Founders of pro-life club in public school inspired by Right to Life event

Pro-life advocate Star Parker speaks with Sally Jones, center, Daniel Hanes and Emma Lucchese after Right to Life of Indianapolis’ Celebrate Life Dinner in Indianapolis on Oct. 1. The three teens are seniors of North Central High School in Indianapolis. Sally, a member of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Indianapolis, and Emma, a member of St. Luke the Evangelist Parish in Indianapolis, co-founded a pro-life club at the public school last year, along with their friend Margaret “Maggie” McPherson (not pictured), a member of St. Pius X Parish in Indianapolis. (Photo by Natalie Hoefer)

By Natalie Hoefer

After Right to Life of Indianapolis’ Celebrate Life dinner on Oct. 1 in Indianapolis, three teenagers waited patiently in an otherwise all-adult line to speak with the event’s guest speaker, Star Parker. (Related: Speakers address ‘what’s at stake’ at Right to Life event)

They wanted to tell her how inspiring and encouraging they found her talk.

“After this dinner we were like, ‘Yeah, we need to keep doing this.’ It was very influential,” said one of the teens.

Her name is Emma Lucchese. She and her friends, Sally Jones and Daniel Hanes, are seniors at North Central High School in Indianapolis.

And the “this” she referred to is the school’s pro-life club that she, Sally and another of their friends founded after being inspired by last year’s Celebrate Life event.

Sally agreed with Emma’s comment.

“Some of the things Star Parker talked about tonight helped to remind all of us how horrible abortion is,” said Sally, a member of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish. “It reaffirmed that what we’re doing is right, and that we’re working for the rights of the unborn, and that we’re working to save them.”

Daniel, a member of College Park Church in Indianapolis, said those rights are important to men, too. One person shouldn’t have a “greater say,” he noted, because “it takes two people to create life.”

Whether a man or woman, a student or adult, “It’s always tough when you’re around people who have different viewpoints,” said Emma, a member of St. Luke the Evangelist Parish in Indianapolis.

“But you have to remember that at the end of the day you have a choice to pick a side that supports women, that is for children, that is providing real solutions rather than a Band-Aid for something that’s only going to get worse.” †