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

[evolution8]

Young pro-life activist, unborn daughter killed in fatal car crash
* Sun Oct 09, 2011 16:26 EST
http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/young- ... -car-crash


Kortney Blythe Gordon and her husband Benjamin on their wedding day.

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.

[evolution8]

Kortney’s passion for the unborn was infectious
* Mon Oct 10, 2011 13:23 EST
http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/kortne ... infectious


Kortney Blythe Gordon (far right) with students during her visit to the University of Georgia

by Peter Ascik

October 10, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - I met Kortney Blythe Gordon in February 2011 when she came to Athens, Georgia to lead a training session for our fledgling Students For Life group. She showed up on a Saturday morning, cheerful and ready to talk. She led us through the basics of group organization and leadership, ideas for activities, practical advice, and tips from her experiences with many pro-life groups and events throughout the country. After the session, we all went out to Chik-Fil-A where she chatted with us for more than an hour about ideas for the semester and about life in the pro-life movement.

We were all encouraged by her warmth and enthusiasm. Kortney’s passion for helping unborn children and their mothers was infectious. I remember her speaking with pride about her uncle’s sidewalk counseling ministry, and the dozens of babies he had saved over the years. And I remember her showing us a picture of herself holding a set of twins that had been spared from abortion through her personal efforts. I also remember her speaking with excitement about her then-fiancee and her upcoming wedding. The energy from that event propelled us into what turned out to be a challenging but very rewarding semester doing pro-life work at UGA.

Kortney gave us lots of good advice, and through Students For Life she provided us with lots of helpful materials. But the most important thing she brought to us was her presence. She was a personal contact with the national pro-life movement. She showed us that we were not alone, that there were people throughout the country working hard to put an end to the daily execution of thousands of unborn children. I can tell you that anyone who has been involved in a pro-life group knows how easy it is to feel isolated and paralyzed by the apathy or hostility of those on your campus. Kortney modeled for us a dynamic and gracious pro-life presence, bold but kind, passionate and unafraid about protecting the unborn. I’ve enjoyed seeing her posts on Facebook since then as she ran around the country from college to college and group to group, planting and nurturing young pro-life leaders and showing them that the work they do matters. I liked thinking about the hope and enthusiasm that she was bringing as she planted each new group.

Kortney was a full-time pro-life leader. She was on the front lines against opponents with very deep pockets and the support of the political and cultural elite. She could have been making more money doing less challenging work at any number of jobs. But she chose to devote her life to speaking up for those who truly have no voice, unborn boys and girls. She did it with a joy and enthusiasm that can only come from living a message of hope. As someone pointed out to me recently, no little girl grows up wanting to have an abortion. It is only despair that could drive a mother to turn against her unborn child. The pro-choice movement accepts that despair and even celebrates it. The pro-life movement does not. The pro-life movement reaches out to mothers and fathers and says “This is not the end. There is hope for you and hope for your child.”

That’s what Kortney’s life said, and she lived that message to the end. She died yesterday in a fatal car accident on her way home from presenting at a pro-life conference in Georgia, attended by pro-life groups from UGA, GA Tech, Mercer University, and other colleges. Her unborn daughter Sophy died with her. Another Students for Life of America staffer, Jon Scharfenberger, was seriously injured in the crash. The last day of Kortney’s life was spent speaking, working, and traveling on behalf of the unborn. She lost her life in the very act of inspiring others to speak up for those thousands of unborn children who lose their lives every day. I met her only once and I miss her already. I know that the many others she inspired, comforted, and aided who will miss her too. My thoughts and prayers are with her widowed husband Ben, her family, and all her friends.

Kortney and Sophy are in the hands of the Love that knit them both together in the womb. In trust of that Love we pray:


Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord,
And let perpetual light shine upon them,
May their souls, and the souls of all the faithful departed,
Through the mercy of God, rest in peace, Amen.

[evolution8]

Praying for Jon and his family. May his soul rest in peace, AMEN!

Second Students for Life staffer passes away after car accident
* Mon Oct 17, 2011 21:11 EST
http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/breaki ... asses-away



by John Jalsevac

October 18, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - After being critically injured in a car accident that took the life of fellow Students for Life (SFL) staff member Kortney Blythe Gordon and her unborn daughter Sophy, SFL campus coordinator Jon Scharfenberger has passed away.

Jon was involved in the car accident that occurred at around 8:00 pm on Saturday October 8th. While initial reports had indicated that Scharfenberger’s condition had been stabilized, he succumbed to his injuries this morning, Tuesday, October 18, 2011.

Indications that all was not well came yesterday when Gerard Nadal, the director of Medical Students for Life, reported that he had “received word that the physicians have induced a 72-hour coma in Jon. In the meantime, we wait, and hope, and pray.”

Later in the day he reported: “Jon has spiked a fever of 108 degrees F, which can be lethal. Urgent prayers are needed as this battle has taken a terrible turn for him.”

“The team at SFLA is beyond saddened” by the news of Jon’s death said Students for Life head Kristan Hawkins in a statement Tuesday.

“Jon had many successes in his short time with us at SFLA, including establishing a pro-life campus group at Florida International University that was successful in saving the life of a pre-born baby, a mere one week after its creation.”

“We continue to offer prayers of support for Jon’s family and friends and grieve during this incredibly difficult time for our organization and mission.”

Hawkins said that those who wish to express condolences to Jon’s family can send them via Jon’s email at jon@studentsforlife.org. The pro-life organization is also taking up donations to help pay for Jon’s funeral expenses. Donations can be made here.

This is Students for Life’s biography of Jon as it appears on their website:

Jon Scharfenberger is the Campus Support Coordinator and Pregnant on Campus Coordinator. He travels to college campuses working with pro-life groups to create and obtain tangible goals that impact both their campus and local community. As the Pregnant on Campus Coordinator, he works to provide a vision and plan to the over 600 campus pro-life groups across the nation by creating guides and projects that pro-life groups can use in order to provide timely and essential resources to students facing unplanned, crisis pregnancies.

A native of Warwick, New York, Jon graduated with a BA in Philosophy from Ave Maria University in the spring of 2011. He served as President of AMU Students for Life where he led many successful pro-life initiatives. In his years as President, he helped fundraise over $30,000 for the club and committed membership soared from 30 members to over 150 by his final year. In September, 2009 he organized a successful overnight prayer vigil to protest the opening of a new Planned Parenthood, which gained widespread media coverage.

He interned for SFLA in the summer of 2010 and also gained experience on Capitol Hill as an intern for Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS.) Jon joined SFLA in the summer of 2011 to continue to train and equip the next generation of pro-life leaders.