Live Action president Lila Rose: 'Our movement is about life itself'

Live Action president and founder Lila Rose gave an emotional and motivating speech to attendees of Live Action's Sixth Annual Life Awards Gala, held on September 27, 2025, regarding what the pro-life movement looks like moving forward after the murder of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.

The event, celebrated three honorees for their pro-life activism — Dr. George Delgado, Bevelyn Williams, and Lianna Rebolledo — and also posthumously awarded Charlie Kirk.

Key Takeaways:

• Live Action founder and president Lila Rose told gala attendees that, following the murder of Charlie Kirk, "Our nation is ripe for change," posthumously honoring Kirk with a Life Award.

• Rose noted that the secret to winning the abortion debate is that "We must love our opponent."

• She pointed out that "The abortionists traffic in death, but we proclaim life. They deal in despair, but we live in joy and we bring hope."

• Rose was clear that the pro-life movement "is about far more than ending abortion." She said, "Ending abortion is a necessary step, but our movement is about life itself. It's about marriage and family and God."

The Details:

Light From the Darkness

Rose said:

"Our nation is ripe for change. We can all feel it — the massive reaction and outpouring of love following the tragic and horrific murder of my and many of our friend, Charlie Kirk, revealed a deep restlessness in many of us across America, yearning for truth.

In this moment, this historic moment, we have seen hardened hearts and we have seen hungry and open hearts. Out of that darkness also came light. The mission became clearer than ever. Our culture must fundamentally change and we must win the culture for life and for Christ."

Rose went on to say that Charlie Kirk would be a fourth honoree that night, explaining that for Kirk, abortion was the human rights crisis of our time, and he always brought the abortion debate back to the dignity of the child in the womb.

He saved lives through his commitment to the pro-life cause "by awakening millions of people through his work to the dignity and the humanity of the child in the womb," said Rose.

Lila Rose at the Live Action Life Awards Gala | 2025

She went on to share details of her visit two weeks prior to Yale University, where she debated former Catholics for Free Choice founder Frances Kissling, who had dedicated her entire life to the pro-abortion cause. Kissling never married and never had children.

"Our Movement is About Life Itself"

At the end of the evening, Rose won the debate by a 2 to 1 vote from attendees. She noted that after the debate, a woman wrote to her to say, "I see a shift in this country. Women are figuring out that they have been sold out. This is not women's empowerment... We have been sold a false narrative that the so-called pro-choice laws would make us stronger, happier, richer, more powerful, unencumbered by children. But it was a lie."

Rose explained in her speech:

"Our movement, especially in this moment, is about far more than ending abortion. Ending abortion is a necessary step, but our movement is about life itself. It's about marriage and family and God.

We are unapologetic in declaring that the ideal is for a child — this isn't always possible but — that the ideal is for a child to be raised by her mother and her father in a marriage where they love one another. That marriage is between one man and one woman for life. And that this is a cornerstone of civilization.

We will not back away from speaking the truth that children are not burdens, that they are never burdens, but that children are always gifts, and theirs is the future that we are fighting for. This is why we stand for preborn children, why we defend mothers and fathers and marriage, and why we refuse to compromise on the value of the family.

The abortionists traffic in death, but we proclaim life. They deal in despair, but we live in joy and we bring hope."

The secret to debating the pro-life cause is "love," she explained:

"Debates are tests of conviction, but debates are also tests of love. ... We have to love our opponent. Once we make the pro-life case clearly, with love, people's minds and hearts do open.

All human lives are equal. Life begins at fertilization. Every abortion takes an innocent life. And taking innocent life is never justified.

Hearts may be hardened by misconceptions and especially by wounds and pain, but love, conviction, and truth break through."

Our Society Must Protect Children

Rose said she believes Kirk's death was martyrdom, and that because of this, "we're seeing graces from God, the mercies from God. Mass attendance and church attendance was reported to have increased on college campuses by 15%. I am ready for an American revival. Are you ready for that? ... Revival is a moral awakening. Revival begins in the human heart, and it grows strong in families and it's sustained by truth spoken in love. That is revival."

She added:

"We cannot have strong families when abortion is legal. We simply cannot.

You cannot have a culture of life while there is routine destruction of children being sold in our own communities and sold for big, big dollars as health care.

Revival requires protecting our children. The path to national renewal must begin in the womb."

Watch Lila Rose's full speech here.