NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Lila Rose of Live Action rightly showed why she is one of the most articulate voices in the pro-life movement. And the timing couldn’t have been more providential.

In the wake of her friend Charlie Kirk’s assassination Sept. 10 at an open debate on a college campus in Utah, Rose engaged in a parliamentary debate — “Abortion and Human Rights” — sponsored by the Yale Political Union at Yale University.

Her opponent was longtime promoter of abortion rights Frances Kissling, the former president of Catholics for Choice and the National Abortion Federation. 

The site of the debate was moved from the Yale Political Union to Whitney Humanities Center for increased security. The event went off without incident. Refreshingly, members of the audience either stomped their feet in support or hissed in disagreement with a speaker’s point. 

In an interview with the Register following the debate, Rose said that she originally was planning to cancel, due to family commitments and the running of Live Action, but her friend’s assassination spurred her to reconsider and to appear in Connecticut. 

“It has been a week since his passing,” she said. “Originally, I had said, ‘I’m not able to come, but let me help you find a replacement for myself.’ And so we tried to find a replacement. But last week, Charlie was assassinated, and I felt very strongly afterwards, ‘I need to make it work and show up in New Haven and do this debate.’ And I do feel that now, more than ever, we need to speak the truth in love, be bold in our faith, and be bold in the truth. That’s what Charlie did. That’s what he died doing.”

At the end of these debates, a vote is taken either in support or rejection of the resolution. Tuesday, the assembly voted 60-31 (with one abstention) to reject the resolution “Choice over life.” 

Ironically, participants at the Yale Political Union’s debate the week before Kirk was killed voted to reject the resolution “Violence is never the answer,” according to Yale Daily News. But Rose, like her late friend, believes in honest engagement.

“I believe there is a movement right now, by the work of the Holy Spirit and in the death of Charlie even, to stand for the truth, to seek God. I think you reported a 15% Mass increase estimated at college campuses this past weekend — incredible. So I think we all have a responsibility — those of us who’ve been given the gift of faith and truth — to speak it and to live by it, and to do all things with love.” 

In the end, the final vote of those in attendance reflected the effect of Rose’s persuasive and heartfelt remarks. She told the Register that’s reflective of the people she meets on her speaking circuit. 

“There’s a deep sense of chaos and confusion and also a wrestling for ‘What is life about?’ ‘How should we live? ‘What does it all mean?’” she said. “A lot of people are very sad and anxious and unhappy in their lives because they don’t know the truth. They’re not living in communion with God. I think Christians, especially Catholics, have the opportunity to be witnesses of hope. And that’s what we need to be with a lot of fervor, because we can’t just create our little safe bubbles and do our own little lives and not worry about other people. Our job is to be concerned with our neighbor and be concerned with the future of this country, and God will give us every grace for whatever he calls us to do.”

In the meantime, Rose is unequivocal about continuing to speak on the road.

“I think we’re going to keep doing this, and we will do our best to have adequate security. We’ve had fantastic security tonight, and I’m grateful to our team and the Yale police team,” she said. “We can’t be scared. We can’t back down. I think more than ever, we need to stand up and speak out in love. And I think this is a tipping point, or, as Charlie would say, it’s a turning point.”

“We’re going to win on every college campus,” she concluded. “The pro-life movement is going to win hearts and minds. We have the truth, we have the goodness of the human person and the value of the human person made in God’s image, and we’re going to win  [over] the culture, and we’re going to win in the political sphere, too. This country’s going to look different. And that’s happening now.”