Deear CE,
March for Life is a sign that the nation is poised for change.
I was born on the eastside of Detroit, Michigan at a time when abortion was illegal, life was protected, kids felt safe and neighborhood families cared for each other. Because of my own security, the decision by the US Supreme Court to legalize abortion January 22, 1973 did not have much of an impact on me at the age of five. Growing up in the home of an Irish Catholic father, a graduate in the field of Social Work from Chicago's Loyola University, and a pious, traditional Lebanese mother, who taught underprivileged children in Detroit's public school system for years, the thought of legalizing the pre-planned murder of innocent children was an idea that I would come to abhor. For thirty-five years the tables have been turned against the safety and love of our American children.
Fortunately, the tide is changing, as is evidenced in responses to surveys about the presidential race, that voters are no longer on the fence. The clear cut lines drawn between the two top Democratic and Republican candidates on the issue of abortion is proof that the abortion issue will affect the way voters vote. The recent show of strength by a hundred thousand pro-life supporters from around the country at the March for Life in Washington, D.C. was proof voters are strongly united against abortion and in favor of change. As one politician reminded us, for young people under the age of 35, the lives of one-third of their generation have been snuffed out.
Is this a legitimate issue of pubic interest on a state or national level?
Let's compare abortion to the other top concerns by those surveyed on the issue of the presidential election. The violence, fear and intimidation of terrorism of our nation by foreign nationals pales compared to the attack launched daily on innocent unborn lives in the womb of the nations' mothers. Is not America as concerned about its future generations of workers, leaders, and businessmen and women as it is about economic instability and unemployment, global warming and environmental pollution, job growth and recession? There is no chance for growth and prosperity, if moral relativism runs awry and a self-focused nation of over-achievers stands idly by while we kill off the next generation of countrymen and women.
The country came together for change as Jew, Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox and Evangelical denominations joined congressmen and other politicians to rally the crowds of older teens and college age voters chanting "P-R-O-L-I-F-E, oh, ah, oh, ah!!" Fathers pushing baby strollers, young seminarians and priests in black cassocks walked in step with Nurses for Life and sisters in habits to send the same message: The horror of abortion must end and indeed as Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama's 100 percent homicide track records were advertised in posters, there shown more than just a ray of hope that the next election may shape the politics of abortion in favor of change. Indeed, a rainbow appeared in the sky over the capitol just after a sprinkling of rain fell around five o'clock in the afternoon. Some took that as a sign for change. The mention by one Jewish religious leader of Pope Benedict's upcoming April visit in New York, brought a roar from the crowd, pointing to his authority to lead the nation's most staunch supporters of life.
Fortunately in Michigan we have won another small battle with the Senate panel's passage of a ban on partial birth abortion. The media may do well to come to grips with the fact that the country is deeply divided on this issue, much like slavery separated father and son, brother and cousin. The show of strength in numbers and unbroken spirit in Washington this week is proof that the pro-life side won't go away until the battles lead to the final victory, and all abortion procedures and drugs are made illegal.
Cecilia Tombelli
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Thank you, Cecilia, for sharing your wonderful personal perspective on the March for Life. Right you are — we are not going away until the victory is won.
Mary Kochan, Senior Editor, Catholic Exchange
