WATCH: Lila Rose urges young leaders to reject apathy, stand boldly for truth

At the 2026 Live Action Young Leaders Summit in March, a "transformative event, preparing leaders for the forefront of the battle for cultural change on issues of sex, relationships, and abortion," Lila Rose urged attendees to fight against fear and to stand up for truth and life.

Key Takeaways:

• Live Action's third annual Young Leaders Summit took place in Anaheim, California, on March 21.

• Live Action founder and president Lila Rose encouraged and inspired attendees to stand for life.

• In her speech, she called for each person to realize their purpose and have the courage to follow it.

The Details:

Rose began her speech explaining how she became pro-life, and became inspired to start Live Action.

"We love all student backgrounds, but the homeschool kids, we got something weird going on, and we do weird things sometimes. And for me, that was Live Action and starting this organization, because I had a broken heart," she said. "And I had a broken heart because growing up in this homeschool family, all these kids, I'm the third oldest, I'm the oldest girl, all these babies, there's ultrasound images on the fridge. Life was chaotic but beautiful."

She said she learned about abortion when, as she got older, she read about it in a book:

"I learned about 1973 and Roe v. Wade, and how it was legalized, and learning about fetal development and human life. And I thought, well, is this a problem happening now or is this historical? 

And then I hit the statistics page about worldwide abortion, global abortion, that there had been a billion abortions in the last decade — a billion lives taken by abortion. And then I learned that it's legal in the United States. It's legal today in the United States. 

In California, it's legal through all nine months of pregnancy in our own state. And then I came to the middle, where there's pictures, and you can see beautiful images of human development."

After those beautiful pictures of human development came horrifying pictures of death:

"And then I see an image of a baby who you can see that baby's humanity, those arms, those legs, this beautiful tiny little face, first trimester baby, maybe 10 weeks old, who had been torn apart by a powerful first-trimester suction abortion. And I remember just being heartbroken, just being heartbroken. I mean, how can you look at somebody's death and not be heartbroken by it? 

And I thought, is this really happening? Is this really here in my own community? And then I found out about the abortion clinic miles from where I grew up, having abortions twice a week, up to 24 weeks of pregnancy.

And all of a sudden I realized I was living in the middle of the greatest human rights abuse in our nation's history. And so it was out of that broken heart that I was inspired. I had to do something. And I think you're all here because you feel that call. And it's not just about abortion. It's about a lot of things."

Lila Rose’s Powerful Challenge to the Next Generation | Young Leaders Summit 2026

Zoom In:

Rose said we are currently in a culture of "chaos" and "brokenness," all while we also suffer an identity crisis. And though she said it can be terrifying and dangerous to ask God to use us for His purpose, we are meant to do so anyway:

"My brothers and sisters, we were made for purpose. Each person here, you were uniquely designed for love. Yes, to be loved and to love, but you were made for a specific purpose. And that purpose we discover by stepping up in faith, rooted in our true identity as beloved sons and daughters of God, and asking God, "Hey, here I am. Use me. Show me what you want me to do. Use me for your purposes." 

It's very dangerous to ask God to use you, because He will. He will. He'll take you on an adventure you could have never have dreamed."

The Bottom Line:

Sometimes, she explained, we might sin or stray from our path, but we should always have the strength and faith to come back and try again. And ultimately, we all have value and worth because we are children of God, and as long as we remember that and lead with love, we cannot fail. She added:

"We're pro-life because we love that baby, not for what they can do, because they can't do anything.... They're completely dependent. They're completely vulnerable. We love them because of who they are. We love each other because of who we are.... If our identity is in who we are as sons and daughters of God on our journey to heaven, this world and all of its struggles and all of its chaos cannot shake us."

Watch the entire speech here.