By Darla St. Martin
NRLC Associate Executive Director
Twenty-five years ago on January 22, 1973, the pro-abortionists celebrated
their complete and final victory - - or so they thought. The Supreme Court
had settled the abortion question once and for all. It had struck down every
protective abortion law in the country, and it looked inevitable that the
lives of other vulnerable persons would be in imminent danger as well.
But then something began to happen. Out of that terrible tragedy, the right
to life movement rose like a phoenix. National Right to Life, the flagship
of that movement, was organized almost immediately and was officially launched
in May 1973.
Now, 25 years later, Fortune magazine has named National Right to
Life one of the 10 most influential groups in Washington, while the pro-abortion
NARAL was ranked 43rd.
In the ensuing years, our work has saved many, many human lives, kept alive
the ideal of respect for life, and given us real hope that someday we will
restore full protection for life.
What did we do in the past 25 years to accomplish this miracle? Twenty-five
reasons stand out.
1. We prayed. The miracle was first and foremost the answer
to our prayers. Millions of pro-life people have prayed and trusted God
that someday respect for life would be restored.
2. We worked hard. We have built an extraordinary national
grassroots structure with affiliates in every state and a network of local
chapters sustained by the work of dedicated volunteers.
3. We gave our funds generously. Millions of pro-lifers who have
nothing to gain for themselves have given sacrificially to defend their
helpless, vulnerable brothers and sisters. Most of these donations have
been very modest, but pooled together they have been responsible for the
miracle we have been able to achieve.
4. We made our limited resources go a long way. We have achieved
extraordinary things through careful budgeting and skillful day-to-day management
of resources.
5. We focused our energies on the single, critical issue of the right
to life. This has given our movement, at the same time, greater expertise
and effectiveness in the life issues and a broader base of supporters. We
have been able to bring together, in a single unified movement, people with
widely different views on everything else.
6. We successfully pursued achievable legislative goals, while never
compromising our ultimate goal of restoring respect and protection for life.
Our intermediate goals and successes have not only saved lives, they have
strengthened our movement and made our ultimate success more likely.
7. We voted pro-life. In the past 25 years, millions of pro-life
people have voted for candidates based on their positions on life issues.
Many of these pro-life candidates have been elected to office and the pro-life
legislation they have passed has saved countless lives.
8. We educated ceaselessly on the medical and scientific facts about
unborn children and the reality of abortion and euthanasia.
9. We told the truth. Even when our opponents have lied about the issue,
pro-lifers continued to tell the truth. As the years have passed, many pro-abortion
falsehoods have been exposed but the truth has stood the test of time.
10. We lobbied our public officials for life. As citizens of a democracy
we have many opportunities to influence the actions of our government. We
have used them all to defend life.
11. We have worked through non-violent, peaceful, legal activities to
save the lives of unborn children.
12. We have reached out to include everyone in the movement. We have
brought together a diverse movement of people of all races, religions, ages,
and nations, to make a unified stand for life.
13. We have focused on the work to be done. We have not allowed ourselves
to become either distracted or discouraged by those rare pro-lifers who
attack fellow pro-lifers or spread dissention in the movement.
14. We have loved our opponents. With patient love and respect, we
have brought the truth about abortion to everyone - - even to women who
have had abortions and doctors who have performed abortions. When they have
accepted the truth, we have welcomed them into the movement. Some of them
have become articulate spokesmen on behalf of unborn children.
15. We have had strong pro-life churches and religious leaders. They
have taught respect for life to their own members and defended life in the
public arena.
16. We have had right to life leaders of vision and judgement whose strategies
have guided our movement to amazing accomplishments.
17. We have had great speakers. They have educated the public and inspired
pro-lifers.
18. We have had a multitude of volunteers giving freely of their time
and talent. Each has contributed his or her own unique talents. Many
have discovered talents they never realized they possessed.
19. We have forged a truly remarkable team. Right to life people
on the local, state, and national levels have learned to cooperate unselfishly,
each doing what they can when they can. We have multiplied our effectiveness
many times by our extraordinary teamwork.
20. We have continually expanded the base of the movement. We have
taken advantage of every opportunity to recruit new pro-lifers to our ranks.
21. We have provided the movement and the public with a regular, reliable
source of accurate, up-to-date news and information on the life issues.
The National Right to Life News, published since 1973,
has been an invaluable pro-life resource for the whole world.
22. We have worked hard to provide the media with accurate, timely information
on the life issues. Many editors and reporters have been willing to
reach beyond the prevailing pro-abortion bias of the press and use these
resources to help them provide more balanced coverage.
23. We have not allowed America to forget the principle on which it was
founded. We have called upon our nation to rededicate itself to the
ideal of human equality expressed in the Declaration of Independence which
stated that LIFE is the first unalienable right of all human beings.
24. We have recognized that the fight for life itself is the most important
struggle of humankind in our time.
25. We have never, never, never given up. No matter how difficult or
discouraging the situation has been, we have courageously continued to fight
on.
Our movement and its brave people have stood the test of time. We know that
we will face new challenges in the years ahead. But we also know that with
God's help, someday we WILL restore protection for life in
America.
Darla St. Martin has been the associate executive director of National
Right to Life since 1984, a member of the NRLC Board of Directors since
1974, and is a former president of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life
and co-director of its Political Action Committee. She is a former educator.