Monday, October 10, 2011

Young pro-life activist, unborn daughter killed in fatal car crash

by John Jalsevac

  • October 9, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The pro-life organization Students for Life of America is mourning the loss of one of its own this weekend, after their field director, Kortney Blythe Gordon, and her unborn daughter Sophy were killed in a fatal car crash. Another SFLA staff member was also involved in the crash and is in critical condition, while a passenger in the other car was also killed.

In an e-mail sent out to supporters, SFLA said that the crash occurred at around 8:00 pm. Saturday.

“There are no words to describe what a loss we suffer alongside her husband Benjamin and their entire family,” said SFLA in its e-mail update, “but we are comforted knowing that Kortney and her daughter are in the arms of our Lord and Savior.”

“Please pray for the families of Kortney and Benjamin, for the family of our other gravely injured staffer and his recovery, and for healing for all who were touched by Kortney’s infectious spirit and tireless efforts to stop the injustice of abortion in our nation.”

SFLA is taking up a collection to help pay for Kortney and her daughter’s burial. Donations can be made here.

The following is SFLA’s biography of Kortney, as it appears on their website:

Kortney joined Students for Life of America as Field Director in June 2010. As Field Director, she manages the SFLA Field Agents and travels across the nation to mobilize, activate, and train new and existing student pro-life groups.As a child, Kortney was introduced to the pro-life movement through her uncle, a full-time sidewalk counselor, who, in the past 25 years, has saved over 3,000 children from abortion through his clinic presence. Her pastor and apologist father encouraged her passion for the preborn, and in 2005, she graduated magna cum laude from Montreat College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English with a focus on Communication.

Directly out of college, she took a position as residential supervisor for an unwed mother’s home in Charlotte, NC. Then, in summer 2006, she joined Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust as the Director of Campus Life Tours in southern California. During her time with Survivors, she led a team of 6-10 young adults, traveling to 600 high school and college campuses setting up pro-life displays and distributing over 200,000 pieces of educational literature. Kortney mentored dozens of rising pro-life youth at Survivors’ annual Pro-life Leadership Training Camps, where she provided hands-on instruction on activist tactics, free speech rights and defending the pro-life position. She brought her experience and knowledge to Australia in spring 2009 with a whirlwind tour of the country that included street activism, training and an appearance on a local Catholic television program.

She has participated in countless pro-life demonstrations, counter-protests and prayer vigils. As a result, her frequent stands against first amendment violations have successfully struck down dozens of unconstitutional ordinances and school policies.
In 2009, she moved back to the East coast to work with Rock for Life as the Chapter and Street Team Coordinator. Her activities included starting nearly twenty new chapters, frequent blogging on trending pro-life topics and recording a weekly podcast, broadcast on National Pro-life Radio.

Kortney has been a guest speaker at various events, functions and church groups, such as Charlotte’s 40 Days for Life closing celebration and the Los Angeles March for Life. She has appeared in publications like NC’s Indy Week for her protest of the 2008 Democratic National Convention, and on radio programs, such as SoundRezn and Giving an Answer. Email Kortney.

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