Reflecting on my First Pro-Life Conference
by Jacob Thomsen
I attended my first Pro-Life Conference last week. Now, much of my work was working behind the scenes to make sure everything went smoothly, but I still got to hear our tremendous speakers and what they had to say. There were a lot of important things to take away from our conference, the two most important things in my opinion were that 1.) we’ve had some tremendous pro-life successes, but the fight is far from over, and 2.) God is infinitely caring and loving toward each of us individually, despite our histories.
Our keynote speaker, David Bereit, was absolutely remarkable and had some excellent points. The focus of his presentation was that, as long as we still have breath in our lungs, our pro-life fight and mission are not yet over. While we had a huge success in the overturn of Roe v. Wade, the battle on abortion was sent back to the states. In our state, NDFA helped pass pro-life laws this session and we will continue to actively fight the battle against abortion, both in the legislature and in the courts. Never believe that Planned Parenthood has given up. They have attacked several states with ballot measures to enshrine abortion in their state constitutions, and they actually have a campaign directed at North Dakota to legalize abortions here.
In North Dakota, the Red River Women’s Clinic in Fargo was closed. However, they moved across the border into Moorhead. That is the story for so many other states across our nation. In fact, David mentioned that abortion has gone up 9% nationwide. The fight is far from over. While we certainly want to protect life in all its forms here in ND, there are scores of unborn children still being killed across our nation.
The most important thing David left us with was an action that each of us can take, should we find ourselves with someone who is seriously contemplating abortion. He said that a study was done where 1,000 women who had abortions were asked, “what could have changed the situation?” Approximately 74% of those women said they would not have had an abortion if one person in their life said, “I will help you.” If we truly believe in the fight to eradicate abortion, we must be willing to say those four words and mean them.
That was an incredibly powerful part of his presentation that really resonated with me. I know people who have made the decision to have an abortion. What could have changed if I had said those four words?
Our other speakers, Jor-El Godsey, Jill Chandler, and Attorney General Drew Wrigley all had great presentations as well. They touched on things like mail-order abortion pills, the harm they do, and our tremendous network of pregnancy health clinics across the state. They also talked about the value of life, and how we value life here in North Dakota. They were wonderful speakers, and we are truly blessed to have heard them at our conference.
Our final speaker was a mother who had an abortion. She is an incredible woman with a tragic story that moved from pain and suffering into God’s forgiveness. Out of respect, I won’t go into details about her story, but I will tell you it was heart-wrenching, but so incredibly beautiful. It reminded me that God sees each of us individually and knows our hearts personally. He sees what we are going through and leaves the 99 to save the one. Our God is redeeming, loving, caring, and gracious, and that fact has been reflected beautifully in so many stories around the issue of life. This is so fundamental to the pro-life movement, that we distributed a book to every attendee which relates many stories of how God has transformed these situations for His glory.
This gives me hope that the issue of life is something that can be won for the glory of God. Not only can we save more babies through actively partaking in the pro-life movement, but we can win more souls for Heaven! What a beautiful gift!
I loved the first of many Pro-Life Conferences that I hope to be part of. I heard about the challenges those of us in the pro-life movement face, but also so many inspiring, beautiful stories about how God works in people’s lives to bring justice and healing to situations where He is needed most. If you haven’t been to one of our Pro-Life Conferences before, I hope you’ll join us for our next one. I promise it will educate, inspire, and motivate you to step forward in faith and fight even harder to protect the unborn in our state and across the country!
2024 ND Pro-Life Conference
Tickets are going fast! Get yours now!
Hear more about the Conference from keynote speaker, David Bereit!
Is the sanctity of life important to you and your family? Then we have just the event for you. Following NDFA’s incredibly successful 2022 ND Pro-Life conference, NDFA is excited to announce its 2024 ND Pro-Life Conference to be held on January 22, our state’s new official Right-To-Life Day!
Topics will cover everything from the current status of abortion across the nation and state, to the dramatic increase in chemical abortions, the situation with pro-life legal challenges in ND, and what you can do to stand for life in our state. The one-day conference will be held at the Heritage Center starting at 9 AM, and tickets are available on Eventbrite for $20 per person or half-priced per person for groups of 5 or more.
David Bereit, founder and former CEO of 40 Days for Life, will be our keynote speaker. Other speakers will include:
Jor-el Godsey, President of Heartbeat International
Drew Wrigley, North Dakota Attorney General
Jill Chandler, Executive Director of Relate Care Clinic
Personal testimony from a post-abortive mother
Join us on January 22 to gather, learn, and celebrate the sanctity of human life. You won’t want to miss the premier life conference planned for North Dakota in 2024!
My Brother, Kaden
by Jacob Thomsen
Happy New Year! We are all incredibly blessed to see another year, and to be able to see the hope and opportunity it can bring. As we enter the month of January, there is a day in particular that stands out to me. That day is January 22nd, North Dakota’s first Right-To-Life Day. It was an honor last session to testify in favor of creating this day of observance and then to finally see it come to fruition this month!
This day is incredibly important to the values we hold so dearly in our hearts. It further solidifies that North Dakota is a pro-life state and that we respect and cherish the gift that God has given us in lives filled with opportunity.
As I think about the upcoming Right-To-Life Day, there is surely a somber note to remember as well. I think about all the lives that have been lost to abortion and I think about all the babies who are like my younger brother, Kaden, who has Down Syndrome.
For many families across the world who opt to do genetic testing for their pregnancy, there is a chance that they find out that their child has a disability. For the families that do find out that their baby has a disability, oftentimes a doctor will recommend abortion and list the reasons why that child will not live a fulfilling life and will suffer the whole time they are living. When parents are presented with this information, they are faced with a difficult decision.
Kaden’s diagnosis was a surprise. He was born and my parents were told that their baby had Down Syndrome. That brings on a whirlwind of questions and emotions from people saying that he may not walk or talk, he may not be able to dress himself, and many more negative effects of the disability.
My parents would not let Kaden be who those people said he would be. They decided to give him the opportunity to write his own story, and he truly has. Kaden has been adored by his peers all through his schooling. He walks (runs), talks (doesn’t stop), dresses himself, and so much more. He can ride a bike, he won Homecoming King, he graduated High School, and he is a Special Olympics State Champion in Powerlifting.
Kaden is truly a gift from God. He has taught us so many things that we never would have had the opportunity to experience without him. He has taught us patience, grace, unadulterated joy, and love. The greatest lesson he’s taught us is unconditional love. He is someone who truly cares about everyone. He gives the best hugs, and is a real treasure to our family.
Kaden lives a fulfilling life. He is not a mistake. He is right where he is supposed to be, all because he was given the opportunity to live. We are all incredibly proud of him for how far he has come in life and are excited to see where he goes.
Everyone has a right to live. I will be celebrating that right on January 22nd, and I will think about Kaden. I will be thinking about how beautiful and precious life is, and that it is not an inconvenience.
Our interview with Senator Diane Larson
NDFA has been very busy and we wanted to show you just one of the things that we have been working on. We are very excited to present to you our very first legislator interview! Our hope is to do one of these interviews every few weeks, so that you get a deeper understanding of the legislators representing you.
Some time ago, we chose to visit with Senator Diane Larson from District 30 for our first interview. She is the Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and we know you’ll love learning more about who she is, why she got into politics, her perspective on our state legislature, and much more.
Check out the interview here. We hope you enjoy it.
For unto us a Child is born!
“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever.”
Isaiah 9:6-7
While this season is filled with gift-giving and receiving, the reason we celebrate is the incredible gift that was given to us that night long ago in Bethlehem. The world was given a King, who would not only rule forever, but would save us from our sins. He saved us and gave us eternal life in Him, and Him alone – something we could never achieve ourselves. That is the greatest gift of all! May you have a blessed Christmas and wonderful New Year.
In Christ,
the staff of NDFA and their families