PALM BEACH GARDENS | Mary-Logan Miske’s life is a profile in courage.
Specifically, the courage of her mother to reject fear and embrace life despite being a college senior and urging from her boyfriend to have an abortion after an unplanned pregnancy. The example of her mother’s strength to choose life in a difficult situation has given Miske a unique perspective in her job as southeast campus formation coordinator with Students for Life of America.
Miske was the featured speaker at the Culture of Life breakfast Feb. 7, 2025, in the Family Life Center of the Cathedral of St. Ignatius Loyola in Palm Beach Gardens. Deanna Herbst-Hoosac, Catholic Charities’ Respect Life ministry director, introduced Miske and served as emcee at the event.
Starting in 2006, Students for Life of America has become a formidable force in the pro-life movement, with 1,506 groups on college, high school and graduate campuses nationwide and more than 213,000 advocates trained to counter pro-abortion arguments. According to its website, “SFLA creates strategy, policy and programming to equip those most targeted for abortion to change minds of their peers, transform communities by connecting women and families in crisis with non-violent support, and advocate for public policy that protects both mother and child from the predatory abortion industry.”
Since graduating from the University of San Diego, Miske has helped equip and empower pro-life students throughout the southeastern United States to protect and defend human life. Continuing with her mother’s story, she added that, “Not only did she become a single mother, but also went on to serve as a captain in the Army, balancing the roles of both mother and father for 10 years.”
Later, her mother married a loving man who adopted Miske and fathered her four siblings, now ages 12 to 2. “Although my biological father was not involved in my life, we’ve actually recently connected for the first time in 24 years, as we both happen to be living in the same area right now,” she said. “All of these experiences have shaped the person that I am today and are the reason I stand here today as a witness to life in front of all of you.”
Her presentation to people battling abortion in the Diocese of Palm Beach mirrored a SFLA training session designed to prepare students to participate in sidewalk counseling and become more involved in the pro-life movement.
When students are faced with an unplanned pregnancy, they’re often juggling a lot and worried about finishing their studies, she said. But today, one in five college students is the parent of a young child and trying to balance coursework and parenthood. The goal of SFLA is to connect them with daycare assistance and to inform them of their rights as student parents, Miske added.
“We want to make sure that they know that they are not alone, and that they do have resources for them, and that somehow, some way, it’s all going to figure itself out,” she said.
Most women who become abortion clients are between ages 15 and 24, Miske said. The abortion industry targets them with lies that they won’t be able to finish school, and that they have to choose between a successful career and motherhood.
“We believe that true feminism is encouraging women and saying, ‘Hey, you are not alone. You can do this. Let’s provide you the resources necessary so that you can be successful in college and in your work life as well,” she said.
Miske said she wants those in situations similar to her mother to know that they have advocates to help them.
“Children are a gift from God, and the unborn deserve protection,” she said. “God has a plan, and I want others to know, especially in this jubilee year, that there is hope. This jubilee year reminds us of the importance of mercy and renewal, encouraging us to embrace the potential for new beginnings in our lives and in the lives of others.”
For information on Respect Life ministry in the Diocese of Palm Beach, email Herbst-Hoosac at dherbst@ccdpb.org, call 561-360-3330 or follow on Facebook at Respect Life Ministry Catholic Charities Palm Beach. For more about Students for Life of America, go to https://studentsforlife.org, or connect with Miske at mmiske@studentsforlife.org.
