Youth Challenged on Self-Control, Love During Right-to-Life Rally

NORTH WILDWOOD ─ For many teens across America, Saturday prompts images of playing video games, hanging out with friends, and, perhaps the most celebrated aspect of all, catching up on one’s sleep. 
However, the Saturday morning image altered as young people gathered for an April 8 rally at Wildwood Catholic High School.
Sponsored by the Cape May County Right to Life program, young people learned facts concerning abortion and its effects not only upon the unborn but also on would-be mothers, fathers, and other family members.
“This is uncomfortable,” speaker Brandon Ocampo admitted during the presentation. “We show these images with the greatest respect, for the same reasons that your teachers show you pictures from the Holocaust.”
Speakers Ocampo, Holly Wright, and Miss Camden County Alyssa Sullivan challenged pre-conceived ideas about abortion while promoting the “positive message and plan” of life, love, and marriage.
Stressing that no one was there to condemn, Ocampo said, “Most people would make different choices regarding abortion if they knew the truth.”
After the invocation by Rev. Joseph Wallace of Notre Dame de la Mer, Sullivan urged young people to “stand in pressure” and not give in to cultural stereotypes regarding sex. “It’s okay to take the path less traveled,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan described her religious background and “curiosity” about God and His presence in her life. “I wanted to give back to God,” Sullivan said, describing her successful years in high-school.
However, after she graduated and attended college, Sullivan said she became involved in “unhealthy relationships” and was tested in her faith. In spite of the darkness, Sullivan said that God was with her the entire time.
“Never fear or wonder if He is there,” Sullivan said. A broadcast journalism major at Rowan University, Sullivan always enjoyed music and sang “You Raise Me Up,” concluding her presentation.
LifeNet, a non-profit organization based in Newark, seeks to promote abortion awareness and other life issues. It was presented by two members, Ocampo and Wright.
“Our culture is really messed up,” Ocampo began. “We take the beautiful things that God has given us and twist them to fit our own agendas.”
Since the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 1973, abortion is legal in all 50 states. “Just because it’s legal doesn’t make it right.” Ocampo said. Ocampo claims that by changing the definition of what constitutes a human being, certain practices become more acceptable, such as slavery and the Nazi oppression of the Jews.
According to Ocampo, 59,233,140 abortions have been performed since 1973.
Wright concurred, stressing the natural human desire for love: “We were made by love to love and to be loved.”
“It’s Saturday, it’s early, but I’m going to give you a biology lesson,” Wright continued.
According to scientific research, a baby’s genetic information is present a second after conception, within 24 hours cells develop that determine hair and eye color. A baby’s heartbeat can be detected in three weeks and brain waves are scanned at six weeks.
Images of babies, at various stages of development, after abortions flashed across the screen as soft sobs were heard in the auditorium. Wright and Ocampo stressed the importance and necessity of showing the images while presenting the message of hope for those who have been in an abortion situation.
According to Wright, babies in the womb feel pain, the basis of the “20/20 Project,” an effort to ban abortion past 20 weeks (post-fertilization) in New Jersey. By educating the public and raising awareness, LifeNet hopes the bill will be passed in 2020.
Learn more about the 20/20 Project at www.babiesinthewombfeelpain.com.