Last Saturday, on January 23, the Philadelphia Pro-Life Union organized a March for Life through downtown in response to the Washington D.C. March’s cancellation.
That morning, I, along with hundreds of others, attended mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, where a procession of ten priests, three bishops, and one archbishop took place in honor of the occasion. From there, we joined with many others to march ten city blocks to the Philadelphia Women’s Center – a clinic that solely provides abortion services.
Outside of the clinic, senior citizens stood shoulder to shoulder with college students, moms with strollers stood next to the Knights of Columbus, priests stood with pastors, and Catholic sisters stood with young children. It was beyond inspirational to witness individuals from truly all walks of life turn up that morning to march in below freezing temperatures to fight for the humanity of the preborn.
Standing outside of that clinic, speakers shared the devastatingly high statistics of abortions conducted in that clinic as well as the extremely high hospitalization rates for mothers undergoing an abortion procedure in that facility. As we continued on our march, we prayed and joined hands, ignoring the jabs and snarky comments from the clinic escorts.
The march ended at the Liberty Bell, where we heard from speakers with Live Action, the Pro-Life Union Board, as well as a pro-life Ob/Gyn., a reverend, and the very powerful speaker and author, Kathy Barnette. Ms. Barnette is an African American veteran who shared her story of being the product of a rape. She fought through tears as she shared that she was conceived when her mother was 11 through a violent rape – but choked out that her “life has value,” and that had her mother chosen an abortion, she, as well as her kids, would not be on that stage today.
She shared that the violence of abortion does not undo the violence of rape, and that through her mother’s decision to choose life, Kathy is now able to support her mother as her mother continues to heal from her trauma. Ms. Barnette directed the crowd to her two young children as she listed off her life accomplishments, including being a proud wife and mother, author, adjunct professor, serving ten years in the Army Reserves and five years on the Board of a crisis pregnancy clinic, among others. Kathy Barnette confessed that, while she does not enjoy publicizing this story, she could not stay silent if her testimony could save even just one life.
As the rally came to a close, there was a renewed sense of purpose among those gathered – that what we are doing really does matter. That waking up early and marching in frigid temperatures has value and bears fruit. One truth that was revealed to me throughout my interactions with the marchers was that the only way to truly win this war on abortion – and this is not a cliche´- is through love.
If we do not love the clinic escorts, if we do not genuinely care for those who are abortion minded, we are no better than the opposition. This is what I learned from the determined silence of pro-lifers who were mocked and ridiculed by protestors and escorts. A clever, biting retort would have stooped to their level and our mission would have certainly been diminished.
This isn’t about me or my pride or my ability to “win” an argument – it’s about entering into love with those around us. And through this love, we can rest assured that the truth will inevitably arise.
