Tag Archives: Roe v. Wade

Starting with the Children

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Child with balloonsBy Maria V. Gallagher, Legislative Director

I recently wrote an article about how there is so much “wrong” with the so-called “right” to abortion. A Twitter follower responded, “You are right but you have to start with the children.” I quite agree.

When I was in seventh grade, my astute teacher took our class down to the state Capitol to demonstrate against Roe v. Wade, the tragic U.S. Supreme Court decision which led to the killing of a million (sometimes more) preborn babies each year.

As I participated in my first pro-life event, I wondered, “Where are all the other people who should be protesting against this?”

I was not aware of the fact that, on the same bitterly cold day in January, masses of people descended on the nation’s Capitol for the annual March for Life. Nevertheless,  standing on the state Capitol grounds with my sign, I felt a powerful concern for unborn children everywhere, for our country, and for the movement I had just joined.

At the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, the National Right to Life affiliate where I work, we reach out to young people everyday through Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. We give presentations to classes and hand out soft-touch fetal models to masses at the Creation Music Festival. We reach out to junior high and high school students with our annual essay and oratory contests. And we’ve reached more than 600,000 teens through our innovative partnership with the website TeenBreaks.com.

We know that, for the children and mothers of tomorrow to be saved from the tragedy of abortion, we need to reach out to young people today. The iGeneration is a critical link in the chain of hope crafted by the pro-life movement. The building blocks for a renewed culture of life rest in their hands.

There is So Much Wrong with This “Right”

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Baby sleepingBy Maria V. Gallagher, Legislative Director

We as Americans take our rights very seriously. The right to free speech. The right to freedom of religion. The right to peaceable assembly.

But there is so much wrong with the so-called “right” to an abortion.

To begin with, each abortion ends an innocent, unrepeatable human life. It is an act of killing a defenseless human being. There is nothing right, and everything wrong, with that.

In addition, the image of a woman freely and independently exercising a “right” to abortion is deeply flawed. Research shows that, much of the time, women are pressured into abortion by a boyfriend, husband, parent, or even a grandparent. In other words, they are making a choice they don’t want. A study also indicated that the vast majority of women who experience difficulties after abortion would have chosen life if just one person had supported it–just one!

The so-called “right” to abortion also completely ignores the rights of fathers. Under Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision which legalized abortion, a father’s right to defend the life of his child is stolen away. How many men are suffering in silence today, grieving the loss of a child they very much wanted?

Our society has suffered greatly from the loss of the more than 60 million preborn children who have died under Roe. We’ve lost doctors and diplomats, social studies teachers and scientists, and all manner of other professionals from legalized abortion.

A so-called “right” to abortion appears nowhere in the U.S. Constitution. It was invented by a group of men on the U.S. Supreme Court who did not have access to the 4D Ultrasound we have today–technology which clearly shows the development of the preborn child.

For the sake of our nation and our posterity, the so-called “right” to an abortion cannot stand. It will fall under the weight of its own hypocrisy.

Listen to Survivors

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teenagersBy Maria V. Gallagher, Legislative Director

A positive development in our society is a subtle change in language. Rather than speaking about victims, increasingly we talk of survivors.

“Survivors” is a more empowering word, indicating that someone has overcome a gross violation in the past.

However, the mainstream media tend to ignore the survivors of abortion.

These are the individuals born after the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade. They know that they could have been legally aborted, but their mothers chose life.

However, they have not survived Roe unscathed. They know that there are brothers, sisters, cousins, and potential friends missing because of legalized abortion. Some of them even know the staggering number–more than 60 million preborn babies killed under Roe.

A number of these hearty souls will converge on Washington, D.C. in January for the annual March for Life. It is important that we listen to these survivors’ stories. They can enlighten us and convict us to do even more to protect precious children and their mothers from the harm of abortion.

If you are one of the survivors, I salute you! Know that your very presence is a gift to all of us.

The Second Victim in Every Abortion

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Woman

By Maria Gallagher, Legislative Director

Whenever I contemplate the effect of abortion on women, I think of a friend I will refer to as “Jessica.”

A boyfriend pressured Jessica into an abortion when she was a young teenager. She felt she had no say in the matter, and she believed she was powerless.

Years later, she firmly believes that if a single person had supported a decision for life on the day of abortion, her baby would not have died. A noteworthy national poll bears that out. The survey of post-abortive women indicated that the vast majority of respondents would have decided against abortion if just one person had offered support. Just one!

Jessica has now dedicated her life to being that “one person.” I have lost count of the number of women and children she has helped through her outreach.

Mothers are the second victims in any abortion. They are left to grieve their children–often alone and in silence. I thank all the dedicated pro-lifers who reach out to these women, offering them the chance at hope and healing following their abortions.

Let us never forget the terrible wounds inflicted on women by abortion trauma. Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court case legalizing abortion, was an assault on both women  and children which cannot stand.

Challenging Preconceptions About Roe

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Supreme CourtBy Maria Gallagher, Legislative Director

I was disheartened recently while watching Fox News coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court.

A news anchor cited a misleading poll purporting that more than 60 percent of Americans support Roe v. Wade, the tragic Supreme Court decision which legalized abortion on demand. The anchor was interviewing an editor with the Washington Examiner newspaper. When the editor tried to explain the false impression left by the poll, the anchor quickly shouted him down.

The fact is that most Americans do not know that Roe meant abortions for any reason during all nine months of pregnancy. They also do not realize that Roe led to the outrageous practice of partial-birth abortion, where a baby is partly delivered, then killed. They also do not recognize the fact that Roe gave rise to the massive tragedy in West Philadelphia, where abortionist Kermit Gosnell was ultimately found guilty of the murders of three full-term babies and the death of a female patient, Karnamaya Mongar.

A Fox News Sunday interview left me similarly disappointed. The head of the abortion lobbying group NARAL was interviewed, without counterpoint, about the Supreme Court. The NARAL spokeswoman claimed that most people are “pro-choice” because they believe in compassionate, healthy choice.

But abortion is not compassionate for the child who is killed. And how can it be a mark of compassion when you leave a woman to grieve a baby who has been unnecessarily lost to abortion?

“Choice” is unhealthy when it results in the death of a baby in the womb. It is also quite unhealthy for those mothers who turn to alcohol and drugs to numb their pain.

The compassionate, healthy choice in the abortion equation is the choice for life. If only mainstream news anchors would recognize that fundamental truth, we would be well on our way to building a culture of life. Until that day comes, we must work through polite persuasion to convince the news media of the rightness of the pro-life cause.

 

Signs of Progress, 45 Years After Roe v. Wade

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Baby Superman with motherBy Maria Gallagher, Legislative Director

gallagher@paprolife.org

As we mark the 45th anniversary of the tragic U.S. Supreme Court ruling Roe v. Wade, I would like to offer 45 reasons for hope for the cause of protecting innocent human life:

  1. Statistics show the number of abortions in the U.S. are on the decline.
  2. Polls show the Millennial Generation is more pro-life than young people of generations past.
  3. President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order barring taxpayer funding of organizations that perform and promote abortions overseas.
  4. The White House supports no federal funding for abortion giant Planned Parenthood.
  5. Vice-President Mike Pence has been outspoken in his defense of innocent human life.
  6. Strict constructionist Neil Gorsuch now sits on the U.S. Supreme Court.
  7. The President has vowed to appoint Supreme Court Justices who will not legislate from the bench, hastening the day; when Roe v. Wade will be overturned.
  8. The annual March for Life continues to attract huge crowds, largely made up of young people.
  9. Pregnancy resource centers are reaching out to pregnant women everyday with compassion, love, and support.
  10. The number of pregnancy resource centers in the U.S. far outnumber abortion facilities.
  11. Abortion centers are closing all across the country.
  12. Congress boasts a pro-life majority, as do many state legislatures throughout the nation.
  13. 4D ultrasound technology is showing babies smiling in their mothers’ wombs.
  14. Women who regret their abortions and who want to help other women avoid similar heartache have found their voice in organizations such as the Silent No More Awareness Campaign.
  15. Healing retreats such as those of Rachel’s Vineyard are bringing hope to women scarred by abortion.
  16. A number of Planned Parenthood workers have left their jobs in the abortion industry and have become powerful spokespeople for the pro-life cause.
  17. Abortion survivors such as Melissa Ohden are speaking out about being targeted for abortion when they were preborn babies.
  18. A number of men are taking responsibility for pressuring their wives and girlfriends into having abortions.
  19. Scientific research supports the pro-life contention that abortion hurts women physically, mentally, and emotionally.
  20. The blogosphere is filled with pro-lifers willing to share their knowledge.
  21. Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter allow the pro-life movement to get accurate information out into cyberspace.
  22. Nurses who work with premature infants are sharing their experiences about the fragility of human life.
  23. A number of abortionists have stopped doing abortions and now promote life instead.
  24. College students are organizing and motivating their classmates to support pregnant women on campus.
  25. Teens for Life are finding innovative ways to promote life in their communities.
  26. Local chapters of National Right to Life are educating people about the life issue at area fairs and festivals.
  27. State affiliates of National Right to Life are passing pro-life laws and changing hearts and minds about abortion.
  28. Campaigns to legalize doctor-prescribed suicide have failed much more often than they have succeeded.
  29. Popular culture is recognizing the humanity of the preborn child by sharing Ultrasound  videos and praising “baby bumps.”
  30. People with Down syndrome are showing why it is inhumane to abort a child diagnosed with a disability in the womb.
  31. New attention is being focused on the brutal practice of dismemberment abortion, where a child is torn limb by limb from a mother’s womb.
  32. An increasing number of people are questioning the practice of sex selection abortions, in which babies are aborted just because of their sex.
  33. The gruesome practice of  partial-birth abortion, in which a baby is partly delivered, then killed, has been outlawed.
  34. A number of members of Congress are determined to shine a spotlight on allegations of baby body part harvesting in the abortion industry.
  35. Public opinion polls continue to show most people oppose most abortions.
  36. Polls also indicate that the vast majority of Americans oppose taxpayer funding of abortion.
  37. Polls demonstrate that most Americans oppose late-term abortions.
  38. A number of states have passed laws ensuring that no taxpayer funding of abortion can occur in the health insurance exchanges created by Obamacare.
  39. Many Congressmen want to make the Hyde Amendment, which bars taxpayer funding of abortion except in rare cases, permanent.
  40. A distinguished counselor to the President, Kellyanne Conway, spoke at the March for Life.
  41. Women across the country are courageously stating that Planned Parenthood does not speak for them.
  42. People with disabilities are leading the fight against doctor-prescribed suicide and euthanasia.
  43. Some people who joined the pro-life movement way back in 1973 continue to serve the cause with dignity and honor.
  44. A number of celebrities, such as actress Patricia Heaton, are bucking the Hollywood trend and boldly proclaiming their pro-life views.
  45. The end of Roe v. Wade is in sight, given anticipated changes in the makeup of the Supreme Court.

 

15 Years of Pro-Life Progress

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Baby Superman with mother

By Maria Gallagher, Legislative Director gallagher@paprolife.org

As I approach my 15th anniversary with the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, the Keystone State affiliate of National Right to Life, it’s a good time to look back at the pro-life progress that has occurred in both the Commonwealth and our nation during the last decade and a half.

Abortion totals are at their lowest level in Pennsylvania since the state first began keeping statistics after the legalization of abortion. The fact that more than 32,000  preborn Pennsylvania children die each year from abortion is still a massive tragedy, but we are making progress in persuading more women in challenging circumstances to choose life for their children.

Part of that effort is our innovative Internet outreach program. We have reached more than a half a million teenagers with life-saving and life-changing information. Add to that the hundreds of thousands of people we reach each year through radio broadcasts, television interviews, website views, and social media posts.

One of our statewide oratory contest winners won the National Right to Life Oratory contest. He is now spreading the pro-life message far and wide as a diocesan priest.

At least a half dozen abortion facilities have closed their doors in Pennsylvania because they could not or would not meet basic health and safety standards. The renewed scrutiny of abortion facilities came after the passage of our common sense abortion center regulation law, which requires unannounced inspections of abortion centers.

Fifteen years ago, I thought that the tragic U.S. Supreme Court ruling Roe v. Wade would have been overturned by now. But the enthusiasm for Roe has significantly waned when you stop to consider that national polls show most Americans oppose most abortions. The misguided court ruling, which led to the heinous practice of partial-birth abortion, will ultimately fall under its own weight.

I hope that I am around to see that milestone.

We Protect Butterflies–Why Not Babies?

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ButterflyBy Maria Gallagher, Legislative Director

I celebrated the first day of summer this year with a trip to a nearby butterfly garden. Entering that sacred space was a breathtakingly beautiful experience. I stood in awe as these elegant creatures fluttered above my head, then gracefully descended to a leaf, a flower, or a slice of pineapple. The intricacy of their design delighted my eyes and captivated my heart. As I was preparing to leave this lovely sanctuary, I noticed a sign which indicated that taking a butterfly out of this protective space was not permitted. A garden guide carefully checked our bags and clothes to make sure that we had no butterflies tagging along. At that moment, it struck me what care, concern, and compassion are shown to these delicate insects. How can it be that people universally recognize the beauty of butterflies–but not the human child cocooned in a mother’s womb? Why do so many invest so much time and energy in protecting butterflies, while many babies are unprotected, courtesy of the tragic U.S. Supreme Court ruling known as Roe v. Wade? While gazing at a butterfly can be an awesome experience, the butterfly’s beauty pales in comparison to that of a baby. I hope to live to see the day when all babies are permitted a chance to live outside their mothers’ wombs–and to see the mysterious glamour of butterflies with their own eyes.

 

 

 

“Roe” Wanted Roe v. Wade Reversed. THAT is Her Legacy.

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By Maria Gallagher, Legislative Director

gallagher@paprolife.org

180px-Norma_McCorvey

     You can hear a smile in a voice.

It is one of those interesting facts of communication that I learned in a radio journalism class which proved to be helpful far beyond the confines of the classroom.

As a reporter, I heard a range of emotions in the interviews that would be recorded for broadcast–sadness, anger, pride.

Over the past few days, I have been reminded of a voice that answered the phone when I was working on a story about abortion.

The voice belonged to the “Roe” of the tragic U.S. Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade, which brought about the legalization of abortion nationwide in 1973. Her real name was Norma McCorvey, and by that time, she had renounced the court decision that bore her pseudonym. She was striving to right a horrible wrong, to save the lives of preborn children, and to spare their mothers unspeakable pain and heartache.

Ironically, she was not the person I was calling to interview, so our conversation was quite brief.

But I heard much in her voice: Kindness. Compassion. Caring.

Norma McCorvey was once part of the abortion industry. But she died a pro-life champion.

It is common for those involved in court cases to wish the court had ruled differently. It is incredible for a winner of a case to wish she had lost.

“Roe” wanted Roe v. Wade to be overturned. This would be like saying the winning team of the last Super Bowl wished the second half never would have happened and that they had lost the biggest football game of the year.

But it was true. I could not only hear it in her voice–it was also apparent in the actions that she took to try to reverse a Supreme Court ruling that has led to the deaths of more than 59 million preborn children and the haunting grief of millions of mothers and fathers, grandparents and siblings.

Some Millennials may not know that the woman behind Roe, Norma McCorvey, reversed course and adopted a pro-life point of view. They may be stunned to learn that the woman who was the subject of the nation’s best-known abortion case never had an abortion herself–that the pregnancy that led to her being the subject of a court case ended in birth and subsequent adoption.

But as spectacular as Norma’s story may be, in a sense, it is not entirely unique.

Dr. Bernard Nathanson, the founder of the pro-abortion lobbying group known as NARAL, left the abortion industry behind and became an ardent supporter of the right to life. Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood center director, left the business as well and now assists those who want to make a similar, life-affirming exit. Carol Everett, a former abortion center owner, became a passionate defender of life.

Add to that all those women who are a part of the Silent No More Awareness campaign–women who had abortions, but who now regret them. They are breaking the code of silence surrounding abortion so that other women can avoid such horrific tragedy.

These women cannot be silenced. And neither can Norma. Her voice lives on in video and in the minds of those touched by her call for the nation to embrace mothers and their children–and to abandon Roe v. Wade.

For if Roe no longer believed in Roe v. Wade, why should the Supreme Court? If the Court cannot hear the silent cry of the preborn child, perhaps quite soon it will listen to the words of women such as Norma. They are women who were once deceived by the lies of the abortion industry, but who found their voice when they rediscovered the hope that lies in fighting for life.

The nation owes it to Norma, and to all those other women, to end the epic human catastrophe caused by Roe v. Wade and to discard the unjust court decision once and for all.

The “Dred Scott argument” for Abortion

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mother_and_child     Anyone who has been part of the pro-life movement for any length of time knows that there are certain arguments that the abortion industry and its allies make reflexively.  Perhaps they believe that if they continue repeating these poor arguments, their case will magically improve.

One such argument is the idea that Roe v. Wade is “settled law” and pesky pro-lifers should stop trying to rehash an issue that the Supreme Court has already ruled on.  I like to call this the “Dred Scott argument”, which is why I thought it would be an interesting one to explore during Black history month.

In Dred Scott v. Sanford, Scott was an enslaved Black man who sued for his freedom.  Sadly, in what many constitutional scholars now consider one of the worst Supreme Court decisions ever, the Justices ruled that neither Scott, nor anyone else of African heritage, could claim US citizenship, thus allowing the tragic practice of slavery to continue.

What does this have to do with Roe v. Wade and abortion in America?  As in the Dred Scott case, a terrible mistake was made in the Roe v. Wade decision.  In Dred Scott, the Justices determined one person was not as important as others simply because of his race…in Roe v. Wade, five Supreme Court Justices found a “right to privacy” in the U.S. Constitution that had never been there before, and used that newfound “right” to justify the killing of almost 60 million people and counting.

Many people did not agree with the Dred Scott decision. Should they have all just given up and gone home to allow the injustice of slavery to continue?  Of course not.  They doubled down on their efforts to have everyone, no matter what race or ethnicity, recognized as equal…and eventually succeeded in getting the 13th amendment passed and slavery abolished.  The same principle applies to pro-life advocates.  Just because the Constitution was misinterpreted doesn’t mean we pack our bags and go home…it means we continue to fight to end the injustice of abortion so that one day Roe v. Wade will fall into the ash heaps of history—where it truly belongs.