by Pam Sherstad, Director of Public Information/Education, Right to Life of Michigan
Thursday, January 22nd is the 42nd
memorial of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, the two U.S. Supreme
Court decisions
which together legalized abortion-on-demand throughout all nine
months of
pregnancy in the United States. Those two decisions come at the
cost of more
than 55 million innocent lives ended by abortion.
After 42 years people concerned about the
most vulnerable
members of the human family not only remain, but are growing in a
passion to
protect defenseless babies preparing to be born. Since 1973 each
January 22 is
a time for mourning, but also joy and celebration. While many
lives have ended
in the tragedy of abortion, others have been saved. The day when
abortion is
unthinkable is closer now than it has been for decades.
Abortion rates are down. Abortions are at the lowest number in the United States since 1975. Fewer abortions are good because abortion also hurts women. For some the pain is physical after an abortion, for others the agony is psychological, social or spiritual.
Prolife legal protections continue to
advance, nationally
and especially on the state level. According to the
abortion-advocate
Guttmacher Institute, there were 13 states in 2000 considered
“hostile” to
abortion. That number has expanded to 27 in 2014 and includes
Michigan.
I am glad to live in Michigan which is
hostile to
abortion; rejecting abortion results in a culture which protects
and supports
life. Prolife people remain giving support to mothers and families
facing an
untimely pregnancy, prolife people remain working to pass
life-saving laws in
Michigan, and prolife people remain to make abortion unthinkable.
After 42
years, prolife people and love remain as a witness that all life
deserves
protection.
In January hundreds of thousands of prolife people will gathered from across the country to march in Washington, D.C., while others will gather in their own communities for local marches, prayer vigils or special events. Over the years the crowd has grown larger. Like the prolife movement as a whole, people from all walks of life, men and women, young and old, are coming together to promote one common goal: The protection of human life.
