Shelby County Students Promote Right to Life at OSU

As the biggest university in the nation, it is surprising to learn that The Ohio State University has virtually no pro-life presence among its 50,000 plus students. Several local students, however, are hoping to change that.

Ashley Taylor, a 2005 Lehman Catholic High School graduate and junior at OSU, set out last year to begin a pro-life organization on campus. Upon discovering that there was an existing club known as Justice for All with barely three active members, she spoke with the group, shared some ideas and was immediately elected president for the ‘07-‘08 school year.

When classes resumed in September, plans began to revamp the group entirely beginning with a less ambiguous name. Now known as the Pro-Life Club at Ohio State University, the group has held local fundraising events, changed their web address and has begun making plans to update their website and launch a huge marketing campaign as well as hold several large events on campus.

With the help of several other group members and LHS grads, including Joe Staudt, Brad Zimmerman and Christina Peltier, the Pro-Life Club held its first annual “Respect Life” event on the South Oval of campus, Wednesday, November 7th. There, the group placed 3,534 pink and blue flags in the ground to represent the number of babies that are aborted each day in the United States alone. With the help of over twenty volunteers, the group held a cookout and set up a table complete with literature and other resources from the local Pregnancy Decision Health Center.

“Our goal is to promote the beauty of life at all stages,” said president, Ashley Taylor. “We want to raise awareness about the harmful effects of abortion and let pregnant women know that we support them and there are other alternatives available to them.”

Now, with more than ten active members and other events in the works for the rest of the school year, the Pro-Life Club is on its way to making its presence known and making a change on the biggest campus in the nation.

For more information about the Pro-Life Club at Ohio State University and how you can help the group continue to grow, please see the group's Web site: prolife.org.ohio-state.edu.