By Judie Brown
When March for Life Action (MFLA), a sister organization of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund, released its statement in preparation for today’s March, it was a bit concerning.
The statement reflects a popular theme. That is that the polling of America should set our pro-life goals, and to my mind this is not a way for us to proceed. The MFLA YouTube page reads:
8 in 10 Americans believe that abortion should have real, legal limits. Even 6 out of 10 pro-choice Americans agree that abortion should happen only during the first three months of pregnancy, at most.
Furthermore, almost 2/3rds of Americans oppose tax dollars paying for abortion.
Yet most pro-choice politicians support the extreme position that abortion should be legal right up until birth. And, they want Americans to pay for abortion with our tax dollars.
Regardless of what 8 in 10 Americans believe, the fact is that every abortion kills a human being. So why regulate the killing instead of focusing on the humanity of each and every baby?
It occurs to me that some pro-life people may have the misguided notion that decriminalized abortion should be limited rather than outlawed. This would be a very sad road for pro-lifers to follow, but it is one that is appearing elsewhere, not just with MFLA in Washington, D.C.
Just a few days ago, on January 16, Kansas politicians introduced a concurrent resolution that proposes amending the state constitution. In part, it reads: “The Value Them Both Amendment would reserve to the people of Kansas, through their elected state legislators, the right to pass laws to regulate abortion because there is no Kansas constitutional right to abortion or to require the government funding of abortion.”
Again, the theme is abortion regulation rather than total protection for all the babies. Oh yes, such proposals and statements placate elected officials who refuse to actively work to end aborting the innocent without exception, but is that a goal worthy of those who claim to be fighting for the babies?
No, of course not. That is why we said, when asked about the Kansas proposal: “Just as regulating the gas chambers in Nazi Germany would have been unthinkable, so too this proposal is unthinkable. This is not a pro-life initiative but is rather a bogus proposal based on political consensus.”
The same can be said of the MFLA statement and accompanying video.
So the challenge is this: How do we join together to turn this misguided sort of political incrementalism around so that we are all fighting for total protection? While pragmatism is fine for some questions, like building a border wall, it is deadly when we are working for the babies and defending pro-life principle. In fact, such tactics remind us of the words of Aristotle: “A small error in the beginning leads to a multitude of errors in the end.”
We beseech our pro-life allies to seriously reflect on the way forward. Every one of us would benefit by taking a moment to remember that every abortion is a reminder of Christ’s crucifixion.
As we recall this truth, we recall the fifth Sorrowful Mystery of the rosary:
Mary stood mournfully at the foot of the cross, witnessing the final moments of her beloved son’s life. We see her grief and we turn to her, praying these words from Hail Holy Queen: “To you do we cry poor banished children of Eve. To you do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.” Mary, mother of God, hear us, help us in our quest to end the killing of the innocent. Amen.
We need the Lord’s grace and guidance in this battle as we all strive for the goal of legal and cultural protection for every preborn child.