AOP speaks on behalf of those who have no voice – including our precious unborn – and fights to defend the right to life and dignity from conception to end of life. We engage in advocacy for the pro-life movement, establishing an effective pro-life narrative in the public square and defending free speech and religious liberties of pro-life pregnancy centers. To this end, we support NIFLA (National Institute of Family Life Advocates) in its efforts to protect pro-life pregnancy centers from unfair targeting (see recent Supreme Court victory, NIFLA v. Becerra).
We were a Sponsor at the 2019 NIFLA Summit held on the Regent University School of Law campus in May and continue to support NIFLA financially. The National Institute of Family and Life Advocates represents more than 1,430 pregnancy centers across the country and works tirelessly to assist them in rescuing preborn children from abortion, protecting mothers from the harms of abortion, supporting mothers in choosing life for their unborn children, and ensuring free speech within these pregnancy centers so that they may continue their work on behalf of children, mothers, and families.
As part of our mission to protect human rights and advocate for oppressed and vulnerable individuals and groups, we are also partnering with the Alex Rocha Youth Center in Cartagena, Colombia, South America. The Center is a safe haven and educational center for at-risk youth living in poverty in the barrios of the city, providing instruction in languages, music and art, crafts, social skills, religion, and assistance to teens and young adults with creating and finding jobs in Cartagena. These poverty-stricken neighborhoods have been infiltrated by drug cartels, along with corrupt police who protect them. These criminals abuse their power and create dangerous living conditions for children and families in Cartagena’s poorest neighborhoods. Mr. Renzi has worked with Alex Rocha for several years to build the Center and help children, teens, and young adults escape the hazards of their environment, change the direction of their lives, and offer hope. AOP hopes to promote the Center’s valuable work in a bigger way, to have an even greater impact on Cartagena’s vulnerable youth.
Former Congressman Rick Renzi, AOP President:
As the father of twelve athletic children, former Congressman Rick Renzi and President of Abuse of Power International spent many years as a volunteer coach for football, baseball, and girls’ soccer leagues, and was a founding board member of the Bandits Wrestling Club – voted one of the Top 100 Sports Clubs in America. Mr. Renzi also taught Sunday School (CCD) for twelve years at his local parish.
He has served on the boards of several nonprofits, including the CareNet Sierra Vista Pregnancy Center (Sierra Vista, Arizona) and the Goodwill Foundation (Flagstaff, Arizona).
Mr. Renzi developed the first-ever program of its kind, providing insurance for pro-life pregnancy care centers and woman/child safe homes. This insurance program has grown to become a national program providing insurance to over 1,200 centers.
Mr. Renzi also provided significant financial support and consultation to help build the Alex Rocha Youth Center in Cartagena, Columbia, a safe haven and educational center for at-risk youth living in poverty in the barrios of the city. The Alex Rocha Youth Center provides instruction in languages, music and art, crafts, social skills, religious instruction, and assistance to teens and young adults with creating and finding jobs in Cartagena.
Most recently, Mr. Renzi founded Abuse of Power International, which works to expose abuses of power, advocate for the oppressed, and effect change in the three pillars of its mission – Justice, Liberty, and Life.