Nullify Abortion was an idea that came to me a year and a half ago. Starting out, I had no idea what I was doing or how I was going to do it. I just knew that Roe V. Wade was unconstitutional and the states have a right to nullify it. It’s been a huge learning process and I continue to learn more and more as I go on.
Challenges
The most difficult challenge I’ve found is finding encouragement — and when that was lacking the motivation to keep going in spite of it. I’ve more than once mulled calling it quits. But I haven’t because I believe firmly in a few things:
- Abortion is the most horrific atrocity ever committed by mankind — Over 1.3 billion dead since 1980
- The federal government is out of control
- Nullification is a powerful strategy that has been so far ignored by the pro-life movement
- God has called me to help end abortion
Save for a few kind people, Nullify Abortion has been exclusively funded from my own pocket and the graciousness of my family who also believes in what we are trying to do.
The point I’m trying to make is this: I really believe in our core message and I’ll do whatever it takes to share that message.
I’ve spent much of the last year and half educating myself on topics I knew nothing about before I started. Honestly, I’m totally amazed I’ve made it this far without my brain exploding. Having to become an instant expert on anything isn’t easy, let alone constitutional law, embryology, and philosophy.
Work, work and more work
It’s also not easy juggling all of the hats I have to wear. This entire website was and is designed by me. All of the products in our store are designed by me. All of our graphics are designed by me. All of our social media posts are written by me. Save for a few articles by the (amazing) Ben Lewis, most are written by me. Our political and marketing strategies are designed and primarily executed by me. Finances are managed by me. Volunteer coordination (or lack thereof) is managed by me.
Basically, Nullify Abortion is me… but I want it to be more. I want it to be us.
Establishing priorities
But, while it’s still me, I’ve needed to figure out what my priorities are. How am I going to do this? What approach can I take that’s actually sustainable? After making Nullify Abortion an official entity, I went into overdrive trying to do everything I possibly could. In the run-up to getting the store online it wasn’t unusual for me to spend 12 hours a day or more working on Nullify Abortion.
In the lead up to the Spirit of Liberty Conference at the end of October, I got very little sleep as I was creating brochures, printing brochures, designing signs, arranging banners, arranging merchandise, and all of the other things that go into a first-time appearance at a conference. I ended up spending most of November sick, I’m sure because of how ragged I ran myself. There was also the discouragement of having not sold one t-shirt from a conference that cost us well over $500 in investment and having gained zero new active volunteers since August.
I spent most of November trying to wrap my head around what I should do. How I should do it. What I was doing wasn’t sustainable. How do you take on such a monumental task when it feels like nobody cares about your existence? Here I have this dream that has the potential to transform the political approach to ending abortion, but no one seems to be listening. How do I get people to listen?
Too many hats
One thing I’ve realized is that I’m trying to do far too many things that are outside of my area of expertise. My degree is in communication and journalism. I consider myself a journalist. I needed to reassess everything and go forward with that. What are my strengths? What can I do well? What do I enjoy doing?
I’m not a political strategist and I’m not a constitutional lawyer. But I do know how to find information, ask questions, and then explain it in a way that others can understand. “Okay,” I said to myself, “Let’s do that.”
Changing approach
So over the last week, I’ve started to adjust my approach. What can I do that others aren’t doing? Well, far too many pro-life advocates are intimidated by politics. I don’t know how many times I’ve been told by someone, “I really don’t know much about the political side of things” or “I think we should just focus on changing minds.”
Problem is, the other side is doing both… and we need to do both. So how can I make it easier for the pro-life movement to be engaged in politics? How can I empower people to get involved and show their support to politicians who are being bombarded left and right by a biased media and a well-funded abortion machine?
By doing what a journalist does. Well, you know, a good journalist.
Empowering
A lot of people don’t want to spend the time to read through a thirty page bill. I don’t blame them. I don’t want to read through a thirty page bill. But I do know how to digest large chunks of mind-numbingly boring information and do the research needed to write an article on the thirty page bill. So, that’s what I’m starting to do as you can tell from this article about what Alabama is doing as well as this article about what Michigan is doing.
My goal is to make the pro-life political process available to the masses. Specifically, at the state level where I’m confident our greatest chance of victory rests. The media isn’t going to report on pro-life legislation, and it specifically isn’t going to help you figure out how to support it and help it pass.
That’s what I’m going to do.
I’m daily searching through never-ending lists of legislation across the country. When I find something promising, I start a draft, email all of the legislators sponsoring the bill with questions, and start researching what this bill will actually do in practice. Then, I write an article digesting that information and provide practical steps for pro-life advocates to support that legislation.
That’s the important part. More often than not, the simple act of calling representatives and sharing the article is all that’s needed. That’s something anybody can do. It seems ridiculously simple, because it is. But, its so important that you know what’s going on in your government and that the politicians who are making these bold stands know they actually have support.
Even lukewarm pro-life politicians will be more inclined to stand up for pro-life legislation if they know its important to their constituents. If they know it actually matters they’re more inclined to act on it.
Conclusion
So, my word counter tells me I’m at 1175 words. If you’ve read this far, thank you. I know it’s a lot of rambling, but I needed to put it all into words. For those who have been supporting me, supporting us, thank you.
I want to stress, I need you. I need your skills. I need your talents. I need your support. I need your time. And yes, I even need your money.
Share our posts on social media. Make a donation. Buy stuff from our online store. Share our brochure with your pro-life group, political group, or church. Volunteer your time. And of course, send me a message and let me know you support what we’re doing. And if you have any article or t-shirt ideas, I’d like to hear about those too.
Most importantly, pray for me, pray for us, pray that we nullify abortion.
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