Teen Summit

By Cori Fugere Urban

If the young people at the annual Teens for Life Summit here Oct. 24 had their way, Vermont would have a fetal homicide law to protect an unborn child from injury or termination of the pregnancy against the wishes of the pregnant mother.

Following a mock bill through the legislative process, about 30 young men and women learned that, unlike 36 states and the federal government, Vermont does not have a law that recognizes the unlawful killing of an unborn child as homicide in at least some circumstances.

Steven Marchand of Milton and Cathy Brown of Rutland listen to testimony on a fetal homicide bill as they portray Vermont senators during a role-playing activity at the Teens for Life Summit at the Statehouse in Montpelier.

At the Vermont Statehouse they heard "testimony" from persons portraying proponents and opponents of proposed legislation they called "Kaleb and Harley's Law," after twins who died after their Pownal mother, six months pregnant with them, was injured in a car accident caused by another driver last summer.

The young people at the summit portrayed Vermont senators and voted in the Senate chamber for the mock legislation; the sole nay vote came from an adult portraying an opposing senator.

The mock legislature was part of the third annual day long summit sponsored by the Vermont Right to Life Committee, Inc.

Mary Hahn Beerworth, executive director, said it is hoped the Legislature will take up a fetal homicide bill. "We're trying to build awareness, support, understanding and pressure for lawmakers to make a fetal homicide law a part of their agenda for 2010," she said. "There will be attempts to bring legislation to the floor in both the House and the Senate."

Patricia Blair, the mother of the unborn twins who died as a result of the car accident in Bennington, is a "compelling Vermont witness determined to address Vermont's definition of a human person for the purpose of criminal law," Beerworth added.

The theme of the third annual Teens for Life Summit was "Saving Lives by Staying Informed."

The purpose of the nondenominational, nonsectarian event was to "raise up the next generation of pro-lifers," Beerworth said. "These young people are ready to promote the pro-life cause and crave accurate information."

"If they are going to make a difference wherever they are, they have to be informed and have accurate information and know who the drivers are behind the culture of death," she said.

Young pro-life Vermonters portray state senators during the Teens for Life Summit.

During a presentation at the Capitol Plaza Hotel before going to the mock legislative session at the Statehouse, Teen Summit participants learned that Vermont has 14 Planned Parenthood clinics, compared to seven in New Hampshire and five in Maine. "Vermont has the most Planned Parenthood clinics per capita than any state in the United States," Beerworth said.

This was the third Teens for Life Summit that Brielle Bisceglio of St. Andrew Church in Waterbury attended. "I come to learn more about saving babies who never had the chance to save themselves and to spread that information," she said.

"We're coming here to support each other to find a way to help everyone get the idea a baby should have the right to live," said Justin Schoppe of St. John the Evangelist Church in St. Johnsbury. "There's a moral truth that a baby has the right to life, and the government shouldn't take that right away."
Jared North of the New Haven United Reformed Church said many Vermonters support abortion. "But a baby is a living human and deserves a right to live."

Caron Dunlap of Woodbury, an adult leader at the summit, portrayed the Vermont governor and signed the mock legislation at the end of the day in the governor's Statehouse ceremonial office. She said it's important for young people to learn debating skills-how to present and refute arguments. "If you're going to argue your pro-life point, you have to understand both sides and have a logical argument," she said.

Retta Dunlap, vice president of the Vermont Right to Life Committee Inc., gestures as she speaks to "senators" at the Teens for Life Summit at the Statehouse in Montpelier.

During the mock Senate discussion of the fetal homicide law, Tim Carlson of Journey Four Square Church in South Royalton addressed his fellow "senators," saying he supported the bill 100 percent. He called it consistent with the right to life outlined by the Founding Fathers of the country. "New developments (show) a child is alive from the moment of conception," he said, not just from the moment he or she draws breath outside the womb.

Cathy Brown of Christ the King Church in Rutland said she liked the proposed legislation "just as it is." In fact, she added, the further legislation goes to protect the unborn, the better.

Retta Dunlap, vice president of the Vermont Right to Life Committee, Inc., encouraged the young people at the summit to contact their legislators about issues they deem important, like pro-life issues. Legislators, she said, pay attention to their young constituents.

"You're going to have a lot of weight behind you (when addressing pro-life issues)," she told them, "because you've been here and discussed them. Use the skills you developed today."

Steven Marchand of Our Lady of Grace Church in Colchester said he found the summit helpful in preparing young people to become part of the legislative process and "let their voices be heard."

Said Beerworth, "We're hoping to get some pro-life legislators out of them."