Dear John,

I’m going to age myself, but I first volunteered for Oregon Right to Life about 20 years ago. We door-knocked in support of parental notification, then my sisters and I volunteered for fair booths. I was a teenager motivated by injustice, and societal pressure on women was (and is) very unjust.

Several years later, I redesigned our fair booth displays, then took a place on our board of directors. Several years after that, I was hired as ORTL’s communications director. (I teased that it was a decade-long job interview.) My oldest daughter, then seven months old, came to work with me. I kept a playpen in my office for her naps.

Now that daughter is eight and has three younger siblings, all of whom spent the first year of their lives coming to work with me. In January 2020, I took on the role of deputy director. My husband switched from a career in aviation to emergency medicine. Now it’s my turn to make a big career move for our family (and pursue an MBA too). And that means passing the torch as of December 31.

I’m so proud of what I have accomplished at Oregon Right to Life (a list much too long to fit here). I’m also so proud of our team. They are incredibly talented and passionate. Our executive director is inimitable. I am grateful to our donors who keep our organization (and jobs) in existence.

I’ve given this movement two decades of faithful service and have learned a lot along the way. The biggest takeaway is neatly summed up in this quote, “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.”

The more one learns about abortion, the easier it is to take a hardline approach to the issue. “It’s obvious to me! It’s an innocent human. Protect it.” However, there are plenty of people on opposite sides of this issue who feel as equally and genuinely convinced and concerned.

The women (and men) who are considering or have chosen abortion largely did so because they see no other viable option. “Life” is not an obvious choice to them.

I can see a path towards a more pro-life culture in Oregon. But it will not come about without each of us doing our part to quiet our conclusions and instead offer authentic and compassionate support.

My genuine thanks to each one of you who carries the torch forward in this way.

Because everyone deserves an advocate,

Liberty Pike

Deputy Director

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Keizer, OR 97303

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