D.C. March mourns Roe v. Wade

While a “crowd of nearly 250 people” gathered in Boston to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, a crowd of much more than 100,000 met in the nation’s capital to mourn and protest the decision “Boston celebrates Roe v. Wade,” Jan. 23, pg. 1). While Pam Nourse believes “There’s a whole generation of women who have grown up since the Roe v. Wade decision,” in actuality, millions of them never got the chance to do so because of the Roe v. Wade decision. I ask myself whether these champions of abortion rights realize what they are truly celebrating. Abortion is not something to celebrate. It is the devaluation of human dignity and the loss of human life.

So, when I pick up The Daily Free Press the day after returning from Washington, and see that they had joined in on the mass media hush-up of the March for Life, I was more than dismayed. I was moved to tears. Maybe, unrightfully so. Maybe that article on Serena Williams making it to the Australian Open finals is of life and death importance too (“S. Williams reaches Australian Open finals,” Jan. 23, pg. 2). Or maybe aliens gained access to the printing press and accidentally deleted some articles. Who knows?

What I do know is what I saw. Citizens of California, Arizona and Missouri; Catholics, Protestants and atheists; the very old and the very young; heterosexuals and homosexuals all gathered together to protest one of the saddest court decisions of our century.

People like Eileen McNamara may not want to “go back” to outlawed abortion like certain members of the National Socialist German Workers Party did not want Germany to go back to democracy, but it did. And eventually the realization of what abortion has done and continues to do will overwhelm the people of our nation. It hurts mothers, kills children, alienates fathers, impairs society and destroys peace.

Let me conclude with this: Surely, if we cannot protect the right to life of our most vulnerable, the preborn, what human right can we protect?