Scottish Catholic Observer

We are writing this article from Washington DC, the day after the March for Life, in the midst of a hive of pro-life activity amid sub zero temperatures. Thousands of abortion opponents confronted wind chills to rally and march on Capitol Hill to protest legalised abortion. The march began on the National Mall with a rally. Then protesters marched along Constitution Avenue to Capitol Hill and the Supreme Court.

Pope Francis sent his support for the anti-abortion march.

“I join the March for Life in Washington with my prayers,” the Pope tweeted ahead of the event. “May God help us respect all life, especially the most vulnerable.”

US President Barack Obama issued his own statement on the March for Life, however, stating a resolve to ‘protect a woman’s’ freedom to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies. Those who took part in the march made their point that, in the land of the ‘free,’ pro-life is also choice to be respected, highlighting adoption as an option.

The March for Life takes place each year on January 22 to mark the anniversary of the Roe v Wade case. Since this law passed in 1973, more than 57 million children have been aborted in the US. This figure is almost inconceivable, because even one child losing their life through abortion is a tragedy enough in itself. One of the incredible things about the situation here in the US is that the two women whose stories were used to legalise abortion are now actively pro-life. Roe v Wade and Doe v Bolton were the two cases which opened the door to abortion in the US and now Sandra Cano (Mary Doe) and Norma McCorvey (Jane Roe) both admit that their stories and situations were used and manipulated by those pushing the legislation through the courts.

Norma of Roe v Wade said in an interview last year: “I was persuaded by feminist attorneys to lie; to say that I was raped, and needed an abortion… it was all a lie… since then, over 50 million babies have been murdered. I will take this burden to my grave.”

On her website Norma states: “I’m 100 per cent sold out to Jesus and 100 per cent pro-life. No exceptions. No compromise.”

In 2003, Sandra Cano launched legal proceedings to try to overturn the case that bears her name. “I was nothing but a symbol in Doe v Bolton with my experience and circumstances discounted and misrepresented.”

Sadly her attempt failed, but she continues to work for the pro-life cause in the firm belief she was ‘fraudulently used by the court system to bring abortion to America.’

Both these women now join their pro-life efforts with the hundreds of thousands of people who gather in Washington DC, on a date which must be extremely difficult for them personally, in the knowledge that their names were used to bring about the law which they now fight against with great remorse.

While the March for Life rightly had a very sombre tone, the atmosphere at the event and from the people surrounding the march was energetic and incredible. People travelled from all over the US and beyond, such as ourselves representing the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) Scotland, to be here and bear witness to the pro-life message. This event has brought so many people together who are passionate about the pro-life cause and it is truly amazing to see the dedication and zeal that drives people in this mission, especially those from US, who wholeheartedly believe that abortion will end in their lifetime and they are giving their lives to make sure it happens.

We attended three large-scale youth events in the lead up to the March for Life and they were all extremely inspiring. We listened to talks by a great number of well known pro-life leaders such as Fr Frank Pavone, Abby Johnson, Dr Alveda King, Lila Rose, Georgette Forney and her team of Silent No More speakers, Bryan Kemper and many more. We even managed to meet some of them which was a great privilege.

The theme of this year’s March For Life was Adoption: A Noble Decision. After the march itself we attended The Rose Dinner, a prestigious event that marks the end of all the events that have taken place leading up to and including the march. This year’s keynote speaker was Ryan Scott Bomberger, the co-founder and creative director of The Radiance Foundation. Ryan has a unique perspective on this year’s theme, his biological mother was raped yet courageously chose to continue the pregnancy, saving his life. Adopted at six-weeks-old, he grew up in a loving Christian family with 12 siblings, 10 of whom were adopted. His life defies the myth of the ‘unwanted’ child as he was adopted, loved and has flourished.

We were privileged to be able to meet Ryan after his speech and hear his story first hand. His life and life’s work show the alternatives to abortion and dispel the myth that an unintended pregnancy equals ‘unwanted’ or ‘unloved.’ Adoption is an act of love, hope and justice, which sadly is rarely discussed or promoted as a powerful, positive alternative to abortion. Adoption proves that women, when faced with a crisis pregnancy, can make a life saving and loving choice for their unborn child.

Thousands of young people gathered at these and other events during the week surrounding the March for Life—including a trip to United Nations—to be reinvigorated in the pro-life work that they carry out in their day-to-day lives. While participating in these events, you really do feel that you are part of a revolution, knowing that the truth is on our side. We are absorbing all of the pro-life enthusiasm here and aim to bring it back to Scotland, where we hope that the pro-life revolution will continue to grow. We will be running our very first pro-life roadshow during the second week of August in Scotland and we have been spreading the news about this over here, so we may even have some of the pro-life warriors from the US come over to help us, which would be amazing.

We hope that some of the fire that has convicted these people’s hearts will spread to Scotland so that we can fight against abortion and the culture of death with the same passion and belief that we can be the generation who will abolish abortion.

n The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) in Scotland has a new website. Visitors to the new website will find a wealth of information on the society and its outreach, as well as a host of links and articles highlighting ways to become involved with and support the SPUC. The new information comes complete with a snappy and fresh new design.

The website can be visited at: http://spucscotland.org