Pro-Life Internships: Opportunities to Advocate for the Unborn

Pro-life internships offer a unique opportunity for young individuals to actively participate in the movement to protect and defend the lives of unborn children. These internships provide hands-on experience, skill development, and a chance to contribute to a cause they believe in. Organizations like Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, National Right to Life, Campaign Life Coalition, Justice For All, and Protect Life Michigan offer various internship programs designed to engage and empower the next generation of pro-life advocates.

Gaining Practical Experience in the Pro-Life Movement

Pro-life internships provide invaluable practical experience in various aspects of the movement. Interns at Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America assist in day-to-day operations, providing administrative support while engaging in activities that foster personal and professional growth. Opportunities include attending meetings and press conferences with prominent pro-life leaders and members of Congress, attending seminars and workshops on government, policy, and the pro-life movement, and networking with other D.C. professionals.

National Right to Life interns become integral to the organization's daily operations and may be assigned special projects by department directors. They participate in weekly meetings on current legislation, media relations, and gaining a pro-life advantage in elections. Interns may also assist at the annual National Right to Life Conference.

Campaign Life Coalition (CLC) and The Interim newspaper offer a summer internship program designed to challenge and reward young people with the opportunity to work full-time in the pro-life and pro-family movement. Interns gain knowledge, skills, and motivation to defend life from conception to natural death. Weekly training sessions cover pro-life apologetics and the many facets of the pro-life movement. Interns also engage in weekly activism under the leadership of experienced activists.

Developing Essential Skills and Knowledge

Pro-life internships are designed to equip participants with the skills and knowledge necessary to be effective advocates for the unborn. Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America seeks self-starters with good communication skills who can balance multiple demands and work with shifting priorities and deadlines.

CLC's internship program focuses on developing interpersonal skills and provides insights into the importance of pro-life organizations. Interns learn about how the pro-life movement functions and strengthen their own pro-life convictions. They become more informed, bolder, and courageous in publicly vocalizing their beliefs on the horrors of abortion.

Justice For All (JFA) aims to create life-changing conversations with pro-choice advocates and mentor pro-life advocates. Their Flagship Training Program aims for a 10-to-1 volunteer-to-mentor ratio, helping pro-life advocates become skilled at defending the unborn in a short amount of time. Interns participate on training teams and are initiated into the trainer certification program, engaging in speaking, mentoring, and dialogue duties immediately.

Forming a Supportive Community

Many pro-life internship programs emphasize building a strong sense of community among interns. After structured outreach and classroom time, interns often spend their evenings together, enjoying the rich community offered by the internship program.

CLC's program aims to instill a sense of camaraderie among interns, as certain activities like street activism can only be completed in-person. Interns find strong, dedicated people who serve as co-strugglers and examples in the fight for life, as well as incredibly dedicated people devoting themselves to life and the truth.

Protect Life Michigan encourages interns to live in discounted, gender-separated housing, where they form a close community that learns, grows, and serves together.

Read also: Comprehensive Internship Guide

Addressing Challenges and Misconceptions

Pro-life organizations face several challenges in attracting full-time workers, including the perception that pro-life work is not a "real job" or a "respectable occupation." JFA addresses this by maintaining professionalism and excellence in all activities, clarifying that full-time pro-life work is a much-needed occupation that does great good in the world.

Another challenge is the perception that pro-life work is a "dead-end" job. JFA counters this by offering high levels of responsibility to young staff who demonstrate aptitude and competence. Interns are initiated into training teams and immediately begin speaking, mentoring, and engaging in dialogue.

The prospect of raising support to be paid a salary is a significant hurdle for many young people. JFA addresses this by offering internships that allow potential interns to evaluate their interest in further employment and begin raising money to fund their future salary or replace the funds used for their internship.

Examples of Internship Programs

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America's internship program offers opportunities to foster personal and professional growth through various activities in Washington, D.C. Interns assist in day-to-day operations, attend meetings and press conferences with pro-life leaders, and participate in seminars and workshops. They must be self-starters with good communication skills, able to balance multiple demands and work with shifting priorities and deadlines.

National Right to Life

Internships with National Right to Life provide students with the opportunity to experience the work and emerging educational and legislative priorities of the pro-life movement at the national level. Interns become invaluable to day-to-day operations and may be assigned special projects. They meet with NRLC team members weekly to discuss current legislation, media relations, and elections.

Campaign Life Coalition (CLC)

CLC's summer internship program is designed to challenge and reward young people with the opportunity to work full-time in the pro-life and pro-family movement. Interns receive weekly training sessions on pro-life apologetics and engage in weekly activism. The program aims to instill a sense of camaraderie among interns.

Justice For All (JFA)

JFA's internship program focuses on creating life-changing conversations with pro-choice advocates and mentoring pro-life advocates. Interns participate on training teams and are initiated into the trainer certification program. JFA faces challenges in hiring full-time staff, including the perception that pro-life work is not a "real job" and the reluctance of young people to raise support for their salaries.

Protect Life Michigan

Protect Life Michigan's Summer Internship Program is a high-impact, hands-on mission to saturate a community with the pro-life message through bold, creative, and proven outreach strategies. Interns are paid members of the staff and are encouraged to live in discounted housing with fellow interns. Interns raise part of their summer funding and are equipped with the tools and support to do so confidently.

Testimonials from Former Interns

Former interns consistently express the transformative impact of their experiences. They highlight the knowledge gained, the skills developed, and the strong sense of community fostered by these programs.

One CLC intern shared, "Through participating in CLC’s 2021 summer internship, I have become more informed, bolder, and more courageous in publicly vocalizing what I know as objective truths on the horrors of abortion. The program has molded me to become an advocate for the unborn."

Another intern stated, "I learned that the pro-life cause is about love and respect for those who don’t have a voice, the most vulnerable in our society, the unborn. The internship made me aware of the fact that I am not alone in the fight for the right to life of all human beings, no matter how small or less developed."

A JFA intern noted, "Working full-time for JFA is personally fulfilling and helps the worker gain skills which will help him/her in many other fields. These include public speaking, analysis, conflict resolution, communication, writing, fundraising."

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