Let's get back to the Marches for Life. I was not able to attend personally, but the eyewitness accounts I have read estimate the crowd size to be as much as 400,000 people in DC and over 50,000 people in San Francisco. It is a great sign of hope that each year these crowds continue to grow, especially the number of youth and young adults, along with the fact the the majority of Americans now consider themselves pro-life. In my own experience as a CCD teacher for a group of ninth graders, I find it very encouraging that most of my students are repulsed by the very idea of abortion even though some of their parents were critical of our Deacon's homily against abortion at mass last weekend.
I pray that the battle against abortion may be finally turning the corner and the seeds planted since 1973 by the pro-life movement are finally bearing fruit as we see so many of our young now opposing abortion. However what greatly disturbed me was the latest statement by President Obama reaffirming his pro-abortion stand:
Today marks the 38th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that protects women’s health and reproductive freedom, and affirms a fundamental principle: that government should not intrude on private family matters.So by the President's own words, a pregnancy is a detriment to a woman's health, and an impediment to women having the same freedoms, rights, and opportunities as men. I don't want to get political here. All I ask is for the continued prayers for our President and others like him who fail to see pregnancy and human life are a sacred gift and that the right to choose who lives and who dies is God's alone.
I am committed to protecting this constitutional right. I also remain committed to policies, initiatives, and programs that help prevent unintended pregnancies, support pregnant women and mothers, encourage healthy relationships, and promote adoption.
And on this anniversary, I hope that we will recommit ourselves more broadly to ensuring that our daughters have the same rights, the same freedoms, and the same opportunities as our sons to fulfill their dreams.
I'll end by sharing something from our Deacon's homily at mass this past weekend. During the course of his sermon which focused on the evils of abortion, he held up the sign seen in the image to the left. The image is from the website for Priests for Life. The deacon explained that Fr. Frank Pavone put this on the website after he saw it on a beach in Florida to point out the absurdity and conflicting standards in our laws. County, state, and federal law prohibits disturbing nesting female turtles and their eggs and hatchlings. It even mandates that you turn off lights that shine on the beach to protect these turtles. The penalty for violating these laws is a fine up to $20,000.Unborn turtles and their mothers receive protection under the law while unborn humans have nothing. Our federal, state, and county laws apparently value the lives of sea turtles over that of humans since an unborn baby has no protection against abortion through most months of the pregnancy. If it wasn't so sad and disturbing, the absurdity of it all would make you want to laugh. What does it say for our society when we have to pray that our leaders will grant at least the same protections to unborn humans as they do to sea turtles?
Please pray for women everywhere who may be contemplating having an abortion. Pray for those also who may feel pressured into it and think they have no other choice. As our deacon also asked, pray that God directs these women into our lives so that we can guide them to get the help the really need to save their unborn baby's life. Finally, please pray for God to touch the hearts of those in power, like our President, so that they can embrace the culture of life.
If you know of anyone facing a crisis pregnancy and is contemplating an abortion, please help them get in touch with services in your diocese like Project Gabriel. Most dioceses in the U.S. have this program which provides assistance and support to pregnant women. Click here for a list of Project Gabriel contacts by state. In Rhode Island and the surrounding areas you can also contact the Mother of Life Center.
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