March for Life, 2023

I was able to make the March for Life again this year.  There was some doubt.  First at the beginning no one was sure if there would be a march, so the usual organizer on Staten Island didn’t organize transportation this year because Roe had been overturned with the Dobbs decision.  Then a few weeks before the March date, I got an email from an old organizer who used to arrange it.  She said she would be getting a bus.  My only problem: I had a business trip that same week and I wasn’t sure if I would be home by Thursday night.  March for Life is always the third Friday in January—January 20^th this year—coinciding with the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision.  Well, by God’s grace the business event ended a day early and I was home by Thursday night.  Tired as I was, I got up at four in the wee hours of the morning and met the bus before departure time.

This year was different.  Instead of Mass on Staten Island before departure, we had Mass in D.C. upon arrival, a Mass for the whole contingent from the NYC Archdiocese.  Definitely it was way more than our single bus.  It was a lovely Mass at a beautiful church (St. Patrick’s) celebrated by a wonderful auxiliary bishop who had attended the first March for Life fifty years ago.  Unfortunately I did not catch his name.  I do remember he started his homily by pointing to his face and saying, “Look at this face.  Do you think this face is old enough to have been here fifty years ago?”  And then he went on to describe how he was involved with the very first March.  Here’s a picture of St. Patrick’sChurch in Washington, DC from the back looking toward the altar.

 

The Church was full.  Here’s a picture of the church from the outside.

Then we had to walk about three quarters of a mile to the Washington Mall where a stage was setup for the speeches.  This year’s theme was, “Next Steps: Marching into a Post-Roe America.”  There were great speeches.  You can see the list at the March for Life website and you can YouTube any speech or the entire event.  The memorable speeches were from football coach Tony Dungy and his wife—they mentioned they have adopted eleven children!—from Connecticut State Representative Treneé McGhee, who as a black woman railed against the inherent racism in the pro-abortion side, and of course the keynote speaker, actor from the TV series, The Chosen, Jonathan Roumie.  I’m going to post Jonathan Roumie’s speech here, but I encourage to listen to them all.  Roumie’s speech is more religious than anticipated for a mixed audience, so I leave it up to you if you want to listen to it.  He’s apparently a devout Catholic.

 

There were some great passages in his speech.  Let me post a couple.

 

They say we live in a post-Christian society. I reject that. You can reject that. Change the culture by impacting the culture. Embrace that which is bigger than you — He who gave you abundant life and He who has called you by name; do not be afraid. Mute the noise of the popular and embrace the counterculture of Christ’s love, and the message He offers you: The road is wide which leads to destruction and many will enter it. So enter through the narrow gate, my dear friends, for therein lies the kingdom of heaven.

And

We are under an assault on our sense of virtue. We’re enduring an affront to the innate holiness we are all imbued with, and called to, and an attack on the family structure and the sacredness of the gift of life.

 

But as ones created in the image and likeness of God who is Himself love, we are charged to be the standard bearers who defend and preserve the dignity of every human, but especially the most vulnerable which begins with the initial stages of life and continues throughout the entire cycle from conception through that phase we all aim to enter into our golden years, followed by the final stages of our earthly existence.

You can read from a transcript here.  

The crowd was huge as usual.  I’ve heard it said this was one of the largest.  So much for ending these marches.  Here are a few pictures where I tried to capture the scope of the attendance, and I admit the pictures are woefully inadequate. 

One of my favorite things to do at the March is to look for novel signs.  I’ve got a bunch but I’ll just share a few.

Here’s a much unexpected one, “Pro Bikers for Life,” and they were in their black leather biker gear. 

The Nashville Dominican Sister were there, as every year.

I have a special love of the Dominican Sisters.  As usual there were people from other countries, but here is a group from Poland.

And a Muslim young lady, who was on our Staten Island bus, showed that this goes beyond one religion.

Finally what would a march be without a marching band? 

 

I love the pageantry, I love this movement, and I love this event.  If Washington D.C. is too far from where you live, there will be state and city march events this year.  You will enjoy attending if you do.

On Abortion: Comments

I’ve been having a number of online discussions on the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade and thereby removing a national imposition of a right to kill a child in the womb.  Let me capture some of my various comments and some of the back and forth with those that either agreed with me or were opposed.  There were three Original Posts on the subject, which I’ve placed in bold ahead of the comments for that post.  By the way, these posts were from a conservative forum I belong to, Ricochet.  

 

Supreme Court Overturns Roe V. Wade

My Comment:

I was in tears when I heard.  I thought it would be anti-climatic given the leak of a few weeks ago, but it wasn’t.  I am still moved beyond words.  And it came on the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus!  This is so momentous in my life that I had to write up my own post.  

 

God bless everyone who prayed or worked toward this day.  It is a joyous moment.

Someone’s Comment:

Donald Trump deserves massive praise for sticking with Kavanaugh. He deserves credit for the 3 justices that joined Alito and Thomas. Credit to the Justices for the decision. Credit to McConnell for holding the seat.

 

If nothing else came of the Trump presidency, this was worth it. It was worth all the drama, mean tweets, silly statements, hand wringing, all of it. I’d pay 10x that to have this outcome. Trump’s presidency was overall great policy-wise, but this will be the central pillar of his legacy.

 

This is the biggest pro life win since Roe. Now the battleground shifts to 51 smaller battles. Keep up the good fight.

My Reply:

Absolutely!  This will be Donald Trump’s greatest achievement.  No wishy-washy RINO appointments to the SCOTUS.  He is such an imperfect man but I believe that God worked through him to get us here.  May God bless Donald Trump for this.

Another Person’s Comment:

I am amazed that pro-lifers almost never used one of their strongest arguments, that Roe v. Wade was designed and has functioned to reduce the growth of the black population.

 

For sociocultural reasons nobody understands, black women have abortions two or three times as often as white women.

My Reply:

They do use that argument.  It just doesn’t seem to resonate beyond those who are pro-life.  If you’re pro-abortion, you don’t care where it came from.

Third person’s Comment:

Just out of curiosity, has there been any analysis of how the final decision differs from the leaked draft?

My Reply:

I heard it was near identical to the leaked version.  If there are substantive differences it will come out in the following days.

Fourth Person’s Comment:

I fear more states using this decision as a catalyst and liberalize their abortion laws to include late term abortions. I’m unfortunately doubtful this decision will decrease the amount of abortions. I sure hope I’m wrong.

My Reply:

The stricter abortion laws of the last few years in the GOP states has most certainly reduced the number of abortions.  You can find a number of articles on it, here’s one with data.  

Fifth Person’s Comment in Reply to Another Comment:

That assumes Blacks and Hispanics will remain perpetual wards of the Democrat Party. There has been significant slippage by both groups. In South Texas the Hispanics seem to be beginning the same type of political shift from Democrat to Republican that I witnessed in then sapphire-blue East Texas in the 1990s. If so, the Republicans benefit from banning abortion.

My Reply:

I’ve said on a number of occasions this is a center left country and has been at least since 2000.  However, if the Hispanics can come over to the right (say 40% Republican), then I think this country can be a center right country again.  I’m not willing to compromise my principles, that wouldn’t be a center-right country, but we need to focus on them to persuade them to come over.

Sixth Person’s (from Ireland) Comment in Reply to Another:

That was the biggest lie told in the run up to the repeal of the 8th amendment in Ireland. Even though the wording explicitly stated this, the pro abortions persistently pushed this lie that a woman would be denied life saving treatment if she was pregnant. So many people fell for it, ones you’d never expect

My Reply:

People need a moral cover to implement and legalize sin. Then in time the sin “becomes” normal. That’s when they get outraged that a  “right” will be taken away if ever challenged.

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Why Are Abortion Proponents So Emotional?

My Comment:

Why?  That is a good question, which I’ve pondered way back when Bill Clinton was triangulating. He could compromise on just about anything when Republicans had that revolutionary retake of Congress in 1994. Even when he was being impeached they stuck by him as long as he was pro-abortion. So why do they hold on to abortion to this level?  The only thing I can conclude is that this is a “religious” issue for them. It’s a matter of doctrine, dogma, and “religious” devotion. It is the left’s “sacrament” and Satanic devotion.

 

I should add to this. Abortion is the sacrament but the faith is in sexual freedom. Sexual freedom is their spiritual connection with whatever they consider divine.  It’s actually quite a pagan outlook.

 

It’s true. Paradoxically the more contraceptives the more abortions. It only takes one screw up and you’re pregnant. This is why Planned Parenthood is such a pusher if contraceptives. You would think it would be working against their interests. But it doesn’t. It’s sympathetic to their interest in that it builds a culture of sexual promiscuity.

 

###

Comment:

This is so but men were naturally made to rape and conquer foreigners. Nature sucks. We should try to move beyond our filthy ape nature.

Reply:

If men stop raping and conquering, civilization can still continue. Not so if women don’t have children.

My Reply:

And men weren’t made to rape and conquer.  That’s from his perverse understanding of humanity. 

Reply to my reply:

We are pretty close to chimps mate. It ain’t pretty but it’s True.

My Retort:

You maybe, but not me. 

A Different Person’s Reply to Me:

Religion has a refutation and an explanation for science, but… science also has an explanation for religion, and need not bother with refutation.  That said, I agree that HC has mis-stated the case.

My Reply:

Scientifically, the difference between a chimp and a human is great.  Just look around you.  Can a chimp design a car and build one?  Does a chimp live in a house?  Does a chimp create a bourbon I’m now sipping?  Come on.  You’ve bought into this pseudo science.

His Reply:

I’m intrigued by chimp bourbon.

My Reply:

LOL. I’m not sure it’s worth trying. 

###

 

A Missed Pro-Life Argument: Addressing Ambivalence

My Comment:

I don’t know. There’s always a mushy middle on every issue. Abortion strikes me as an issue where there is a sharp and clear divide. It’s just a more emotional and polarizing issue than others. And there’s very little room to compromise. You’re either for it or against it. It should be made clear. The SCOTUS decision the other day did not ban abortion. It returned the issue to where it rightly belongs, the states.

A Reply to Me:

Wrong.  I, for one, am in the uncomfortable middle. FWIW, here is the outline of my stance:

 

I am not religious, and I don’t recognize moralizing arguments re abortion founded in any particular religion. I also think the country is past the point where a religious based argument will carry the day, it’s instead more likely to cause blowback.

Nonetheless, there needs to be some recognizable combination of ethics and pragmatism, that is reasonably likely to stand the test of time in the face of political, social and technological change.

 

·         I personally believe the cutoff date for abortion without evidence of grave harm to the mother should be at the point of higher brain function, which is what distinguishes a potential human from an animal. (So I’m already outside the all-or-nothing set.)

·         However, I don’t found my argument for a public solution on that personal belief, instead I’m basing it on pragmatism, specifically in what rationale is likely to survive technological and market challenges.

·         Current technology allows a fetus to be taken to term outside the womb for almost the entire third trimester. Killing it rather than extracting it in that case I find hard to distinguish from murder. I think that’s an argument that will largely resonate for anyone who’s not an absolutist for abortion to the point of birth.

·         On the other hand, abortifacients, e.g., ‘Plan B’ are readily available and that genie is not going back in the bottle. Trying to outlaw abortions during the period when they are effective would lead to an even more tragic drug war, with second order effects that would likely include the creation of even more powerful and easily concealable abortion doses. I think that’s also a reality that can be recognized by those who are not religious absolutists against abortion of any kind.

·         And finally, the whole issue arises tragically because people literally f*** up.  While there are accidents out there, the majority find themselves in a morally compromised position due to incompetence or indifference. It’d be nice if that could be an issue that both sides would cooperate to improve, but I’m not holding my breath.

I will probably, as usual, take incoming from both sides. C’est la vie.

My Reply Back:

No you’re wrong.  You are objectively killing a human being no matter what stage in their life, whether it be one second after fertilization or one trimester or at birth at at two years old or forty years old or 100 years old.  That is the objective criteria.  To kill a human being is morally unethical at any stage.  If you don’t want a moral criteria, then you’re a liberal, playing God at will with life and death depending on your utility.

“I personally believe the cutoff date for abortion without evidence of grave harm to the mother should be at the point of higher brain function, which is what distinguishes a potential human from an animal. (So I’m already outside the all-or-nothing set.)”

 

Ha!  That’s like five years old.  That is the liberal criteria, sentience.  What you are arguing for is infanticide, just like Pete Singer and the radical leftist “ethicists” and filtered down to college students arguing to kill two year olds. 

 

This is the perfect example of why conservatism is not conservative unless it be linked to Judeo-Christian morality.  You can’t have conservatism without God.

His Reply:

Your actual statement of position is what I referred to as religious absolutism, and is an example of what I think will not only not win the day in public opinion, but will probably have negative results.

My Reply:

No, it’s not religious absolutism.  It’s scientific absolutism.  A human being is a human being at any stage after fertilization.  That’s the objective criteria.  Everything else is arbitrary for convenience.

His Reply:

A normal embryo has the genetic endowment of a human being from the point of conception. It does not, however, have the fully developed phenotype of a human being, a reasoning mammal, which is when I would contend its rights begin to overwhelm any consideration of the mother. That’s just as ‘scientific’ as your formulation.

My Reply:

Neither does a one day old.  Neither does a person born mentally challenged.  Neither does a person who has severe brain damage.  This again is the Liberal argument from sentience. 

His Reply:

No, it’s not. I’m saying the cutoff is evidence of cerebral cortex function. Neural activity, no IQ tests, no sanity checks. How about engaging with that argument instead of name calling or putting words in my mouth. I’m told that’s more persuasive.

My Reply:

I didn’t call you any names. I’m not sure there is much of a distinction between sentience and brain function ability. Even if granted the distinction, it’s still an in process of development moment in time that considers a person not to be a person because he is not fully developed. I don’t see that as any ethically different.

A Different Person Replying:

Definitively.  Evaluation of human worth and subsequent killability is not a matter of individual estimation.  Either it is human, and individual, and living, or it is not.  Once we start saying that a human life is not old enough to be of worth, or thoughtful enough to be of worth.  Then all killing of innocent life is reasonable.

 

A newly fertilized egg will mature into if all goes well and according to nature’s plan a 70 or 80 or 90 or 100-year-old man or woman.  We don’t have the right to say one person is worth this existence and another is not.

My Reply to the Third Person:

Thank you. No argument can sustain philosophic inconsistency. That’s why the Liberals changed their criteria from “it’s not human” to sentience as to when to allow abortion. They lost the argument that it’s not human.

 

By the way, the “it’s not human” argument was the same argument used to justify slavery of blacks. It was no longer sustainable once you had objective facts.

A Fourth Person Replying to Me:

Actually, I believe there are some variations that suggest a middle ground, albeit a middle ground that would be totally unsatisfactory to anyone who believes that life begins at conception.

 

For example, a majority of Americans believe that abortion (at an early stage) is acceptable in cases of rape, incest, and saving the life of the mother. Many also believe that abortion is acceptable (at some point) when the baby will be born with down syndrome or some other genetic deformity.

 

In my state, Ohio, for example, the Republican legislature adopted a heartbeat bill, which suggests that the states interest in protecting the baby’s life begins when the baby has a heartbeat and thus could theoretically survive outside the mother. This is, of course, a very early stage of pregnancy.

 

To me, these are middle grounds that would be unacceptable to those whose beliefs inhabit the far ends of the debate (like me), but they are middle grounds nevertheless.

My Reply to the Fourth Person:

Well, there is political power and political power will ultimately get its way.  I have been arguing from the philosophic merits of the issue.  Each state will find some balancing point to satisfy the most voters.  But mind you, this is raw political power, not philosophic consistency or more importantly ethical justification.  It is the same raw political power that determined people with black skin were not human beings and justified enslavement or the same raw political power that determined in Nazi Germany that six million people were not human enough to live.  Raw political power, that is, might, does not make right.  And for certain there is no nobility in it.

 

Let me tell you something about the heartbeat criteria.  I’ve been close to the pro-life movement for at least ten years, probably more.  When I was looking for some sort of compromising criteria, I came up with the heartbeat.  No where had I ever heard anyone propose it, and for the longest time I still hadn’t.  I thought I held the secret formula for compromise.  Not that I published it anywhere, but since I never heard anyone else bring it up I held it close to my heart.  The first I heard anyone was a year to two years ago when one of the states recently brought it up as a criteria.  Perhaps it was Ohio.  I thought, finally someone is bringing this up, but by this time I had come to the realization that it is just as much a human being before the heart starts beating as after.  The normal human progress is under way, just as any normal human progress, just as my body at 60 is heading toward senescence. A human being is a human being at whatever stage it is at.   It does not meet meet the ethical criteria.

 

Now that is not to say I would not accept it.  The heart starts beating at six weeks or less.  That’s pretty early and is a firm criteria that an abortionist can be held to.  If the most Liberal of the states would adopt the heartbeat criteria I would be thrilled.  I think I’ve mentioned this before.  On abortion I feel like Schindler at the end of the movie, Schindler’s List.  How can I save one more.

My Concluding Comment:

Any line that is drawn will be purely arbitrary, except perhaps the heartbeat line as David mentioned above.  Some would like to pick a spot where the child has not developed pain yet.  That can’t be done.  There is no way to know that, and it’s actually an admittance of the cruelty of what is done during an abortion.  The heartbeat is a clear marker that you can measure and is a sort of incomplete science where one can claim that life begins there.  That’s why I was so hot on it for a number of years.  But it’s incomplete because one has to put blinders on as to what is happening beforehand.

 

By the way, I don’t think I have ever brought up religion in this argument.  I have brought up human ethics.  It’s the pro-aborts who always claim pro-lifers are motivated by religion.  Perhaps there is an intertwining of ethics, religion, and pro-life, but I have not made any argument from a religious point of view.  Perhaps there is no human ethics if one does not believe in religion.  Dostoyevsky seemed to think so: “Without God all things are permitted.”

Roe vs. Wade Is Over!

Today, June 24^, 2022, on the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus no less, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned the 1973 ruling that took abortion laws out of the hands of the people and essentially made it permissive to kill unborn children at will.  This is a historic day!  From the Catholic News Agency:

The Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade in a historic 6—3 decision released Friday that brings a sudden and dramatic end to nearly a half-century of nationwide legalized abortion in the U.S.

 

The opinion, in the Mississippi abortion case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, is widely seen as the Supreme Court’s most highly anticipated and consequential ruling since Roe. It not only overturns Roe, the landmark 1973 abortion case, but also Casey v. Planned Parenthood, a 1992 decision that affirmed Roe.

 

"Abortion presents a profound moral question. The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each State from regulating or prohibiting abortion. Roe and Casey arrogated that authority," the opinion states. "We now overrule these decisions and return that authority to the people and their elected representatives."

I thought this might have been anti climatic given the leak of this decision a few weeks ago but frankly when I heard I started sobbing in tears of joy.  So much of my politics, heart, and prayers have gone into this.  And for it to come on the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is too much of a coincidence.  It is providential!

In response Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities issued a statement:

“This is a historic day in the life of our country, one that stirs our thoughts, emotions and prayers. For nearly fifty years, America has enforced an unjust law that has permitted some to decide whether others can live or die; this policy has resulted in the deaths of tens of millions of preborn children, generations that were denied the right to even be born.

 

“America was founded on the truth that all men and women are created equal, with God-given rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This truth was grievously denied by the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade ruling, which legalized and normalized the taking of innocent human life. We thank God today that the Court has now overturned this decision. We pray that our elected officials will now enact laws and policies that promote and protect the most vulnerable among us.

 

“Our first thoughts are with the little ones whose lives have been taken since 1973. We mourn their loss, and we entrust their souls to God, who loved them from before all ages and who will love them for all eternity. Our hearts are also with every woman and man who has suffered grievously from abortion; we pray for their healing, and we pledge our continued compassion and support. As a Church, we need to serve those who face difficult pregnancies and surround them with love.   

 

“Today’s decision is also the fruit of the prayers, sacrifices, and advocacy of countless ordinary Americans from every walk of life. Over these long years, millions of our fellow citizens have worked together peacefully to educate and persuade their neighbors about the injustice of abortion, to offer care and counseling to women, and to work for alternatives to abortion, including adoption, foster care, and public policies that truly support families. We share their joy today and we are grateful to them. Their work for the cause of life reflects all that is good in our democracy, and the pro-life movement deserves to be numbered among the great movements for social change and civil rights in our nation’s history.

 

“Now is the time to begin the work of building a post-Roe America. It is a time for healing wounds and repairing social divisions; it is a time for reasoned reflection and civil dialogue, and for coming together to build a society and economy that supports marriages and families, and where every woman has the support and resources she needs to bring her child into this world in love.

 

“As religious leaders, we pledge ourselves to continue our service to God’s great plan of love for the human person, and to work with our fellow citizens to fulfill America’s promise to guarantee the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all people.”

I wasn’t going to quote the entire response, but every sentence in there is worth reading.  I take humble pride in being one of the millions whose prayers affected this outcome.  Don’t ever think that prayers have no effect.  They do.

The other thing is that now that we have accomplished this milestone, we must prepare for the battle on the state level.  Each state becomes a battle ground, and living in New York, I am at the epicenter of Satan’s reign.  May God give us fortitude.

But for now, for today: Rejoice!

EDIT, 25 June 2022 @ 11:21 AM

It just dawned on me.  What a remarkable confluence of events.  Not only was June 24, 2022 the day the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, not only was it the Feast Day of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, from whence all compassions comes from, not only was it the birthday of St. John the Baptist, who leaped in the womb, it was the day of peak alignment of the planets.  From Space.com:

https://www.space.com/rare-five-planets-alignment--photo-june-2022 

The rare sight of five bright planets lining up with the moon wowed skywatchers around the world Friday, with some gearing up for more this weekend to see a planetary sight that won't happen again until 2040.

Throughout June, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn have lined up from left to right, in their orbital order from the sun, before dawn in the southeastern sky. Early Friday (June 24), the moon joined the planet parade in an awesome sight captured by astrophotographer Wright Dobbs, a meteorologist for the U.S. National Weather Service in Tallahassee, Florida.

Dobbs?  Does it say his name is Dobbs?  Oh my!  When I noticed all this coming together and  realized it was no coincidence, I literally got goosepimples

Heavenly Father, I am humbled before Your majesty.  Guide us to peace.

Notable Quote: Fyodor Dostoyevsky

To mark a sad anniversary, a tragic anniversary I offer this consoling quote by Dostoyesvky taken from a work I plan to read some time this year, Crime and Punishment. 

“The darker the night, the brighter the stars,
The deeper the grief, the closer is God!”