club leaders kicked off the meeting by passing out cookies and introducing themselves to the group. This year’s leaders are seniors Natalie Cieslak, Hannah Cohen, Katie Dillon, Sarah Dwyer, Kendyl Kirkland, Kate Morey, Cari Padula, Sarah Posa, Christina Schira, and Sabrina Yancey.

After the leaders spoke, members were put into small groups to introduce themselves and get to know each other a bit better. Icebreaker questions– with topics such as the girls’ favorite songs and worst vacation experience– were provided by the club leaders.

“The icebreaker was a nice way of getting us to step outside of our comfort zones and talk to other club members,” said senior Miranda Stano. “The prompts were cute and engaging. I think it was a good way of giving club members a sense of community.”

When the group re-convened, more serious issues were addressed. Latin teacher and club moderator Mrs. Lauren Marquard gave details about the upcoming March for Life trip and encouraged the girls to attend.

The conversation then moved on to the recent Planned Parenthood scandal. The organization is accused of illegally selling fetal tissue to multiple buyers after undercover pro-life advocates caught a Planned Parenthood representative appearing to agree to the sale on video. A shortened version of the video was shown to the group.

“I found the video to be a bit shocking,” said Stano. “It’s very hard for me to grasp how someone can talk so casually about selling fetal body parts. I can’t believe that tax money is being used to fund an organization that commits such atrocities.”

Some of the club leaders were hesitant about showing such an intense video at the first meeting, but it was agreed that the information it contains is important and relevant.

“It’s a very hard topic to talk about, and because the club is open to all ages, there are some girls there who are only 13 and 14 years old,” said Dwyer. “[The club leaders] know the video is very unsettling. We just weren’t sure if they would be ready to hear it. We decided the first meeting would be [a good time to show it] because it’s pretty well-known and we could start the club off with something really big.”

After the video, club leaders discussed the content and impact of the recording.

In addition to meeting on A Club days, Pro-life club will now meet monthly.

“I think the monthly meetings are going to be a really great addition,” said Dwyer. “This will give girls [who are part of other clubs] more opportunities to come and show their support for the pro-life movement and to be a part of all the fun! We’re hoping that these monthly meetings will help the club grow and to bring in new ideas and opinions.”