Response to Roe:  Educating A Nation
Celebrating the Lives Saved Through 32 Years of Selfless Labor
By Darla St. Martin
NRLC Associate Executive Director

One entire generation has passed since that terrible day in January 1973 when the Supreme Court stripped unborn babies of all legal protection. The babies our then-infant movement saved in 1973 are now over 30 years old. Many are parents themselves.

Most were raised by pro-life parents to believe in the value of life. They are now beginning to pass this same heritage on to their own children. Millions of them have joined us in this great, unselfish mission, as their own children will after them.

Even as we mourn for the over 45 million babies who have died by legal abortion in the past 32 years, we must not forget to celebrate the millions of babies we have saved. Our prayers and generous gifts of love, selves, and funds, as well as the adoption of wise strategies and hard work, have saved uncountable millions of precious little ones whose lives would have been lost without our dedication to this noble work.

Each person persuaded to choose life has brought us closer to ending this tragedy. Each baby saved has been a victory for life.

Each year for these past 32 years, we've looked back at what has helped us keep the flame of life alive and growing. Each year we add another reason why Roe v. Wade will be overturned and a Culture of Life established in America.

This year there are 32 reasons.

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 32 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 taught pro-lifers about their government, how it works and what they can do to help make it carry out its most important role of protecting innocent human lives. We have encouraged pro-lifers to use their new knowledge and skills to involve themselves in many facets of government. Today, pro-lifers can be found throughout the government.

22. 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. National Right to Life News, published since 1973, has been an invaluable pro-life resource for the whole world.

23. 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.

24. We have expanded the voice of the pro-life movement by collecting millions of pro-life signatures on petitions to public officials.

25. 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.

26. 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.

27. 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 website, www.nrlc.org, and they can receive an instant call to action on life issues via NRLC Hotmail e-mail.

28. 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.

29. 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.

30. 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.

31. We have recognized that the fight for life itself is the most important struggle of humankind in our time.

32. 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.