Houston, Texas—June 7, 2018: Texas Right to Life is accepting applications year-round for graduate scholarships. The Dr. Joseph Witherspoon Pro-Life Law Student Scholarship and the Dr. Edward Hannigan Pro-Life Health Professional Student Scholarship provide motivated students with training, support, and a scholarship worth $1,000 per semester.
Earlier this year, Texas Right to Life announced the expansion of the Pro-Life Health Professional Student Scholarship to include not only Texas medical and nursing students, but also students enrolled at a Texas health science center for all fields of study including, but not limited to, occupational therapy students, physician assistant studies students, and dental students.
Scholarship recipients are required to serve in a leadership position in a Pro-Life group at their school. If no such group exists, they must form one. Texas Right to Life provides training with an emphasis on legal and medical aspects of Pro-Life issues, connecting Pro-Life students with experts in their fields.
Each semester, graduate scholars are required to organize three events with guest speakers. In graduate programs that often discourage Pro-Life views, bringing expert Pro-Life advocates to campus is a powerful way to encourage dialogue and offer Pro-Life students and their peers a much-needed perspective on these issues. As graduate scholar Katherine Bastie of the UT Houston McGovern Medical School wrote, “Working in the medical field and being Pro-Life often seem contradictory to the outside observer, which is why the existence of Physicians for Life at McGovern Medical School (UT Houston) is so important.”
Graduate scholars are also required to host a social event each semester to encourage networking between Pro-Life students. Each semester, the Pro-Life groups must offer two volunteer opportunities to aid Pro-Life organizations in the community. Many groups choose to assist pregnancy resource centers and maternity homes.
In order to foster growth of Pro-Life groups at professional schools across Texas, scholarship recipients are required to commit to a minimum of one school year, ideally two, and identify new leadership for the group before the end of their term.
Throughout each semester, Texas Right to Life assists and mentors scholarship recipients, connecting them with lecture speakers, hosting networking events, and offering guidance for the success of a graduate school Pro-Life group.
Interested applicants can find the full scholarship requirements and guidelines on the Texas Right to Life website.