No Picture
News Briefs

Pro-lifers celebrate Roe’s demise, push for nationwide protection for the unborn

June 25, 2023 Catholic News Agency 1
A young woman holds a pro-life sign during a rally in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., on June 24, 2023, marking the first anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade. / Joseph Portolano/CNA

Washington D.C., Jun 25, 2023 / 06:40 am (CNA).

Marking the first anniversary of Roe being overturned, a group of pro-life leaders rallied hundreds to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial Saturday with the message that they were united around the fight for full, legal protection for the unborn from the moment of conception in all 50 states.

Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, told those gathered on a sunny, hot summer day that while she celebrated the 25 states that have passed strong pro-life laws, “we are in fact living in a divided states of America” where “a person’s location determines if they will survive the abortion gauntlet as we did.”

Hawkins said the country must become “an America where every human being is recognized as the unrepeatable person as they are with equal rights and equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment guaranteed, not because of what state their mother resides in or if they are perceived to be convenient or the circumstances of their conception.”

Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, addresses the crowd at a pro-life rally in front of the Lincoln Memorial on June 24, 2023, marking the first anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Joseph Portolano/CNA
Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, addresses the crowd at a pro-life rally in front of the Lincoln Memorial on June 24, 2023, marking the first anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Joseph Portolano/CNA

Hawkins told CNA that pro-life leaders are uniting around the belief “that every human being is a human person at conception” and that the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal justice clauses should be equally applied to persons in the womb.

“At a very minimum if you’re running for federal office, you should be able to acknowledge that abortion is a federal issue,” she said. “We want to see every presidential contender join with us to acknowledge what is so clearly written in the Fourteenth Amendment: that all human beings are human persons and deserve equal protection of our laws.” 

Lila Rose, president of the pro-life group Live Action, called the Fourteenth Amendment “one of the most beautiful notes in our national song” and lamented that “when it comes to preborn children we have failed to extend these protections.”

Speaking at a rally in front of of the Lincoln Memorial on June 24, 2023, Lila Rose, president of the pro-life group Live Action, called it a “tragic contradiction” that “while our society celebrates advancements in prenatal care and technology, we simultaneously deny personhood and rights, the personhood and rights of these very same children.". Joseph Portolano/CNA
Speaking at a rally in front of of the Lincoln Memorial on June 24, 2023, Lila Rose, president of the pro-life group Live Action, called it a “tragic contradiction” that “while our society celebrates advancements in prenatal care and technology, we simultaneously deny personhood and rights, the personhood and rights of these very same children.”. Joseph Portolano/CNA

Rose called it a “tragic contradiction” that “while our society celebrates advancements in prenatal care and technology, we simultaneously deny personhood and rights, the personhood and rights of these very same children. It is inconceivable that we would selectively deny these rights to one group of human beings solely based on their location: the womb.”

Republican presidential candidate and former Vice President Mike Pence, who recently called on his fellow GOP presidential candidates to join him in backing a “minimum” nationwide 15-week abortion limit, made an appearance at the rally.

“As we celebrate this anniversary, let us here resolve that we will work and we will pray as never before to advance the cause of life in the laws of the land in every state in America. That we will support women in crisis pregnancies with resources and support for their care, for the unborn, and for the newborn as never before,” Pence said.

Former Vice President Mike Pence, a 2024 GOP presidential candidate, addresses the crowd at a pro-life rally in front of the Lincoln Memorial on June 24, 2023, marking the first anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Joseph Portolano/CNA
Former Vice President Mike Pence, a 2024 GOP presidential candidate, addresses the crowd at a pro-life rally in front of the Lincoln Memorial on June 24, 2023, marking the first anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Joseph Portolano/CNA

“We stand for the babies and their unalienable right to life,” he said, pledging that he and his family “will never rest and never relent until we restore the sanctity of life to the center of American law in every state in the land.”

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Pro-life America, shared words of advice for the growing list of 2024 presidential candidates: “Get your act together. Figure out what you’re for and advance it. Don’t wait,” she urged.

“We have consensus in this country,” she added. “Start with that and be the president you’re called to be in justice and love for moms and justice and love for their babies.” Consistent Gallup polling shows that the majority of Americans would prefer to limit abortion to the first three months of pregnancy.

There were many young people in the crowd at the Lincoln Memorial, including Katriel Nyman, a 17-year-old from Washington state who is with Students for Life Tri-Cities. She told CNA that it was “really encouraging to see a bunch of people who believe in rights from conception.”

She said she’d “like to see more pro-lifers continue to persevere through this” post-Dobbs fight because “even if abortion isn’t legal in your state, you should be fighting for the rights of infants that are soon to be born in other states.”

Sameerah Munshi, a recent graduate of Brown University who is interning with the Religious Freedom Institute, holds a sign with a verse from the Quran about the sanctity of life that reads “We have dignified the children of Adam," at a pro-life rally at the Lincoln Memorial on June 24, 2023. Lauretta Brown/CNA
Sameerah Munshi, a recent graduate of Brown University who is interning with the Religious Freedom Institute, holds a sign with a verse from the Quran about the sanctity of life that reads “We have dignified the children of Adam,” at a pro-life rally at the Lincoln Memorial on June 24, 2023. Lauretta Brown/CNA

Sameerah Munshi, a recent graduate of Brown University who is interning with the Religious Freedom Institute, held a sign with a verse from the Quran about the sanctity of life that read “We have dignified the children of Adam.”

She told CNA that she wanted to make her voice heard as a Muslim who believes, based on her faith, that abortion is wrong in most cases. She said many Muslims followers feel, as she does, that life begins “in the first couple weeks after conception.”

Munshi said that in the year since the Dobbs decision, “a lot of people that I know who don’t have strong opinions on abortion have been coming out either in favor or against” abortion. She sees it as valuable that there’s more discourse about the abortion issue and people are “coming to more conclusions for themselves as opposed to maybe rhetoric that they’ve seen in the news or rhetoric that they feel has been a part of their political platform.”

Jessica Newell, a Catholic student who is interning with Live Action and entering her third year at Coastal Carolina University, told CNA that “it’s so important for people who are indoctrinated by this culture to learn the truth about biology and the truth about God and that they’re made in the image of God.” 

She emphasized that the pro-life movement still has so much to do and part of that work is “letting people know that they’re loved, that is a big step in changing the culture to a culture of life.”

Melissa Ohden, who survived a saline-infusion abortion at 31 weeks gestation, stands alongside her oldest daughter Olivia, 15, at a pro-life rally at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., on June 24, 2023. Joseph Portolano/CNA
Melissa Ohden, who survived a saline-infusion abortion at 31 weeks gestation, stands alongside her oldest daughter Olivia, 15, at a pro-life rally at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., on June 24, 2023. Joseph Portolano/CNA

Melissa Ohden, who survived a saline-infusion abortion at 31 weeks gestation, stood at the rally alongside her oldest daughter Olivia, 15, and a sign which read “Babies survive abortions. I am one of them.”

“This was a very personal thing for Roe to be overturned,” she told CNA, “It is a day that we can celebrate, but it has not been a chance to pause, take our breath, it has been a time of continuing to hit the ground running.”

In her work heading the Abortion Survivors Network, Ohden said that since the Dobbs decision she’s heard from “more women than ever reaching out to us after their chemical abortions have failed.” She said it’s important to reach moms who are vulnerable to chemical abortions which make up the majority of abortions in the country.

Ohden said that since Dobbs the pro-life movement “has continued to be the side that is providing resources and support whether it’s in communities, at the state level, pushing for federal policy that supports mothers and children and families in a greater way.”

Her daughter Olivia said it was “amazing” to be at the rally with her mom and called the issue an emotional one because “people like my mom should be protected no matter who they are, where they are.”

[…]

No Picture
News Briefs

Live Action’s Life Awards Gala celebrates progress made and work still to be done

September 24, 2022 Catholic News Agency 0
Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch was among the honorees of Live Action’s Life Gala in Dana Point, California, on Sept. 17, 2022. / Screenshot of ETWN YouTube video

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 24, 2022 / 10:00 am (CNA).

For the past several years, Live Action has hosted its annual Life Awards Gala to recognize pro-life leaders for their outstanding work in the defense of life. This year, nearly 500 people gathered in Dana Point, California, on Sept. 17 for the third annual event, the first to be held in a post-Roe America.

This year’s awardees included Pastor Lee Jong-Rak; Mary Wagner, a Canadian pro-life activist; and Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch. EWTN Pro-Life Weekly spoke with two of the awardees and the president and founder of Live Action, Lila Rose.

Jong-Rak is the founder of a ministry in South Korea that gives mothers an option other than abortion. Mothers who determine they are unable to care for their baby can anonymously leave their child in a climate-controlled baby box. To date, these baby boxes have helped save more than 1,500 lives.

“When I met the first baby, I was so shocked and I was so moved,” Jong-Rak said. “I prayed to God, and I believe that God gave me a mission to do.”

Meanwhile, Fitch received a standing ovation when given her award. It was her state’s case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, that led the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade.

“Now that we’ve changed the entire narrative in American history, this is a new chapter,” Fitch said. “It truly means so very much to me, but to accept this award not only for myself but for my entire team.”

Rose also shared in the excitement of a post-Roe America: “There’s a lot of joy. There’s so much to celebrate. We have so many heroes in the room tonight,” she said.

“But there’s also the message that our work is just getting started in many ways. We have so much left to do in our movement,” she added.

“So, while we take a pause to celebrate, we’re also making the battle plan for the work ahead to change hearts and minds, to shift public opinion, and to establish legal protection for preborn children in every state of the country,” she said.

Rose also took a moment to comment on her recent interview on the Dr. Phil show and said he, along with many members of the audience, seemed “completely blindsided by pro-life facts — facts about human development, the science of when life begins, by facts on the harm of abortion.”

“People need to hear these facts,” she emphasized. “They’ve been given misinformation, or there’s ignorance about abortion, about its harm, and so we should be prepared to share the facts.”

Rose concluded: “It’s really winsome — when people hear that it gives them an opportunity to see the humanity of the baby, to learn about the evil of abortion, and to have a vision for something better.”

[…]

No Picture
News Briefs

Live Action’s pro-life 2363 campaign focuses on abortion’s daily death toll

November 4, 2021 Catholic News Agency 0
A screenshot from Live Action’s new 2363 video, which details the disturbing reality of surgical abortions. / Live Action YouTube video

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 4, 2021 / 15:52 pm (CNA).

A new pro-life campaign is highlighting the number of unborn babies destroyed in abortion each day in the United States: 2,363. That number takes on a personal meaning for Lila Rose, who is leading the initiative while more than eight months pregnant.

“I think becoming a mom has definitely made me even more passionate about fighting for the lives of children and working to protect them,” the head of Live Action, a national pro-life organization, told CNA. “It makes it that much more personal to experience pregnancy and a little life growing within, and to realize that there is a daily death toll of children like mine of 2,363 a day.”

Live Action’s campaign, 2363, will educate millions about abortion through ads and marketing in four major cities, Rose said: New York City, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Jackson, Mississippi.

Already, she said, the 2363 campaign has inspired pro-life legislation. On Tuesday, Ohio State Rep. Jena Powell introduced the 2363 Act, or House Bill 480. The bill would ban abortions statewide, except in cases where the woman’s life is at risk. Modeled after Texas’ abortion ban, which the Supreme Court heard oral arguments about on Nov. 1, the proposed legislation would allow private citizens to sue anyone who performs or assists with an abortion.

Rose pointed to the 2363 campaign video, which provides details on how abortions are performed, as an instrument in changing hearts and minds. The video features ​​obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. Anthony Levatino, who partnered with Live Action to describe abortion procedures. Now a pro-life advocate, Levatino previously performed an estimated 1,200 abortions.

“The abortionist uses this clamp to grasp an arm or a leg,” Levatino says during the video, describing a second-trimester surgical abortion, or dilation & evacuation (D&E) to viewers. “Once he has a firm grip, the abortionist pulls hard in order to tear the limb from the baby’s body.”

He identifies the most difficult part as “extracting the baby’s head” which is “grasped and crushed.” At the end, “the abortionist then collects the baby parts and reassembles them to make sure that there are two arms, two legs, and all the pieces.”

After watching this video, the number of people who listed their position as “abortion should never be legal” increased by 11%, from 33% to 44%, Live Action found. Sixty-two percent of viewers said they viewed abortion more negatively after watching.

“These are the public opinion shifts we’re looking for across the country where people become 100% anti-abortion in support of complete legal protection for the pre-born,” Rose stressed.

Showing abortion for what it is saves lives, she added.

Lila Rose, founder of Live Action. Courtesy of Live Action
<p>Lila Rose, founder of Live Action. Courtesy of Live Action</p>

“I think most people want to do what’s right,” Rose said, “and when they find out what a violent act abortion is against the innocent child and how unjust that is and how damaging that is, then many of them change their position on abortion and go from apathetic to passionate, or go from pro-choice to pro-life.”

She called 2,363 “a number that every American needs to know.”

“That’s the daily average of the leading death toll in the United States, higher than heart disease, cancer, or COVID-19,” Rose stressed. 

In addition to educating the public, the campaign website, 2363.org, connects women in need with resources and equips pro-life citizens to engage their communities, Rose said of the campaign’s “multi-faceted approach.”

As a pro-life advocate and as a mom, Rose envisions a future “where my kids can grow up in a country that respects children and human life and sees pregnancy as a gift, and supports mothers and fathers instead of rejecting new lives and throwing them away.”


[…]