Pro-life marchers in Washington told they are winning real-life battle
- Jan 23, 2007 - 1 -
Tens of thousands of pro-life Americans gathered Jan. 22 in Washington and heard political leaders tell them they are winning the battle to protect life, despite a new Congress lacking in support for their cause.
Children, teenagers and adults from numerous states participated in the annual March for Life on the 34th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion. The marchers gathered on a lightly snow-covered National Mall for a rally in near-freezing temperatures that preceded their walk up Constitution Avenue past the Capitol to the high court building.
At the rally, President Bush, members of Congress and pro-life leaders encouraged the marchers to continue their efforts.
“I want the folks assembled there to know that we’re making progress,” Bush said by phone to the crowd.
“As we move forward, we’ve all got to remember that a true culture of life cannot be built by changing laws alone. We’ve all got to work hard to change hearts. The sanctity of life is written in the hearts of all men and women. And so I say, go forth with confidence that a cause rooted in human dignity and appealing to the best instincts of our citizens cannot fail.”
The president cited in his four-minute address several pro-life initiatives his administration has promoted during its six years, including a ban on partial-birth abortion that is awaiting a ruling by the Supreme Court. He spoke to the marchers for the first time, however, as a president whose party controlled neither house of Congress. The Democrat Party gained control of both chambers in the November election, and the leadership in both houses is dominated by pro-choice adherents.
What is happening in Washington is the exception, rather than the rule, in the country, Rep. Mike Pence, R.-Ind., said at the March for Life rally.
“Although the abortion movement is gathering strength in this city of compromise, Washington, D.C., is the only city in America where life is losing,” Pence told the marchers, according to comments provided online by his office. “In the quiet counsels between mothers and daughters, and sisters and friends, the truth about abortion is being told, young women are being warned and life is winning in America.
“Every day, every hour, compassion is overcoming convenience. Life is defeating despair, and hope a lifetime of regret.
“To you who labor in the cause of life, I say, ‘Press on, our nation is moved and heaven smiles. Your labors on behalf of the unborn are not in vain,’” Pence said.
“To our opponents, Americans all, who remain fixed in their determination to see this harvest continue, I say, ‘The time of your ascendancy in the law is coming to an end.’”
The House of Representatives already has approved a measure opposed by most pro-life advocates. On Jan. 11, it voted 253-174 for a bill that would provide funds for research using stem cells extracted from embryos stored at in vitro fertilization clinics. The extraction of the cells kills the embryos.
The measure would weaken a Bush policy that allows funds for research only on embryonic stem cell lines already in existence when his rule was announced in August 2001.
The president commented on his veto of the same bill last year and his reasoning for opposing such funding.
“We are a caring nation, and our values should also guide us on how we harness the gifts of science,” he told the marchers. “New medical breakthroughs bring the hope of cures for terrible diseases and treatments that can improve the lives of millions. Our challenge is to make sure that science serves the cause of humanity instead of the other way around.”
Stem cells are the body’s master cells that can develop into tissues and other cells, providing hope for the treatment of numerous afflictions.
The House vote fell easily short of the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto.
Abortion rights organizations commemorated the anniversary of Roe v. Wade with a more optimistic view after the congressional turnover. Some, such as the National Organization for Women and the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, called for repeal of the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits Medicaid from funding most abortions for poor women.
Bush issued a proclamation declaring Jan. 21 as National Sanctity of Human Life Day. The Southern Baptist Convention, as well as many evangelical churches and the Roman Catholic Church, observed the day as Sanctity of Human Life Sunday.
Further Learning
Learn more about: Life, Abortion, Citizenship, National
Comments are closed. Please use our contact form if you have any thoughts or questions.
comments