Four ways to promote a culture of life

Every October, we consider more deeply why every human life is valuable and reflect on how to build a culture that protects life from conception to natural death. This week, we start with a visit to Jenny Hurt, who, with her husband Sean, spearheads the Disciples for Life, a pro-life advocacy group at St. John the Baptist Parish.
 
Jenny and Sean have three children, with the fourth arriving soon. She and her husband were both volunteers in the Peace Corps, but in 2013, Sean, who was not religious, converted to Catholicism. “I was raised Catholic, and I came back – first unwillingly,” Jenny shares. When they lived in Michigan for a few years, they started to participate in “40 Days for Life”: “We prayed outside abortion clinics, and we continued when we moved to Arkansas.”
 
When they arrived in Corpus Christi, Angie Windnagle and Fr. Vasquez asked them if they would coordinate pro-life activities in the parish. “We are a liaison between the parish and other groups in Corpus Christi who work for the pro-life movement,” she said. They collaborate with “Right to Life Corpus Christi” and Students for Life, inviting guest speakers and fundraising for the Hope House.
 
“Our mission is to promote a culture of life in our parish, and there are four ways: Prayer, charity to support pregnant women, mothers and families, education of parishioners and community members on pro-life issues and giving witness on the value of human life from conception to natural death.” The parish hosts a Rosary Walk every December 7, and they provide a list of all resources available in the county. “There are many great organizations that can help women to make the right decision,” Jenny shares.
 
Coming from a secular background, she can understand why people are pro-choice. However, “most of them haven’t thought about it a lot. At the end, we all have an inherent dignity: the eugenic approach that some human beings are less valuable scares people,” is her experience.
 
Expecting her fourth child, she cannot help but think, “Once a woman has been pregnant, you cannot say that the baby in the womb isn’t life.” And with her work, she also wants to change the perception: “Motherhood is still underrated!”