Name: Lila Rose
Title: Founder of Live Action
Meet Lila: Lila Rose founded Live Action at 15. Today, Live Action hosts the largest online platform for the pro-life movement and changes hearts and minds about abortion through investigative reporting, national media campaigns, and targeted youth programs. Lila leads national undercover investigations of the abortion industry, exposing sex-selection abortion, cover-ups of sexual abuse, infanticide, racism, and other abuses. Lila and her work have been featured on CNN’s “Crossfire,” “The O’Reilly Factor,” “Hannity,” CBS, ABC, in the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, USA Today, and others. Lila was named National Journal’s “25 Most Influential Washington Women Under 35” and Christianity Today’s “33 under Thirty-Three.”
1.Who is Lila Rose?
I’m a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a godmother, a friend, and an activist. I work as president of Live Action, and I love music, the outdoors, reading and writing, fitness, and traveling.
2.What does life mean to you?
Life is a beautiful gift. Every day is a fresh start with endless possibilities, and no matter the obstacles, there is always hope. For me, living life to the fullest means being present to the day, loving others, and putting faith, my relationship with Christ first.
3. What inspired you to be a voice for pro life and challenging something the media and society has created as the norm?
I got inspired when I was a kid and first found out about abortion by finding a book in my parent’s house that included images of preborn children who had been the victims of abortion in the first trimester. I was deeply moved and wanted to learn more. In my teen years, I came across the speeches and writings of Mother Teresa. She called abortion the “greatest destroyer of peace.” I felt strongly that this was a cause worth fighting for. There are many good causes worth investing in, as well as our own personal dreams and talents and I knew I wanted to give my life for something bigger than myself. I asked God to guide me and use me for his purposes to protect innocent lives. It has been a great adventure since founding Live Action as a 15-year-old, and our organization and its work have developed in ways I would have never imagined then: becoming the biggest online media presence for the pro-life movement and taking me around the world to speak and advocate on behalf of human life.
4. When you look at your journey so far, what is the biggest struggle? How did you overcome?
Anytime you go against the grain, there are going to be obstacles. Starting an organization from scratch, building a team, and raising the funds can all be very challenging. It can also seem daunting to stand up to a billion-dollar abortion corporation, Planned Parenthood, which is killing over 320,000 preborn children every year and lying to the country that it is only removing “clumps of cells,” not tearing apart tiny children with beating hearts and forming brains. But the biggest struggle for me is to put God and prayer first, so that I am at peace and can see the challenges from God’s perspective. On my own, I can do nothing. But if I put my relationship with Him first (and all that comes with it; taking care of myself, enjoying friends and family and all the beauty in this world, doing my work to the best of my ability), everything falls into place.
5. What is the heart and vision of Live Action?
The heart of Live Action is that every life is precious and worth fighting for, no matter how that life was conceived and no matter the challenges that life may face. The vision of Live Action is a nation and a world where every human being is treated with dignity, and where every life, especially the weakest, is protected and cherished.
Live Action performs undercover investigations of the abortion industry to expose its harms to children and women to the American people. We use our online media platforms — the largest in the American pro-life movement — to educate people every day about the humanity of preborn children and the truth about the abortion industry that is willing to destroy them for money.
6. As a woman, have there been challenges in advocating ending abortion?
Many people are confused and angry, and I have been belittled for my work by abortion advocates who say that abortion is empowering to women, so therefore, I’m “anti-woman.” But the reality is the opposite: the abortion industry preys on women in their weakest moments, and abortion never solves the problems a woman or girl may be facing around her unplanned pregnancy, but only adds violence to the problem. There have been death threats and hate mail. As with anything, it’s important we don’t focus on the negatives: Over all, we’ve received a lot of support, and there are many more people who are pro-life than we realize!
7. How has your faith played a part in your career?
Faith has helped me see God in other people, and love and value other people more because of it. Anybody can change, no matter their past or what they’ve done. There’s no hopeless case, and God uses bad situations and even our own past mistakes for good if we admit our mistakes and ask for help. Faith also teaches me that our relationship with God is essential for discovering our purpose in life, and that everything good, beautiful, and true in this world leads back to Christ.
8. What’s your favourite quote or matra you live by?
“Dream and your dreams will fall short,” by St. Josemaria Escriva. Basically, with God, anything is possible. He is perfect Love, Peace, and Joy, and wants love, peace, and joy for every person. If we surrender ourselves to Him and dream in Him, our lives will be more beautiful and wonderful than we could ever imagine.
WEBSITE: www.liveaction.org
FACEBOOK: facebook.com/lilagracerose
TWITTER: twitter.com/lilagracerose
INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/liveactionfilms