Celebrating the milestone of 50 years, Elevate Life’s ongoing mission is to support pregnant moms and dads in crisis. Elevate Life is a regional affiliation of pregnancy resource centers, mostly in Minnesota with two in Wisconsin.
Will Cossairt first got involved with Elevate Life in 1988 when he came to Minnesota. He told “Practicing Catholic” radio show host Patrick Conley during an interview airing at 9 p.m. Sept. 13 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM, “I started getting involved as a sidewalk counselor in front of one of the major abortion clinics in Saint Paul and even got arrested there a few times by blocking the entrance of that abortion facility prayerfully, peacefully.”
Courtier said he felt a calling on his heart that the Lord wanted him to do something to make a difference in the issue of abortion. He heard about a job opening at one of Elevate Life’s affiliate centers. He was hired as executive director for that organization in 1992.
Autumn Higashi said she never expected to be so involved in the pro-life movement, despite being a prominent voice in that movement.
“I grew up pro-life, but it wasn’t until I was 16 and I saw a Teen Vogue article pop up on my Facebook page titled ‘What to Get a Friend Post-Abortion,’” Higashi said. “I just remember being shocked and appalled that that was in our culture. … Especially targeted towards young girls. I recorded a response video and shared that through the students for life channels and kind of collaborated with them on that and then from there it just really blossomed.”
Higashi explained that being pro-life isn’t as unpopular as the culture might have one believe.
“I think one of the greatest tools that our culture is trying to use against us is this concept of fear, that we have to be nervous about speaking up about,” Higashi said. “It’s not just my opinion versus your opinion. We have real proof and ultrasounds. … Finding common ground with people and having these conversations is where we really see a change.”
To hear more from Courtier and Higashi about the mission of Elevate Life, tune into “Practicing Catholic,” which repeats at 1 p.m. Sept. 14 and 2 p.m. Sept. 15.
The program also includes an interview with Bishop Michael Izen about the Trinity Woods Catholic Retreat Center in Trego, Wisconsin. Also, Dianne Johnson and Father Columba Thomas talk more about blending faith and healthcare.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the program can also be heard after it has aired at archspm.org/faith-and-discipleship/practicing-catholic or choose a streaming platform at Spotify for Podcasters.
