|
NRL News
Pro-Life
Generations Gather Nationwide Attending Roe v. Wade commemorative events nationwide in massive numbers, the next generation of pro-lifers showed its strength this January. Even the mainstream media couldn’t ignore that young pro-lifers are passionate and committed to the cause of life. “In what has become an annual event, people in the crowd—many of them middle and high school students—carried crosses and banners that said, ‘Abortion stops a beating heart,’” reported the Macon Telegraph after 2,500 pro-lifers marched Together for Life in Atlanta, Georgia, January 22. Megan Kennedy, 17, joined hundreds of others in Topeka, Kansas, January 22, despite bad weather that moved the rally inside the state capitol building. She told the Topeka Capital-Journal about the importance of young people in the pro-life movement: “A lot of girls our age are faced with decisions regarding abortion. I think it’s very important for our generation to become the next generation that takes a stand on it.” At the annual Hands around the Capitol event in Augusta, Maine, January 13, “the crowd was a mix of young and old, including numerous teenagers,” according to the Portland Press Herald. About 300 pro-lifers encircled the capitol, leaving behind red roses to remind legislators to remember the unborn babies. The Olympian in Washington state also mentioned the many children and teenagers attending the March for Life in Olympia January 22. In a huge crowd of 2,500, school groups, church groups, and families gathered at the state capitol. Young people made up a noticeable part of Nebraska’s Walk for Life in Lincoln January 13. Despite below-freezing temperatures, over 800 pro-lifers showed their commitment to life. “Probably the most encouraging thing to see is the youth,” said State Sen. Tony Fulton, according to Catholic Voice. “Those of you who are young, please know that you give great inspiration to this nation.” The pro-life stalwarts who have been fighting the good fight for 34 years also came out in force. Elsa Dahl, 72, has attended the Rally for Life in Montpelier, Vermont, every year. “It is either cold, or snowing, or blowing, or all of them at the same time,” Dahl told the Times-Argus. Hundreds joined Dahl January 27 in sub-zero temperatures once again, warmed by their love for the vulnerable unborn. “I remember when we just had a small circle of people on the front stairs,” Dahl said. “Every year it grows.” And of course, the very littlest pro-lifers also had a presence at rallies. Joining 5,000 other pro-lifers in Little Rock, Arkansas, January 21, Jason and Erin Pohlmeier marched with their seven-month-old son, Isaac. “It’s hard to look at him and know that a year ago we could have easily and legally gotten rid of him just because we wanted to,” Jason Pohlmeier told Arkansas Catholic. The involvement of pro-lifers at every stage of life is a testament to the enduring movement that will not rest until all human beings have the right to life. Speakers at Massachusetts’ Interfaith Assembly for Life in Boston January 14 urged the 125 attendees to continue to support pro-life work at every level. “Join now and march with the army that will never sound retreat,” said Dr. Mildred Jefferson, Mas-sachusetts Citizens for Life and National Right to Life board member. “Because if we do, there are people that will die.” The call to continued pro-life action was echoed in St. Paul, Minnesota, as more than 3,000 right to lifers gathered January 22. “The silent constituency of the unborn … can’t speak for themselves and they can’t organize for themselves,” pro-life Gov. Tim Pawlenty told the crowd, “so we need to redouble our efforts and make sure that we are their voices.” Rallies were also held in other state capitals across the country. They included Raleigh, North Carolina, January 13, with newly installed Catholic Bishop Michael F. Burbidge; Columbia, South Carolina, January 13, where pro-lifers heard from abortion survivor Gianna Jessen; Denver, Colorado, January 20 with the theme “Fighting the Good Fight”; Boise, Idaho, January 20 at a Life Rally on the Statehouse steps; Phoenix, Arizona, January 21, where pro-lifers were offered a “Mission Possible” to be “Agents of Change”; and Nashville, Tennessee, January 21 with Dr. Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, and Bishop David Choby. Pro-lifers also gathered in Cheyenne, Wyoming, January 21 with a march to the capitol and a rally; Honolulu, Hawaii, January 22 at a March for Life; Lansing, Michigan, January 22 for a Sanctity of Human Life Rally; Pierre, South Dakota, January 22 at the Hour of Reflection; Sacramento, California, January 23 at a Prayer Breakfast and Rally; and Providence, Rhode Island, January 25 with an inspiring speech by Dr. Alveda King, niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Texas and Virginia focused on their legislatures, as pro-lifers in Austin January 22 learned how to lobby for life and right to lifers in Richmond left red roses for their legislators on the same day. Like every year, many states sent thousands of pro-lifers to the March for Life in Washington, D.C., January 22. The massive crowd of upwards of 100,000 boasted signs from Maryland, West Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, and New York, to name just a few. Beyond the capitals, pro-lifers organized events in their local counties and towns. They marched in Mobile, Alabama; Roseburg, Ohio; Macon, Georgia; and Clinton County, Ohio. They held prayer breakfasts and vigils in Springfield and Youngstown, Ohio; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Troy, Missouri; Scranton, Pennsylvania; and Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Local pro-lifers also rallied in Grand Forks, North Dakota; Kokomo, Indiana; Eau Claire, Wisconsin; Louisville, Kentucky; Livonia, Michigan; and Sedalia, Missouri. They stood in Life Chains in Marathon County, Wisconsin, and Clarkston, Michigan. These and many, many more events brought the message of respect for life to all corners of the country. The crowd in Salem, Oregon, January 21 was representative of the gatherings nationwide, as many parents brought their children, the bearers of the pro-life movement into the future. “I wanted our little girls to grow up with a tradition of standing up for what you believe,” Consuelo Jeannie Routtu os Zeller told the Catholic Sentinel, echoing the sentiments of all pro-life Americans. “I want them to know that they can make a difference.” |