By Darla St. Martin
NRLC Associate Executive Director
Thirty-one 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, which Congressman Henry Hyde calls the "flagship" of that movement, was organized almost immediately and was officially launched in May 1973.
Now, 31 years later, National Right to Life is one of the most effective and respected organizations in the nation. In 1999 Fortune magazine ranked the most influential public policy groups in Washington, D.C., and National Right to Life was No. 8. NARAL, the leading pro-abortion group, ranked a distant 43rd.
In 2003 a political scientist surveyed Capitol Hill to determine which organizations were the most influential on health care policy. His results were published in The Hill newspaper and revealed that National Right to Life was the eighth most influential group, right behind the National Governors Association.
In the years since 1973, 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 are the top 31 reasons this happened? What did we do in the past 31 years to accomplish this miracle?
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 31 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 dissension 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 grassroots 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 expanded the voice of the pro-life movement by collecting millions of pro-life signatures on petitions to public officials.
24. We have been willing to become involved in political action. We have distributed information informing the public about where the candidates stand on abortion, and encouraged our pro-life friends and neighbors to go to the polls and vote for pro-life candidates.
25. We have encouraged dedicated pro-lifers with a real chance of winning to run for public office and have supported them with our funds and volunteer efforts.
26. We have kept pace with new technology and used it to expand our message of life. Millions of people have immediate access to information on the right to life on our web-site, www.nrlc.org. and they can receive an instant call to action on life issues via NRLC Hotmail e-mail.
27. We have taught young people pro-life values in our homes, churches, and communities and welcomed them into our movement. Each year the percentage of youth who identify themselves as pro-life has increased.
28. We have given our children life, even when it was difficult and meant sacrifice. Millions of our children born into a heritage of life are now giving us grandchildren. Eventually we will have a multitude of great-grandchildren. As time passes our descendants will increase in number spreading their pro-life message and building a culture of life.
29. 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.
30. We have recognized that the fight for life itself is the most important struggle of humankind in our time.
31. 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, and a member of the NRLC Board of Directors since 1974.