Mercy’s Pro-Life Club has five new leaders this year: seniors Lourdes Haddad and Mary Powers, juniors Grace Fadool and Lauren Krill, and sophomore Chloe Kilano. The leaders are excited for the year ahead and have numerous plans to further enhance the club.

“For the rest of the year, I would like to bring more after-school meetings and collaboration among Mercy,” Kilano said. “I want to collaborate with other schools and pro-life organizations, and put together something for girls throughout the school to have fun with.”

These potential meetings and activities would be in addition to the ones during club meeting days that all Pro-Life club members attend. Through creating new opportunities for both club members and other students to participate in, the leaders are hoping to attract a wider variety of participants.

“The other leaders and I are focusing on reaching as many girls as possible throughout the rest of the school year through events,” Kilano said.

So far, the leaders have organized one club meeting day, planned Mercy’s trip to the March for Life, and had a booth at the club expo to attract new members. At their meeting, they discussed various issues within the pro-life movement.

“Our last meeting we went into depth on the different aspects of being pro-life,” Fadool said. “Being pro-life is not just about being pro-birth or anti-abortion. It’s about being pro-humans. So, we talked about subjects like the death penalty, euthanasia, and suicide.”

The club leaders are particularly excited to attend the March for Life this year. This is the biggest activity that the club participates in.

“I am most excited for the March for Life because I love seeing the union of people no matter the age, race, or political party come together across the world to support and make notice of an issue we believe in,” Powers said. “It is extremely fun with all of the Mercy students because it is a great bonding time and experience for everyone to be a part of and see.”

All in all, the club leaders want people to feel welcome in the club regardless of their beliefs. They hope to encourage honest discussion among all students, even if they are not pro-life.

“We want to teach people who either don’t have an opinion or are maybe on the other side of the spectrum that we respect their values,” Fadool said. “We’re just here to educate, not to push our beliefs on anyone.”