PURPOSE
Pro-Life Mavericks is dedicated to 1) legally protecting and creating a culture of respect for innocent human life from fertilization until natural death, 2) to helping mothers in unplanned pregnancies and single parents in need, and 3) to encouraging loving sexual attitudes and behaviors among men and women. We oppose abortion, which kills unborn babies and hurts women psychologically, physically, and emotionally. As science demonstrates, an entirely new human organism (with his or her own body genetically distinct from the mother’s body) comes into existence at the moment of fertilization [Keith L. Moore, The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology, 7th edition. Science also demonstrates that the human baby is not a parasite, for the woman’s body naturally changes to accommodate the baby inside her during pregnancy. A philosophical examination of the differences between a human in the womb and a human outside the womb shows that both have equal intrinsic value as persons. Every difference rests in the following four categories: size, level of development, environment, and dependency. None of these differences are connected to determining value or personhood. Therefore, there is no distinction between the intrinsic value of someone who is unborn and the intrinsic value of someone who had been born already. Whether a person is born or unborn does not change their value and they should not be discriminated against on this basis. All people of good will and sound conscience believe that innocent human beings should not be intentionally killed and should be protected by law. They have a right to life. As Thomas Jefferson wrote in the United States Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”
Thus from the moment of conception, the baby in the womb has the right to life, the right not to be intentionally killed, regardless of the circumstances surrounding his or her conception or gestation. In the extremely rare event that the pregnancy poses a danger to the life of the mother, the baby may be removed from the mother, even before viability, but may not be directly killed. No woman should ever have to live with the pain and regret of consenting to the killing of her own son or daughter. No woman should ever be pressured, threatened, or coerced into having an abortion. A woman who is unwilling or unable to raise her son or daughter should place him or her for adoption rather consent to his or her death. We oppose pre-marital sex as inherently unloving and irresponsible and as a stepping-stone to an unplanned pregnancy. Sexual love necessarily entails responsibility. Sexual love requires the context and responsibility of life-long and exclusive commitment to the other person in marriage. Sexual intercourse naturally entails the probability of pregnancy, and anyone who engages in sexual intercourse should lovingly accept responsibility for any child who may be conceived, regardless of the use of any contraceptives. The failure of a contraceptive to prevent a conception does not take away the baby’s right to life and does not create a right to an abortion, which is as described above, a right to kill the child. GOALS
The major goals of this organization are to:
1. Ensure that the pro-life worldview as described above receives fair treatment on campus, especially in the classroom, at health facilities on campus, and with regard to funding allocations to student groups, centers, programs, and initiatives on campus
2. Raise money, gather donations of supplies, and provide other pro-life resources for mothers in need and for women in unplanned pregnancies
3. Execute innovative and effective techniques and events for educating the campus community about abortion, real love and concern for others, and the unlimited value of human life
4. Work with sympathetic individuals and organizations on and off campus who share PLM’s principles and goals, especially crisis pregnancy centers
5. Support pro-life political candidates and legislation, regardless of party affiliation
