March for Life

Earlier this week, thousands of people – a majority of them young people – endured frigid temperatures and slippery snow as they marched through the streets of Washington, D.C., to protest legalized abortion in this country, which has claimed the lives of more than 55 million unborn babies since 1973.

Group from the Lincoln
Diocese with Bishop Conley.

Among them were nearly 600 youths from our listening area, including Jacinta Benton, a junior at Pius X High School in Lincoln. Benton said the Jan. 22 March for Life, which marked the 41st anniversary of the legalization of abortion by the Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, was a positive and joyful way to give a voice to the voiceless children who have been aborted.

“We held signs and chanted things like ‘We love babies, yes we do, we love babies, how ‘bout you?’:)” Benton said.

She said in addition to bringing back fun memories and new experiences from D.C., she came home with a deeper respect for life and for Catholics.

“Sometimes you forget there are other Catholics in the world who are as on fire with their faith as you are,” Benton said. “It was very refreshing and hopeful to see how many others agree and hope for the same thing: the end of the genocide called abortion.”

While many of us were unable to go to the March for Life, we can do something similar by participating in the Nebraska Walk for Life Jan. 25 in Lincoln. The 10 a.m. walk will begin on the north side of the State Capitol Building and conclude at the UNL Student Union. There Emily Horne, a legislative associate with Texas Right to Life, will speak about how Texas closed abortion facilities and stood up to pro-abortion forces at the Texas State Capitol last summer.

A pro-life Mass, sponsored by the Bishops’ Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities, will precede the walk at 9 a.m. at St. Mary Church on 14th and K streets in Lincoln. Bishop James Conley of Lincoln will preside at the Mass, with Bishop William Dendinger of Grand Island concelebrating. Father Walter Nolte, chaplain to the Respect Life Apostolate for the Archdiocese of Omaha and pastor of St. Bernard Parish in Omaha, will be the homilist.

Jeff Schinstock, director of youth ministry for the Diocese of Lincoln, said he tells people to go to pro-life marches because “seeking justice brings people to seek Jesus Christ.”

While a march may not affect or change the abortion laws in this country, it does change hearts, he said.

“It serves as a beautiful seed that leads to flourishing spiritual lives,” Schinstock said.

More important, it is a large and loud step towards protecting the vulnerable, he said.

I agree. A large group of people walking through the streets of a city, holding signs about God’s love, mercy and forgiveness makes bystanders think. Hopefully it changes the hearts and minds of pro-abortion advocates or those indifferent to the abortion issue.

I’ve participated in several local and national pro-life marches, and I do it to be a voice for the voiceless, for my all those babies who weren’t given a chance to live because they were aborted. I march for the moms who choose life even when it’s not an easy choice, for the parents who choose adoption over abortion, for those women who want to be mothers but can’t because of infertility, and for the couples who have been hurt mentally, physically and spiritually by abortion. 

I also march for those organizations that help pregnant women contemplating abortion choose life. It’s one thing to protest, but it’s another thing to sit next to a scared, pregnant woman and promise to help her through her pregnancy. I think it’s just as important to support pregnancy care centers, which provide all sorts of assistance to mothers and fathers, including free pregnancy tests, medical services, educational programs, baby items and ultrasound screenings.

So, let’s not give up. Continue the good fight to end abortion. Pray, speak out and support life from conception to natural death. 

Blogged by Lisa Maxson, senior writer/reporter