|
Pro-lifers march on Capitol
Jan. 20 rally marked 35 years of ‘Roe’ decision
By Andrew Junker, The Catholic Sun
February 7, 2008
The right-to-life movement achieved some hard-fought success this past year, but the battle to make abortion unthinkable continues, according to organizers of the annual pro-life march and rally in Phoenix.
Hundreds turned out for the Jan. 20 march commemorating the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion. The crowd wound its way around the state Capitol grounds before assembling at Wesley Bolin Memorial Park, where speakers addressed the pro-life gathering.
“We are all horrified at what has happened to our country as a result of abortion, but as we look out at today’s rally, there is so much good news to share,” said Cathi Herrod, president of The Center for Arizona Policy, a local pro-life and pro-family lobbying group.
“We see our country daily becoming more and more pro-life,” she said.
That’s partly thanks to the efforts of all those gathered at the rally, she said, who have spent countless hours promoting the Gospel of Life — whether by counseling women outside of an abortion clinic, answering phones at a crisis pregnancy center or simply praying with their children for an end to abortion.
Whatever their involvement, the pro-life fight is not something from which men and women of good conscience can excuse themselves, said Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted.
“This is indeed the issue that we will be judged on in eternity and the issue of our time in our country,” he said at the rally. “It’s important for us to gather to mark this anniversary — which is a travesty of an anniversary — but it’s there, so we need to mark it and encourage one another.”
Before the rally, Bishop Olmsted celebrated Mass at St. Matthew Parish where he asked the congregation to become “servants of truth,” who speak for those who have no voice.
“In a time known for smudge-and-blur rationalization, in the climate of linguistic games and political spin, the Lord is raising up servants of truth to defend human life, the dignity of each person, and to build a culture of life,” he said.
Recent victories for life
Pro-lifers across the country have protested the Roe v. Wade decision yearly ever since it was issued in 1973, but few of those commemorations had as much to celebrate.
That’s because last April, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a federal ban on partial birth abortion. It was “the most important pro-life court ruling in over 30 years,” said Alan Sears, president and CEO of the Alliance Defense Fund, the largest religious liberty legal alliance in the country.
Sears, a local Catholic, reminded the crowd that this ban was long coming, having been first passed by the Congress in 1995. That it finally became law was due in large part to the pro-life movement’s perseverance, Sears said.
In 1997, the Congress passed the law again, only for it to be vetoed by then-President Clinton, again. Nebraska’s state legislature passed a ban on partial birth abortion, which was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2000.
“Many thought their efforts had been in vain but we didn’t surrender, did we?” Sears said. “In 2003, a new federal ban went to the desk of a pro-life president who signed it into law. Planned Parenthood and its allies took us back to court and this time the result was very different.”
Sears also told the crowd of a local pro-life victory this year. Jesse Ramirez, a Valley resident, suffered severe head injuries that put him in a coma. After a week in this state, doctors said that he might never recover and his feeding tube was removed.
Ramirez’s sister asked the Alliance Defense Fund to help get his feeding tube back. Within a week, lawyers got his sister appointed as legal guardian.
“That was the legal miracle,” Sears said. “A few days later came the medical miracle. Hospice officials immediately provided food and water to Jesse and shortly thereafter, you know what happened? He woke up. Instead of a funeral in June, there was a celebration of life in October.”
Again, Sears said, this story proved that pro-life activities yield fruit in mysterious ways. If people hadn’t fought so hard to keep Terri Schiavo alive in 2005 — he argued — maybe Ramirez’s sister wouldn’t even have thought to call an organization like the Alliance Defense Fund.
It all starts with prayer
Booths were set up promoting pro-life apostolates across the Valley, where attendees could get more information, sign up to volunteer or make a monetary donation.
Whatever their involvement, said John Jakubczyk, a local attorney and former president of Arizona Right to Life, the important thing is that men and women do something.
“First, you start with prayer, for without God we can do nothing and absolutely nothing will be accomplished without our dependence on our Almighty God,” he said. “But God wants us to be involved, engaged and active. After prayer, there’s action.”
Part of that action is letting the lawmakers know that Americans want the government to respect the sanctity of human life in law, Jakubczyk said.
“The Lord has called us all to this task,” he said. “He wants us to be engaged in the battle — the battle to restore respect and protection to every human life, from the unborn to the elderly.”
|
