More than 1,500 pro-life Kansans gathered this April as Kansans for Life (KFL) hosted its annual banquets in Overland Park on April 14 and Wichita on April 28, celebrating the organization’s work to protect both mothers and their preborn children.
The theme for this year’s events was “A Cause Like No Other.”
The keynote speaker for both evenings was Scott Jennings, CNN commentator and the lone pro-life conservative voice on the network. Jennings spoke about the importance of persistence in the pro-life movement and the impact Kansans for Life has had in the state.
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“Thousands of children are alive today because Kansans for Life doesn’t give up,” Jennings told the audience.
Jennings also reminded attendees that lasting cultural change takes time.
“What you are building here is not a moment. It’s a movement,” he said. “Every conversation you have, every resource you provide, every life you touch… you are shaping not just outcomes, but consciences.”
During the program, KFL Executive Director Peter Northcott and Associate Director Danielle Underwood shared updates on the organization’s work and the progress made during the 2026 Kansas legislative session.
Legislative Successes
Since 2023, pro-life lawmakers have overridden fifteen vetoes from pro-abortion Governor Laura Kelly. This year alone, lawmakers passed legislation protecting pregnancy resource centers from discrimination and providing $3 million in funding for their work, strengthening informed consent protections for women, and preventing abortion franchises like Planned Parenthood from receiving state Medicaid funding.
“This truly is a cause like no other,” Northcott said. “We stand ready to continue this fight – for every life, for every child, for every mother and father… for as long as it takes.”
Courage Award
During the Overland Park banquet, Kansans for Life presented its Courage Award in honor of the late Representative Marvin Robinson, who served in the Kansas House in 2023 and 2024.
Robinson, a Democrat, often stood alone within his party when voting for legislation that strengthened protections for preborn children and their mothers. One of those moments came during a vote on the Pregnancy Compassion Awareness Program, which provides funding to pregnancy resource centers and maternity homes across Kansas. Robinson cast the deciding vote.
Robinson passed away in August 2024. His family accepted the Courage Award on his behalf.
Honoring 35 Years Since the Summer of Mercy
At the Wichita banquet, Kansans for Life recognized the 35th anniversary of the Summer of Mercy, a historic moment in the pro-life movement that took place in 1991. Over several weeks, thousands gathered in peaceful prayer and witness outside Wichita-area abortion facilities. The movement helped unite churches, inspire new ministries, and laid the groundwork for much of the pro-life work Kansans for Life continues today. Many in the audience participated in the events in 1991 and were recognized during the evening.
AFTERMATH Statewide Tour & Traveling Memorial
Speakers also highlighted the continued growth of AFTERMATH, Kansans for Life’s traveling memorial display.
The exhibit features medically and statistically accurate fetal models representing the number of lives lost to abortion in Kansas in a single year — 19,811 in 2024. The display has traveled to communities across Kansas and was recently brought to Kansas State University, where members of a growing Kansans for Life student chapter helped host the exhibit and engaged fellow students in conversations about the realities of abortion and the pro-life movement’s work to offer women and preborn babies love and compassionate, tangible support.
Underwood said those conversations are an important part of the work.
“Our student leaders are bold and brave…” Underwood said. “This is where conversion to a pro-life position begins — one conversation at a time, bringing the facts without apology and doing it with love, respect, and compassion.”
Jennings closed his remarks by encouraging supporters to remain steadfast.
“History doesn’t remember the people who went along to get along. It remembers the people who stood up when it was hardest to defend what mattered most.”
KFL thanks the many volunteers who devoted their time and talents to help make the events successful and the supporters who attended. Event photos are available for media use with written permission. Please request use of photos by emailing [email protected]
