There are many things you can do to help end abortion, and we provide ten suggestions here, based on some of the most proven and effective pro-life strategies.

1. Pray!

Prayer is the foundation of all we do in the pro-life movement, and puts us in touch with the source of our life and freedom, God himself. We should be praying each day specifically for the children in the womb, and for an end to the violence of abortion.

At www.ProLifePrayers.com we provide such prayers for all occasions, and you can order a prayer book.

At various times of the year, furthermore, we have prayer campaigns connected with particular seasons (Advent, Lent, Easter, etc.) or in preparation for particular days (like Election Day). Those special prayer efforts can be found at www.PrayerCampaign.org.

And going a step beyond prayer, you can also study the spirituality of being pro-life and make a special commitment to live out the pro-life virtues. We provide such training at www.MissionariesoftheGospelofLife.org.

2. Promote Alternatives!

The easiest single reference to help free someone from feeling she has to abort her child is the Option Line, 1-800-712-HELP (4357). The phone is answered live 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and connects the caller to the nearest pregnancy center in a network of over 2200 centers. Callers can receive professional, practical, compassionate help to overcome the obstacles they are facing in bring their baby to birth.

The associated website is www.PregnancyCenters.org. Many of these centers also have recovery programs for those how have had abortions. Option Line can handle calls in both English and Spanish.

Individuals should keep this information close at hand at all times, and also share them with schools, hospitals, and other community groups.

Pastors should place this information on the parish bulletin and website.

The numbers can be placed on posters, business cards, in newspaper ads, on the internet, and on signs posted in Churches, stores, and other places. You may also inquire at these numbers as to how you can volunteer to assist those who provide alternatives to abortion.

And be sure to get to know the pregnancy center nearest to where you live! There is likely to be one close by. Visit them, let them know who you are, and get to know the services they provide so that you can talk to others in your family, church, and community about the help that’s available.

3. Promote Healing and Testimonies!

Confidential, caring, expert help is available for those who have had abortions and need a friendly ear as they walk through the pain and try to regain hope and meaning in their lives. The resources available for this help and healing can be found at www.AbortionForgiveness.com.

On that page, you will find a search box. By entering a zip code, you will find the pregnancy centers, post-abortion ministries, and Rachel’s Vineyard retreat sites within a reasonable distance of that zip code.

To promote this information as far and wide as possible is to free people from guilt, shame and despair and to show the true face of the pro-life movement, which is a movement of compassion and mercy.

Furthermore, many who have been healed from abortion share their testimonies of pain, regret, and redemption. This is our Silent No More Awareness Campaign.

The personal witness of those who have lost children to abortion breaks the spell that abortion is somehow good or helpful for an individual or society. More and more women and men are speaking publicly about the devastation abortion has brought to their lives, and also about the fact that the pro-life movement and the Church bring healing. These voices are multiplying through the Silent No More Awareness Campaign. You can read and share these testimonies in print, audio, and video format at www.AbortionTestimonies.com.

As a way of showing your commitment to the two action items above, you can partner with the campaign, as an individual, Church, or organization. See www.silentnomoreawareness.org/partner for details on how to do this.

4. Read at least one book about abortion and the pro-life movement this year.

Many pro-life organizations provide great books about abortion and the pro-life movement. Read at least one of these books this year! A good place to start can be www.AbolishingAbortion.com.

5. Speak Up!

There are many ways in which you can speak up for the unborn, whether in private conversation, letters to the editor, comments on blogs, YouTube videos, or social media sites (see www.ProLifeSocialMedia.com).

Private conversation is also an important way of persuading people who are open to talk about abortion. The more familiar you become with the issue, using resources we outline here, the more confident and effective you will be in talking about it.

6. Be Politically Active!

The pro-life movement frees people from the oppression of unjust laws and policies. We foster political responsibility, and participation in elections and lobbying, so as to advance the culture of life. Our election headquarters at www.ProLifeVote.com provides ongoing guidance for this kind of activity.

One of the ways we exercise political responsibility is by fostering non-partisan voter registration drives. As an individual, Church, or organization, you can help fellow citizens to register so that they can have a voice in each year’s elections! Go to our voter registration page to find out how.

On Election Day, and during early voting season, you can advance the culture of life by helping people get to the polls. Raising awareness, sending reminders, helping the homebound fill out absentee ballots, and providing transportation to the polls are some of the many ways to do this. Information about early voting dates in each state that has them is available at www.priestsforlife.org/states. Additional information about getting out the vote is available at www.priestsforlife.org/elections.

And once we elect people, we need to work with them! Get to know the state and federal lawmakers who represent you, and communicate with them about abortion.

Each year, our representatives in government are faced with questions about abortion, or need to either support or oppose legislation in regard to it. Get to know who is making laws on your behalf and where they stand on abortion. Make sure they know you. Write to them, call them, and visit their offices, especially when bills regarding abortion are under consideration.

7. Expose Abortion!

St. Paul writes, “Have nothing to do with the fruitless works of darkness; rather, expose them!” (Eph. 5:11). A key reason abortion continues is that its violence is hidden. Hence for so many people, the word “abortion” has lost all meaning. Often enough, the problem is not that people support abortion, but rather that they have never seen it. When its violence is exposed to the light of human conscience, most will reject it.

Our “Is this what you mean?” campaign challenges abortion supporters to admit what it is, and in the process, either shows others either what it is, or shows them that it’s too horrible for its supporters to describe. It’s a winning strategy, and all the tools you need to carry it out are here: www.priestsforlife.org/isthiswhatyoumean.

People are especially outraged when they see how the abortion industry pushes late term abortions and even fails to protect babies who are born alive after a failed abortion. On this site we provide some more specific action items regarding ending late-term abortion.

Besides exposing the procedure itself, through photos and descriptions, we also expose the harm it does to women, men, and families, as mentioned above, and we expose the corruption in the abortion clinics.

Many believe that because abortion is legal, it is therefore safe, carried out in licensed facilities, and under the guidance of trained professionals who follow all the standards of modern medicine, with the best interests of their patients at heart.

But when it comes to abortion, nothing can be further from the truth. The abortion industry is corrupt, unregulated, unscrupulous, and just plain dangerous. The more we expose the malpractice and abuse to the public, the more they will see that the abortion battle is not between mother and child, but between the abortion industry on one side and mother and child on the other.

We have many resources you can use to talk to others about the corruption in the abortion industry.

8. Inform your pastor and other leaders in your Church about how they can help end abortion.

Do not presume your pastor knows all he needs to know about fighting abortion. By communicating with him, and with others in Church ministry such as deacons, youth ministers, directors of religious education, the webmaster for your Church website or the editor of your Church bulletin — you’ll be able to influence thousands of others on this issue. See www.Prolife.Church for resources on praying, preaching, and mobilizing the Church community.

You may want to give your pastor a book on how to preach on abortion from the weekly Sunday readings. See www.ProclaimingTheMessageOfLife.com.

9. Take to the Streets!

Many people go out of their way to avoid talking or thinking about abortion. Yet we have to get a substantial number of people focusing on the problem in order to end it. Therefore we have to put ourselves in their path, which is exactly what we do by having peaceful, First Amendment gatherings and communications in the public forum. Literature distribution, Life Chains, demonstrations, parades, rallies, and similar events can spread the pro-life message.

Yet it is not only a matter of giving a message; it is also a matter of intervening directly to save lives at the places where the killing occurs. Presence at abortion mills is a key way to weaken the abortion industry.

Our convictions on abortion cannot remain private. By participating in a march, Life Chain, or prayer vigil or protest at an abortion mill, you will be advocating for the unborn in a public way, and showing others the strength of the movement. You and the other participants will realize you are not alone and will be strengthened in your commitment!

10. Stay Connected with at least one Pro-life Organization!

There are many pro-life organizations. Find one that corresponds to what you think is most important and connect with them — bookmark their website, sign up for their emails, and connect with them on social media. (Priests for Life is a great place to start!)

You can receive action alerts from Priests for Life (and other groups) that will inform you when, for instance, we need you to call your Congressional offices about a piece of legislation to support or oppose. The place to see and sign up for these alerts is www.StopAbortionNow.org.

And support that group with your donations. Unlike Planned Parenthood, pro-life groups don’t receive vast amounts of government funds. Unfortunately, more money is spent in our country killing babies in the womb than in saving them. Let’s all help change that, and include the pro-life movement in our charitable giving.