Hope for the Pro-Life Movement

Details: 29 January 2010

Last Friday, on the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s abortion rulings (Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton), I attended the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. I joined thousands of others (one estimate was 300,000) in publicly witnessing against these rulings which legalized abortion through all nine months of pregnancy and for virtually any reason.

The most powerful observation I had was how many young people participated in the March and its related events. On the morning of the March I attended a rally and Mass organized by Father Damien Cook, pro-life director for the Archdiocese of Omaha.

The event was attended by the 350 students and chaperones that Father Cook brought to the March in six buses! It was also attended by students and chaperones from four other dioceses in Kansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Ohio.

Roughly 1,300 people rocked the gym of Bishop McNamara Catholic High School in suburban Washington, D.C. The students were entertained and pumped up by a seminarian band, and by a bunch of innovative pro-life cheers that could only come from 20+ hours on a bus!

Following the rally, Archbishop George Lucas from Omaha and Bishop Michael Jackels from Wichita concelebrated a beautiful and holy Mass with numerous concelebrating priests. As I surveyed the crowd of teens singing, chanting and then praying with enthusiasm for the pro-life cause, I couldn’t help but get emotional.

It was an enormous gift of hope and encouragement for the future of the pro-life movement to witness this event. And this hope and encouragement was magnified by the fact that tens of thousands of other students were doing the same thing at the Verizon Center in D.C. as well as other venues around the area.

This enthusiasm for the pro-life cause spilled into the streets and National Mall leading up to the U.S. Capitol and Supreme Court. Prior to the start of the March, I positioned myself in a place where I could observe the marchers before jumping in with one of the Nebraska groups. The experience was breathtaking.

The first line of marchers came by about 2:15. Imagine the entire street filled with people, shoulder to shoulder. The packed line of marchers filed by me for more than an hour and a half before I finally jumped in. And there were still thousands of people behind me.

The unmistakable characteristic of the marchers was their youth. The vast majority of marchers were teens and young adults. Although, as usual, most of the secular media largely ignored the March and its youthful composition, Washington Post columnist Robert McCartney noticed it. Here is an excerpt from his story: “I went to the March for Life rally Friday on the Mall expecting to write about its irrelevance. Isn’t it quaint, I thought, that these abortion protesters show up each year on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, even though the decision still stands after 37 years. What’s more, with a Democrat in the White House likely to appoint justices who support abortion rights, surely the Supreme Court isn’t going to overturn Roe in the foreseeable future. How wrong I was.

“The antiabortion movement feels it’s gaining strength, even if it’s not yet ready to predict ultimate triumph, and Roe supporters (including me) are justifiably nervous. In this case, I was especially struck by the large number of young people among the tens of thousands at the march. It suggests that the battle over abortion will endure for a long time to come.”

I have written many times about the current generation of teenagers and young adults (Generation Y) and its strong pro-life inclinations. This was on clear display at the March for Life. It is also, I believe, reflected in the declining number of abortions—especially among teenagers. And, I believe it is one of the reasons why Pope John Paul II said that the 21st Century would be a “springtime in the Church.”

Finally, those unable to go to D.C. for the national March for Life can stand up for life by attending the pro-life Mass and Walk for Life this Saturday, Jan. 30 in Lincoln. Archbishop George Lucas from Omaha and Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz will concelebrate a 9 a.m. Mass for Life at St. Mary Church (14th and K). The Walk for Life follows at 10 a.m. across the street on the west steps of the State Capitol.