Scottish Catholic Observer

We live at a time of great moral and ethical challenges. How heartbroken we have been to see the plight of refugees on our TV screens and to witness the needless loss of life and the sad images have given society a shake. We know that we need to do something to save lives. Thankfully our media has worked to show us the need for action.

Meanwhile, the media is numb to the ongoing loss of life, which is deliberate and highly funded by our government. While in some ways our society is becoming more sensitive to the dignity of the human person, in other ways it is less so. New technologies are now being used to weed out the disabled before birth to ensure they don’t get a chance of life. There is now a new technology that looks capable of making the most fundamental alterations to the building blocks of life and create designer babies.

The role of politics, healthcare services and law are all intertwined in complex web of attacks against human life and human conscience. The national  conference of SPUC Scotland takes place on the first Saturday of October and it promises to be an eventful day in which these issues and more are going to be examined and discussed.

The challenges of being pro-life are considerable in our time but there is much to be encouraged about. There is a growing body of young people invigorated with a sense of justice who are willing to take the truth of the pro-life cause on to the streets. There are still many who have kept pro-life values as their guide in their lives and careers and given witness to the importance of not cooperating in evil.

The conference will hear from people in that position such as Mary Doogan, the midwife at the centre of the recent Supreme Court Case on conscientious objection. Experts will speak on a variety of important pro-life issues as well others who will explain issues of national and international importance. It promises to be an important occasion for getting pro-life activists and supporters together. Hopefully a strong contingent of Scottish Catholic Observer readers will be in attendance.

SPUC Scotland’s National Conference takes place on October 3 at the Mercure Hotel on Ingram Street, Glasgow from 9.30-4.15pm. Tickets are £15 and includes lunch. Call: 0141 221 2094

Success on the streets

SPUC Scotland Development Office Rachel Munro describes the exciting initiative Project Truth: “In August, we completed our second Project Truth summer roadshow and this year we were able to reach double the number of towns and cities.

“With a strong group of 14 young people from all across the UK, we split into two teams each day and travelled to two towns and cities—visiting Edinburgh, Linlithgow, Dundee, Falkirk, Aberdeen, Inverness, Perth, Dunfermline, Stirling and Kirkcaldy. In each town, we set up a stall with pro-life imagery, literature and foetal models and entered into dialog with the public on pro-life issues; focusing on pre-natal development and the current UK Abortion Law.

“In the UK most abortions take place within the first 10 weeks of pregnancy, so with Project Truth we focus on the unborn child’s journey in those first weeks. On our stall we have images of the unborn baby at various stages in the first 10 weeks of their life and people are usually amazed to see what the baby looks like and how quickly they are developing in those first few weeks.

“Thomas, 19, who took part in the roadshow said: ‘I thought it was wonderful to see the amazement of people at the development of the child in the womb. Some people we spoke to had not realised before just how quickly development happens, and they were often interested in learning about it.’

“When taking to the streets with a subject that is so sensitive and controversial there will always be difficult discussions and hostile responses, but overall the majority of the conversations that took place were positive. Even when people disagreed, most were happy to enter into dialogue. We know that many people have been personally affected by abortion and therefore we tried to be as sensitive and compassionate as possible when speaking to people in this situation and always have ARCH material  at hand.

“This event is also a great way to nourish and encourage the next generation of pro-life leaders in Scotland. The young people who participate come to the end of the week with a great deal of experience and confidence in discussing pro-life issues and defending the pro-life message. This is what Project Truth team member Lily, 19, had this to say about her experience of the event: ‘The roadshow was an excellent experience and opened my eyes to the lack of information shared with the public about what an abortion really involves and the humanity of the unborn baby. Although there were mixed responses from the public, most of those who took the time to have a conversation with us realised the importance of standing up for the rights of the unborn children who have no voice. It was also great to meet other young people who had a real interest in the pro-life movement and gave me a lot of courage that what we were doing was right.’”

Inspiring school pupils

Encouraging and developing young people’s involvement with SPUC Scotland is now bearing fruit in the new school term. Sean, Clare, James, Lily and Catherine, all undergraduate university

students, volunteered during this wet summer with Project Truth. Since then they visited St Maurice’s High School in Cumbernauld with Rachel, SPUC’s experienced development worker. Almost 30 pupils from 4th, 5th and 6th year at St Maurice’s have, as a result, started their own school pro-life club.

What motivated them, according to feedback, was seeing the courage in young people not much older than them giving testimony for pro-life. The pupils can relate also to young pro-life advocates as they understand the pressures that are on young people, even when at school. Pressure to ignore a culture of death in society. Pressure to be seen to support choice as the ultimate good in a democracy, even when that choice takes the life of an innocent human being.

Many other young project truth advocates want to receive training to deliver the pro-life message in our schools and build on their Project Truth experience. This brings a fresh new perspective to augment SPUC Scotland’s successful work already.  What we are seeing now is that our initial SPUC talk and visit is developed throughout the academic year. Other schools have contacted us for help to set up their own pro-life group.

Fundraising is an added bonus too as schoolchildren are very focused on the need to raise money and are wanting to do that for pro-life.

At SPUC Scotland we regularly review how we convey the pro-life message. We engage with best practice teaching guidelines on how to engage pupils’ interest and choose the right medium. There is a wealth of visual informative material that can facilitate discussion. We can tailor our presentations to relate directly to the school curriculum and exam requirements. This benefits both teachers and pupils who can rely on the depth of our teaching materials. Every year, for example, we speak to the Advanced Higher classes around Scotland on issues in the RMPS curriculum.

SPUC Scotland stays abreast with all international and local developments that affect the pro-life  message. Please contact us on 0141 221 2094 if you would like SPUC Scotland to come and talk at your school, university, club, parish or association.

— http://www.spucscotland.org