Today we’d like to introduce you to Emma McDaniel.
Hi Emma, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Hello, my name is Emma McDaniel, and I am a Nursing student at the University of Kentucky. My journey starts with how I grew up in a Christian Conservative household, which has shaped my beliefs until today. My journey started in Northern Kentucky, where I was raised before moving to Minnesota in 6th grade and attending school in District 112. I was raised in Northern Kentucky for most of my life before moving to Minnesota in 6th grade and attending school in District 112. Politics was not as huge in my life as it is now. I dabbled in political matters throughout middle school, but it was nothing of interest to me other than adults arguing over silly topics. However, the topics became more discussed and apparent when I entered high school. Especially since the election was happening and people discussed who they voted for. I started to delve further into political content on the news or Instagram. Say what you will about social media, but I think it can be a great outlet to figure out what is happening in our world if you look at the right pages. Students For Life was always popping up on my feed with various conservative news outlets. It was just incredibly fascinating to see what was happening and how that directly affected us Americans. Covid-19 occurred at the end of my first year, which caused a cultural shift in young adults getting involved socially and politically. My classmates started being vocal about vaccines, BLM, and various other topics. I researched throughout the pandemic and made my own opinions on the matter I was firm in. The slogan “My body, My choice” became apparent to me during this time as mask-wearing was a thing, and I believed they didn’t do anything and refused to wear it, and I refused to get vaccinated. Every single day, there were conversations on how people who didn’t wear masks and get vaccinated were harming the people around them and were a danger to society. I had started binge-watching Kristan Hawkins’ content on YouTube and Instagram and found connections between her and my classmates’ words. They were telling me what to do with my body, but we can’t tell women not to kill their child in the womb because that’s controlling a woman’s body.
My beliefs started to be the minority in school, and I became more quiet about what I believed in because I was scared to speak out and what my teachers and classmates would think of me. I ran into conflicts throughout the year with students and administrations, and it wasn’t easy, but it helped build character. This fell into my junior year of high school, where I delved into a deep rabbit hole of political content. I would watch the ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight Show’ on Fox with my dad after school when it came on at 7 pm CT, and I called it ‘Tucker Time.’ It was enjoyable discussing what was happening and spending time with my dad. One day, I saw a flyer for a liberal-based club that would protest various events and such. There wasn’t a conservative-based club on campus. I felt that presence was needed for like-minded students to come together and have that space and for the school to not be biased toward one political affiliation over another. I took AP Government in my junior year due to my intense interest in politics. Still, I do not recommend AP classes.
One day, we had an assignment to check which side we leaned on controversial topics such as the death penalty, military spending, and abortion. Abortion was the topic that caught my eye, and I immediately checked off pro-life. I didn’t often speak in class about my beliefs because I was still not confident in telling others what I thought, but it could have been a feeling of shame per se, even though I didn’t have a reason to feel ashamed of what I believed was valid and correct. When my teacher collected the responses, he read them aloud to the class: ‘Pro-choice, pro-choice, pro-choice, *chuckle* you guys must love abortion!’. At that moment, my heart sank, and something clicked inside me that I had to do something about this. The following day, I found a Students For Life phone number that would connect me to a staff member to start my chapter on campus. The Lord compelled me to text that number and help protect those babies. So I did and started my club at my high school in November 2021.
My friend helped me start it, and we ran into many conflicts from the student body to the administration. That was ongoing throughout the entire year. I received constant death threats, harassment, and bullying for simply saying that women can be successful and mothers at the same time. Regardless of the pushback we got from our school, I still focused on volunteering at our local Pregnancy Resource Center in Eden Prairie called Southwest Options For Women. They give out free baby supplies, ultrasounds, pregnancy tests, and more. Though it was less than 6 people, I led my group and had a successful year. On my daily social media intake, I came across Students For Life’s Instagram and saw they had yearly fellowship programs for high school and college students. If selected, you could go to DC for leadership training and learn and grow to be a better pro-life advocate. Why not apply for it and see where it goes if I don’t get it? Oh well. The fellowship I applied for was the Thaddeus Stevens Fellowship, which was the only one high schoolers could apply for. One day, when I got home from school and checked my email, I saw that a Students For Life staff member had emailed me, and it said, ‘Congratulations! You have been selected as a participant in the Thaddeus Stevens Fellowship for the years 21-22.’ Let me tell you, that was one of the happiest days of my life.
So, in June, I got shipped off to DC, where the National Leaders Collective took place. I met so many other pro-life activists from all over the country, and it was just so amazing. It felt so comforting and relaxing to be surrounded by like-minded students instead of overthinking what I would say or respond to a situation. The weekend was four days of activism and training. I grew a lot as a leader and gained a lot of confidence. This is my most confidence since starting my club in November 2021. When I was in DC for the NLC, Roe vs. Wade could be overturned, and we were all anxious about the decision.
On June 24th, 2022, Roe vs. Wade was overturned on the second day of the National Leaders Collective. It was a huge moment in my pro-life activism career. I was in the hotel’s bathroom with my roommate when we found out and rushed to where everyone was. At the Supreme Court, I was overwhelmed with the joy of seeing dozens to hundreds of people celebrating that babies will have a chance to be saved and that an abortion-free future is possible. The pro-choicers, on the other side, were angry and rude the entire time. While at the Supreme Court, I was reminded why I had decided to join this crazy movement. That God has a purpose for me, and that purpose is to help the pro-life movement protect women and unborn babies in the womb. My passion grew, and I found a newfound motivation to keep going. I’ll never forget this day for the rest of my life. When I got home, I decided to create my Instagram, emma_4_life_yo, to share information regarding abortion, the Bible, and conservative opinions. Others in DC had one, inspiring me to create my own. It made me feel like I was doing something meaningful with my life and living the way God wanted me to. In my senior year of high school, I did not care what others thought of me. I participated in my club’s activities fair with my regional coordinator. It was pretty successful because we had a lot of productive conversations about the club and thoughts on abortion. However, not a lot of students signed up. I took dual enrollment my entire senior year, so pro-life work was a little more challenging, but we could do a few things. I had to move to Kentucky during my senior year, so my activism was with the local Kentucky Students For Life.
Where I helped coordinate a CVS protest with them. We stood before CVS with signs pointing toward the main highway and received warm responses. Otherwise, I mainly had an online presence. I applied for the Students for Life Hildegard Art Fellowship for my first year of college and got accepted. Over the summer, I attended the National Leaders Collective in DC for students for life for a second year. I’m incredibly blessed to have attended a second time, met more amazing pro-life activists, and seen some friends I hadn’t seen in ages. We did the training, door-knocking, and supplies and had a fantastic time overall. It’s incredibly motivating and encourages younger leaders to help their community and be better activists.
Over the summer, I planned what I wanted to do for the upcoming year and prepare for college. My regional coordinator connected me with the pro-life group at the University of Kentucky called the Pro-Life Wildcats. They are some of the sweetest individuals I know. Catching up to this year, I have accomplished a lot and have gotten incredibly involved in the conservative-based clubs on campus, such as Turning Point US, Young Americans For Freedom, and Students For Life. With this, I have helped YAF bring Matt Walsh onto campus and start a stir with the community with the ‘What Is A Woman?’ tour, become secretary for the Pro-Life Wildcats, and hosted the ‘What Is A Human?’ tour and various other tabling events, and participated in several events. The election in Ohio regarding ‘Issue One’ impacted Kentucky as well since they are bordering States. I helped door-knock in a few neighborhoods to let voters know what ‘Issue One’ truly was and how it would hurt their community. I’m excited to collaborate with a local pregnancy resource on my fellowship project this year! The year isn’t over, and I’m not stopping anytime soon. As long as the preborn needs protecting, I will not stop fighting for the injustices of women and babies. God is my motivator, and I could not have been on this journey without Him. None of this is possible without my faith and the opportunities I have.
It wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has most definitely not been a smooth road. My classmates did not respond well to a pro-life presence at school. I created our Instagram to reach students and make our club known when we first started. When I brought up the idea to my friend, she was on board with joining me, and so were our parents. However, they were far more aware of the student body response than we were. I made some posts on our Instagram that were just general posts to get us running. We had received some negative comments, but the more we posted, the more they came in.
Some examples of comments would be:
“You should have been aborted.”
“Kill yourself.”
“This does not represent the student body.”
“Why does this happen at school?”
“Ew gross,’ ‘mm yum aborted fetuses.”
“Useless bitches”
“Damn, it’s always the ugly ones, isn’t it?”
“You’re not pro-life. You’re pro-birth.”
“I know I won’t change your mind, and I honestly don’t care.”
“I wish you would get raped.”
“I would inseminate you, and you’d have to have an abortion.”
And various other nasty and inappropriate comments. It would go on constantly till at least 4 am. There were plenty of people wanting us dead or telling us to kill ourselves, and it got to the point we had to let our administration know. I reported the issue to our club advisor and the dean handling school conflicts. We reported everything from student interactions to our first meeting and the threats we received. They said they would do something, and we waited but didn’t hear anything for weeks. It was a constant back and forth with the administration the whole year. They told us to turn our comments off and lay low till everything cooled down. We identified students we knew were commenting inappropriate or harmful things because the school said they couldn’t identify anyone but would give them repercussions for their actions. Which was false that they couldn’t identify anyone. During my junior year, I had photos taken of me labeled ‘the pro-life president on the third slide’ of certain posts specifically targeting me wherever I was in the school. The account has since been deleted the last time I checked. It also took pictures of those around me when the photos were taken. Other events occurred, and I was doxed in school for speaking my mind and having varying opinions from some of my classmates. It’s a bit better in college, but it’s the same. We’ve been yelled at a few times and have our own set of problems, but it’s nothing we can’t manage without our amazing regional coordinator. My first time in DC was when Roe vs. Wade was overturned, and AOC bodyguards shoved me in front of the Supreme Court. I don’t imagine it stopping anytime soon, but God said, ‘If the world hates you, know it has hated me before you.’
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I work in various positions at a community center in the aquatics department, mainly as a Head guard, Lifeguard, and swim instructor for all ages. It’s taught me hard work and patience. Especially when dealing with patrons, as some can be very difficult at times. I learned a lot when teaching swim lessons because I work with children 6 months to 12 years old. I adore working with them and seeing them grow! Whenever they understand or get a skill down, it makes me very excited and happy because what an accomplishment! Being part of a childhood memory for them is what I often remind myself, too. Some conversations are hilarious when they start getting comfortable during swim lessons. It makes it fun and exciting. I was working Halloween lessons once and decided to wear my Gryffindor cape to dress up for them. Some say that I truly care for each student, pay attention to them individually, and know how to take charge in certain scenarios. I make work as fun as possible and the people around me comfortable. I enjoy what I do, and it has helped me develop leadership and people skills.
What matters most to you?
I couldn’t do anything without my relationship with the Lord, first and foremost. My faith is fundamental because it helps give me morals and a sense of purpose. Not only that, but He created everything and everyone in His image, which is miraculous. He makes everything I do possible, and I’m so blessed to be able to know Him and do things for Him. My friends and family are also vital to me. They motivate me to keep going and enjoy life. Only some things are a worry or something to be stressed about. My family holds me accountable and is always there for me. They are my support system, and I love them very much. My parents supported me in activism and let me go to DC twice with Students For Life. Naturally, they were hesitant at first, but it was an opportunity I couldn’t miss out on. Naturally, they have safety concerns, but what’s life without controversy? My friends are some of my favorite people in the whole world. They have been with me during my lowest points and my highest. Without them, I would be a very different person. They push me to do something that interests me and come along for the rise. I’ve known them for years, and they mean everything to me. If they ever see this, I hope they know how special each of them is to me and what a fantastic support system they are. Everyone in my life is incredibly special to me, and I couldn’t do any of the activism, leadership, or pushing myself without them.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emma_4_life_yo
- Twitter: https://x.com/emma_4_life_yo/status/1739056181052596247?s=20
Image Credits
*Personal Photo* Headshot was done by Students For Life
