March for Life

Jeanne Mancini

By

America Has Consensus on Life

 

One year ago today, March for Life Action launched its ground-breaking and award-winning television and digital ad, “Consensus”.

The video draws on Marist polling (the polling company used by Wall Street Journal, McClatchy and NBC News) that shows that there is a strong pro-life consensus in our country. Americans want abortion to have real legal limits.

In fact, did you know that 8 in 10 Americans believe that abortion should be limited – at most – to the first three months of pregnancy?

Even six out of 10 pro-choice Americans agree that abortion should happen only during the first three months of pregnancy, at most. Yet most pro-choice politicians support the extreme position that abortion should be legal right up until birth – and they want you, as a taxpayer, to pay for it!

However, the tide has turned and pro-life politicians now hold the majority in the United States House of Representatives and Senate, and President Donald Trump campaigned on pro-life policies, including defunding Planned Parenthood.

Almost 2/3rds of Americans oppose tax dollars paying for abortion. Now is the time to end abortion extremism and redirect Planned Parenthood’s government funds to federally qualified health care centers that outnumber the country’s largest abortion providers by 20 to 1.

In addition to the polling data, there are many factors across our culture that indicate that life is winning in America.

Yesterday, pro-life scholar, Chuck Donovan of the Charlotte Lozier Institute, and I sat down for a discussion of these cultural indicators. You can watch the full video here:

As Congress is set to take up the Graham-Cassidy healthcare legislation next week which would defund Planned Parenthood while defending pro-life principles, your voice is needed to contact your lawmakers for the cause of life and urge them to vote in favor of redirecting Planned Parenthood’s funding to life-affirming healthcare.

Planned Parenthood, our nation’s largest abortion provider, commits over 328,000 abortions each year. The Congressional Select Investigative Panel that looked into Planned Parenthood’s trafficking of baby body parts ultimately made 15 criminal and regulatory referrals of tissue procurement, and the Senate Judiciary Committee made 7 criminal referrals to the Department of Justice.

Furthermore, Planned Parenthood receives hundreds of millions in private donations. The truth is that they can fund themselves.

Now more than ever, the unified voice of America’s pro-life consensus must be heard.

It’s time for Congress to fulfill their promise by redirecting federal funding from abortion providers towards life-affirming, federally-qualified health centers. It’s long past time to end the extremism of funding abortion-giant Planned Parenthood with our federal tax dollars.

>>>> Send a message to your representatives today that any delay in defunding Planned Parenthood is unacceptable.

By

Maddi Runkles: Choosing Life

 

UPDATE (September 25, 2017): Congratulations Maddi on the birth of your precious son, Greyson!

Today we had the honor of hosting Maddi Runkles at our office for a Facebook Live conversation. During Maddi’s senior year of high school, this past year, she found herself facing an unexpected pregnancy, and in the midst of very challenging circumstances, she chose life.

We’re so grateful that she did, and she is expecting a baby boy in early September! We want to celebrate and honor her decision.

Watch the full conversation here:

As a concluding question, I asked Maddi, what advice she might have for someone watching who is also facing an unexpected pregnancy. Here is her inspiring response:

“It’s super cliche, but you can do it; it is worth it. Making the right choice is not always the easiest thing to do, but in the long run, it’s the best thing you can do.”

This is a very intimate and vulnerable topic, and we’re grateful for Maddi’s willingness to share. We want to reiterate her message of hope. Also, if anyone reading or watching this is facing an unexpected pregnancy, we would like to encourage you. There are many resources available and you can begin with checking out OptionLine.org.

Choosing life is empowering, and we hope you have seen how Maddi so beautifully embodies this.

By

Honoring the Life of a Pro-Life Hero: Mark Gallagher

 

“The Power of One” was the 2017 March for Life theme.  That theme was made manifest in a gentle man with a giant heart, who showered his gifts on the pro-life movement. Today I had the privilege of attending the funeral of Deacon Mark Gallagher, a man, who, in the words of Congressman Chris Smith, was a “pro-life unsung hero,” working tirelessly as a pro-life lobbyist for the United States Catholic Bishops for 33 years. (Click HERE or the Congressional Record image to read the full statement from Congressman Smith.)

He passed away last week at the age of 75. He was a beloved husband to Kathy and father to Mark, Kim, Andrew, Lillian, David, Judy, Charles, Kate, and John. He was selfless, a “rock”, and a font of wisdom, as described to the packed church, including dozens of priests and a bishop.

While his family and friends are painfully grieving Mark’s sudden loss, there was overwhelming peace during the mass and a profound sense of the fruitfulness of his life.

One of his most significant legislative accomplishments was contributing to the enactment of the Hyde Amendment in 1976, which prohibits taxpayer dollars paying for most abortions. The Hyde Amendment is undoubtedly the single most effective pro-life public policy in the history of the United States; a study published in 2016 by Dr. Michael New showed that the Hyde Amendment has saved at least two million lives in its time.

Such an impact on our culture often comes at personal cost. Mark had war wounds from striving daily to fight the culture of darkness with a culture of life, love, light. He loved the Lord and lived his life totally centered on Him. His life and his sufferings bore inestimable fruit, much like the grain of wheat that falls to the ground and dies in order to bear fruit.

Mark Gallagher lived a beautiful life, centered on love. He perfectly embodied “the power of one.” May we all be inspired by his story to respond generously to God’s call and be the instrument that seeks the good of all.

By

The First 100 Days

One week after the Inauguration of the 45th President of the United States, pro-life America marched in our nation’s capital to remember the 58 million Americans lost to abortion since 1973, and to continue the effort to build a culture of life in this country!

The White House showed unprecedented support for the March for Life by sending Kellyanne Conway, senior counselor to the President, and longtime pro-life hero, Vice President Mike Pence – the highest-ranking White House official ever to address the March for Life!

With this enthusiasm, the 44th March for Life was one of the most powerful and impactful marches ever, further solidifying our commitment to ending abortion in our lifetime.

>>>> Watch a recap of the March for Life with the remarks of Vice President Pence: 

Since the March for Life in January, participants, and supporters across the country have continued to build a culture of life by advocating for pro-life policies under the new Congress and Administration.

Thank you for making your voice heard!

It is hard to believe that we are now at the “100 Day” mark for the new Administration. In a short period of time, we’ve seen many positive pro-life policy decisions. The Obama Administration is considered to be the most pro-abortion presidency ever, possibly only to have been outdone by presidential candidate and abortion champion Hillary Clinton had she won in November. (Clinton is set to receive Planned Parenthood’s “champion of the century” award next week.)

We are grateful for the pro-life policy decisions in the first 100 Days, including:

  • Unprecedented support for the 2017 March for Life, sending the Vice President to speak to marchers;
  • Strong pro-life appointments to key leadership roles including Attorney General Jeff Sessions, HHS Secretary Tom Price, and UN Ambassador Nikki Haley;
  • Reinstatement of the Mexico City Policy, prohibiting U.S. funding of abortion providers overseas;
  • Defunding of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), a participant in China’s one-child policy;
  • Enactment of the Congressional Review Act (H.J. Res 43) to allow individual states the ability to redirect Title X funding away from abortion providers like Planned Parenthood;
  • Nomination and confirmation of Justice Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court.

>>>> Watch Jeanne Mancini recap the Trump Administration’s first 100 days:

The pro-abortion lobby is reeling from the election losses in November and the enactment of pro-life policies. They protested the nomination of Neil Gorsuch, despite his impeccable education, experience, and previous bipartisan support. With reports of a possible Supreme Court Justice retirement later this year, we can be sure to expect an intense battle like we haven’t previously witnessed.

At the March for Life, we are working tirelessly for pro-life policies — like preventing tax dollars from pouring into Planned Parenthood — and continuing to strive to build a culture of life year-round.

It has been quite a busy 100 days, for the new Administration and the March for Life! Changing our culture and our laws for life is a year-round effort and we are honored to partner with you in this life-saving work.

By

Remembering Justice Scalia

 

One year ago today, we lost a man who was a wonderful husband, father, person of faith, intellect and perhaps most known as a wonderful Supreme Court Justice, the late Antonin Scalia.

I will never forget receiving the text from a friend with the news of Justice Scalia’s untimely death. It was late on a Saturday and my husband and I were hosting a group of friends for dinner that evening.  It was hard to focus after learning of his passing. After dinner, we all talked about what his death meant for our country. We prayed for the future of our beloved USA.

A few days later, my parents and I would pay our respects to Justice Scalia as he laid in state at the Supreme Court. We waited for hours in the cold to pray in front of his casket. We were not alone in our desire to honor him; I was surprised to see so many millennials waiting in line and later read that they needed to extend the hours of the viewing well past midnight so that everyone could pass by Justice Scalia as he laid in state.

His funeral was a ticketed event since so many wanted to attend. My husband and I listened to the funeral homily online given by Justice Scalia’s son, the gifted Fr. Paul Scalia. The sermon was without a doubt one of the best and most moving homilies I have ever heard preached. I can recite portions of it from memory.

Justice Scalia was admired not only by our nation, but also by his colleagues. He often shared, “My best buddy on the court is Ruth Bader Ginsburg, has always been.” During this time when our nation is so polarized and respectful dialogue and debate are lacking, the deep friendship of these two ideological opposites on the Supreme Court is an example for us all.

Justice Scalia was an intellectual giant, committed to the country and to our great Constitution. He understood that it was not the role of the courts to write the laws, or create new constitutional rights out of judicial activism (as they did with Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton). He reflected on the role of the legislature versus the courts. “Persuade your fellow citizens it’s a good idea and pass a law. That’s what democracy is all about. It’s not about nine superannuated judges who have been there too long, imposing these demands on society.”

I also deeply respect Justice Scalia’s perspective on family and faith. He once light-heartedly remarked about his large family, “Well, we didn’t set out to have nine children. We’re just old-fashioned Catholics, you know.”

On this anniversary of his death, we remember the great Justice Scalia and reflect upon his invaluable contributions to our nation. We also reflect upon the many developments in our country in the year since his passing. I am profoundly grateful that one such development is the recent nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, a judge who is very much of the same mold as Justice Antonin Scalia. May we all work together to get Judge Gorsuch confirmed.