Print Issue: January 30, 2003

After Three Decades, Pro-Life Spirit Endures

A crowd of pro-life marchers estimated at 4,500 makes its way up Martin Luther King Jr. Drive Jan. 22 as a home-school group from Gwinnett County leads the way carrying the "Together for Life" banner. (Photos by Michael Alexander) Father Austin Fogarty, pastor of St. George Church, Newnan, prays with pro-life participants as they stand in front of the state Capitol on Washington Street, Jan. 22 for a memorial service. The crowd gathered to mark the 30th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Hundreds make their way around Woodruff Park in downtown Atlanta during the Together for Life march. St. Pius seniors (l-r) Ifey Ezeoke, Amaka Ngoddy, Dede Bryant, Marie O'Sullivan and Apria Brown participate in the Together for Life Memorial Service following the Mass for the Unborn. The Jan. 22 Mass for the Unborn at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Atlanta, drew participants from all across the archdiocese of Atlanta. Rick Walker, a parishioner of Holy Trinity Church, Peachtree City, participates in the recitation of the rosary just preceding the Mass for the Unborn at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Atlanta, Jan. 22. Thirteen-year-old twins Courtney, left, and Molly Anderson of Stockbridge hold their sign toward the street as they participate in the Jan. 22 Together for Life Memorial Service in front of the Georgia Capitol.

By Erika Anderson, Staff Writer

ATLANTA-On Jan. 22, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court's twin decisions of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton overturned most states' restrictions on abortion.

What was unleashed was abortion on demand, in every state, for any reason, and at every stage of the child's development.

But 30 years later, facing the loss of over 40 million babies' lives, pro-life supporters are more determined than ever to pursue their mission. They also possess a new hope that their work over the last three decades has and will continue to produce fruit.

On Jan. 22, a full congregation packed the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception downtown for the annual Mass for the Unborn celebrated by Archbishop John F. Donoghue.

Standing in the vestibule and along the side aisles of the church, 500 pro-life supporters from all walks of life joined together to pray for the unborn. Families, mothers and their children, students from Catholic schools, young adults and senior citizens were among the hundreds that gathered. Over 25 priests of the archdiocese concelebrated the Mass with the archbishop, wearing violet vestments that marked the first year that Jan. 22 was officially marked liturgically in U.S. dioceses as a day of penance.

With music led by Alan Brown, organist, and Sam Hagan, cantor, the somber tone of the Mass was sometimes interrupted by the sounds of babies and young children-a poignant reminder of the reason so many had come.

In his homily, the archbishop said that those involved in the pro-life movement should not fear their foes, just as the Lord did not fear when he knew that his death would be plotted. Instead pro-life supporters should find comfort in knowing that they are not alone in opposing pro-abortion activists.

"I do think and I do know that the force of our Lord is at work within the pro-life movement of the Catholic Church-and the force of the Lord is turning the tide," he said. "I think and know that this country is awaking more every day."

"I think and I know that with every election, the former strength of their 1973 victory is weakening by ever increasing degrees, as one by one, we work to overthrow the representatives of their blighted view, and put into office, men and women who know the value of life, the value of love, the value of innocence."

In the war against abortion, it is essential to wear the armor of God, he said.

"For we know that the battle we fight is not of the earth, but a battle of principalities, of angels against demons, and of God against the Prince of Darkness," he said. "We know who will be the ultimate victor-but we want to be sure that our lives are given totally to the right side."

After the homily, which earned the archbishop a prolonged ovation, parish pro-life representatives came forward and reaffirmed their dedication to their work. The archbishop prayed over them, commissioned them and offered his gratitude for their service to the church and to the sanctity of life.

After Communion, Mary Boyert, director of the archdiocesan Pro-Life Office, thanked those who had come, including the archbishop and the many priests in attendance. Catholic school students, holding aloft wooden crosses, each representing one of the 30 years of legalized abortion, walked slowly up the center aisle as Boyert read the number of babies aborted that year. Bells tolled for each year, as many in the congregation were moved to tears by the sheer magnitude of the number of babies, which in some years neared two million.

After the Mass, those who attended joined other pro-life supporters at the steps of the Capitol for the annual memorial service sponsored by Georgia Right to Life.

After offering a prayer, the archbishop gave a rousing speech to the crowd.

Abortion is a lie, based on the "right to privacy," he said.

"But I say-is the stealing of money behind closed doors not theft because it is done in secret? Is the beating of a wife not assault because it is carried out in the privacy of a man's home? Is the rape of a child no less a rape because it happens unseen, in a dark alley? Is the killing of a rival in business not murder, because it is committed surreptitiously, by a professional assassin?" he asked. "And can anyone seriously say, and believe, that the willful ripping of millions of unborn children from their mothers' wombs is not massacre, because it is concealed behind the white-washed doors of clinics and hospitals?"

He encouraged the assembly to continue to fight, to realize their successes and persevere in their battle.

"We-we who gather here today, and all friends of the pro-life cause-we can make a difference," he said. "At this last November's election, the pro-life voters in almost every contest, made a huge difference-in 64 of 82 critical races, we were the winners."

The fruits of their labor may be subtle, but small victories are the key, he said.

"Dear friends, time has proven that it will not be one colossal assault that will turn this country around and put her back on the right track," he said. "Rather, it will be by facing the challenges one at a time, by applying all our strength and force against these challenges one at a time, and by closing down the abortion clinics and whittling away at the laws which protect them, one at a time. Only by this single-minded and persistent kind of warfare against abortion will we be ultimately victorious."

Other religious figures as well as key members of Georgia's pro-life movement also addressed the crowd. Then, as trumpeters played taps, those gathered began to walk slowly, silently through the streets of downtown Atlanta-those of various faiths and those persuaded by medical and scientific evidence-side by side, joined together by their belief in the right to life.

Despite taunts and yells from a handful of pro-choice demonstrators gathered on a corner, the crowd estimated by GRTL at 4,500 moved with quiet determination. Along the way, people came out of stores and stopped in awe at the sight of the throng of pro-life supporters stretched for a mile down the streets.

Many who attended the annual Mass and rally come each year, but others, like Allen Austin of St. Brigid Church, Alpharetta, were there for the first time.

"There are not a lot of things you can do to show your support for the sanctity of life, other than prayer and some interaction with others during your everyday life, but this is something we can do as a community to say that life is sacred," he said.

As the father of a 7-year-old daughter, Austin said the pro-life message is especially impressive.

"It's sad to think that (one of those babies) could have been another Mother Teresa or John Paul II," he said. "Life is the greatest gift we are given, but it's sad to think that there are millions who are not able to experience that gift because they were an inconvenience."

Cyndi Babecka, a parishioner of St. Vincent de Paul Church, Dallas, brought her four children to the Mass and rally. She said that she wants her children to know early about the sanctity of life.

"They know that they're helping the babies and that we come here to pray, and that praying is one way to help them," she said, adding that she often brings them to prayer vigils outside of local abortion clinics. "Abortion is the greatest evil that we face right now. There's not much that we can do, but we need to do all we can. This (rally) isn't necessarily going to change things, but it lets people know that we are not alone. It's like a punch in the arm."

Jane Ray is a member of the pro-life group at the Cathedral of Christ the King, Atlanta, and said she comes every year to learn and gain strength from others. Despite the thousands of abortions performed every year, Ray is convinced that God's will will prevail.

"If we don't stand up for these babies, who will?" she said. "We have to change the lies into truth. We can't let it get us down or depressed. We have to keep fighting. That's our mission-to show people the truth."