Baby Activist to West Coast Regional Coordinator

Emily Wilkinson’s involvement in the pro-life movement began in the late 80’s in St. Paul, Minnesota. She was just a baby and her young activist parents would bring her along when they went outside of abortion centers with Pro-Life Action Ministries, and hold her during TV interviews.

Growing up, Emily began to feel like it wasn’t enough to attend a march or a rally once a year.  “I started to get this really uneasy feeling, like a tug on my heart,” she explains.  Rummaging through a shelf of her parents’ old pro-life books one day, she found Joe Scheidler’s famous CLOSED: 99 Ways to Stop Abortion.  The book fascinated her and fueled her desire to become active in the movement.

Emily sees needs and wants to meet them.  As a junior at a small Christian high school in 2004, Emily had never heard of the concept of a pro-life club before, but she knew she needed to start one.  Following high school, she formed two more pro-life groups during college.  The first January in her college town of Bozeman, MT, Emily found another need when she discovered that Bozeman had no annual March for Life, so she started one.

The speaker at that first March for Life was the director of a local pregnancy resource clinic.  The following summer, that director called her to say, “I want you to work for me!” So Emily spent the next few years at the PRC developing its community outreach and pregnancy resources.

Eventually Emily was also leading 40 Days for Life down the highway in the community of Livingston, where a well-known abortionist named Susan Wicklund had set up shop right on the quaint downtown’s Main Street.  Emily grew 40 Days for Life to involve dozens of churches from several surrounding towns, but after reading the abortionist’s disturbing autobiography, she wondered if Sue would ever give up committing abortions.  However, shortly after passing on the campaign to new leaders when she moved away the following year, Emily received a phone call that brought her tears of joy: “Sue Wicklund is CLOSING!!!” This was a huge reminder that what is impossible for us is possible with God.

These days, you will find Emily travelling throughout CA, AZ, and NV to visit school campuses and meet with students.  She currently works as the West Coast Regional Coordinator with Students for Life of America, providing resources and training for high school and college pro-life clubs.  Because SFLA was just beginning to grow its campus outreach when she was a student, Emily is thrilled to provide the direct support and mentorship that she would have benefitted from as a student club leader.

Emily has been running toward the cries of injustice her whole life.  She has been involved in many different aspects of the pro-life movement, and believes that we need it ALL to end abortion: Clubs. Activism. Sidewalk counseling. Marches. Vigils. Prayer. Legislation. Resources for pregnant women. Dialogue. Pro-life preachers and pro-life politicians.

Emily believes that today’s youth, known as the “Pro-Life Generation,” will be the ones to end abortion.  “Someday when abortion is abolished, future generations will look back on our movement.  What will they say about us? Will they see how we ran towards the cries of injustice? Take a stand with Emily at the International ProLife Youth Conference this November 7-9th. Register today!