Pro-Life Campus Outreach at Foothill College, Los Altos, CA
Last week, I joined Uncle Don, the Project Truth College Ministry Team for a day of pro-life out reach at Foothill College in Los Altos, California. College campuses are real battlegrounds for truth. At Foothill College, we encountered opposition, curiosity, and even unexpected support—but most importantly, we shared the truth with clarity, kindness, and compassion.
Why Christians Must Show Up on College Campuses
I spent more than two years of my adult life working on college campuses throughout California, Arizona, and Nevada on this issue and the debate is not very complicated. One weekend training with a group like Students for Life of America or Survivors is enough be knowledgeable enough to engage the vast majority of the arguments you will hear on college campuses. Biological, ethically, and legally speaking—abortion is not a difficult topic to understand. Supporters of abortions rights advocates depend on emotional appeals and lots of “what-aboutism” to defend their position. After spending years working through similar conversations week after week you recognize that there are only a few core issues worth discussing.
When I was working as a press secretary in the California State Assembly, my mentor John gave me the most important advice: answer every question with the answer you want them to publish.
As a younger man writing press releases, taking interviews, and questions over the phone or in committees—this seemed like the wrong advice. I wanted to share all the evidence we’d gathered on an issue and please the reporters by helpfully answering their questions. But John explained his reasoning, “If they don’t like your answer, they wont print anything.” I was so eager to get the reporter to print something about the issue, I would often risk answering some unrelated question or worse—falling into a trap that embarrassed my boss or undermined my cause.
But reporters need to publish. And more often then not, it would be my talking points. The one I had repeated over and over as the answer to any of his questions. So I’ve embraced this same type of reasoning in the prolife debate.
Always bringing it back to this syllogism:
Intentionally killing an innocent human is wrong.
Abortion is the intentional killing of an innocent human.
Therefore, abortion is wrong.
Conversations About Abortion with Foothill College Students
A young woman, dressed in what some might stereotype as goth outfit, approached me in support of our message. She said she was training to become a sonogram technician and appreciated our presence on campus. Later, a sharp but skeptical young man challenged me on the distinction between human life and other forms of life, focusing on developmental markers like brainwaves and memory. He doubted that late-term abortions were legal—until he looked it up himself and was shocked. We traced the timeline of gestation together, down to 8-10 weeks, and even then he remained unsure about personhood. At that point, rather than trading studies, I tried appealing to the moral law written on his heart. These conversations remind me that while facts matter, the Gospel gives those facts foundational meaning. Why is murder wrong?
Some Christian students also stopped by to thank us. A few even turned out to be alumni from our school. It is a good witness for the Christians on campus.
Uncomfortable Conversations about Abortion
When Christians avoid uncomfortable conversations about abortion, we risk sending two dangerous messages—either that it’s not important enough to act on, or that it’s so wrong it’s beyond forgiveness.
Churches that preach it as sin without also proclaiming Christ’s mercy can unintentionally turn abortion into an unpardonable sin, burying the wounded in shame rather than leading them to the cross.
Not everyone approves of pro-life ministry on college campuses—some object to our presence and methodology more than our message. But as D.L. Moody once said, “I like my way of doing it better than your way of not doing it.”
In a culture where silence passes for compassion, simply showing up matters. We’re not out there because we have all the answers—we’re there because faithfulness beats perfection, especially when innocent lives are on the line.
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