March for Life

3 Parents Advocating for Kids With Down Syndrome

By 1 Comment

3 Parents Advocating for Kids With Down Syndrome

 

October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month. We’re featuring three of our favorite parents who are advocates for their children with Down Syndrome (there are also many more!). These families are breaking stereotypes and showing the world that every life is a gift!

1. Carissa Carroll

Carissa is mom to two boys and one girl, including Jack who has Down Syndrome. She founded Jack’s Baskets to celebrate every child born with Down syndrome and congratulate their family with gifts, support, and resources.

For the 2015 March for Life with the theme, “Every Life is a Gift,” Carissa shared her story and work with Jack’s Baskets. Its mission is to celebrate babies born with Down syndrome, to ensure that every new and expectant parent is provided resources and avenues of support within the community, and to educate medical providers on how to discuss the diagnosis in an unbiased way in hopes that the birth of a child with Down syndrome is celebrated like any other.

Carissa and Jack also joined the March for Life in an Instagram Takeover a few years ago. See the pictures here!

Thank you, Carissa, for being an advocate for Jack and kids and families with Down Syndrome!

2. Rick Smith

Rick is the father of two boys, with another on the way! His son Noah, has Down Syndrome, and since Noah’s birth, Rick has been a tireless advocate for his son and all individuals with Down Syndrome.

He runs an inspirational and informative blog, “Noah’s Dad.” We highly recommend one of his most shared posts, “What To Say To Someone Who Has Received A Down Syndrome Diagnosis.”

Rick, Noah, and family also joined us for an Instagram takeover this year. Check out the pictures here!

Thank you for all you do, Rick, for Noah and the Down Syndrome community!

3. Oakley Peterson

Oakley is mom to three precious children, including Welles who has Down Syndrome. She documents her life on the blog, “Nothing Down About It.” Her mission is to “encourage other mothers out there who are new to this situation. I was just there at the beginning and now offer you my support and love.” She further shares, “Our wonderful special children unite us with a unique bond and blessing and responsibility. Together we can shrug off stigmas and help people embrace the goodness of these angels among us! Together we can help all of our children realize their full potential.”

You can watch a short video about her family HERE.

Thank you, Oakley, for being a voice for Welles and all children with Down Syndrome!

By 1 Comment

Down Syndrome Awareness Month

 

The news out of Iceland that 100% of babies diagnosed with Down Syndrome are aborted is still fresh in our minds and raw in our hearts.

The sad truth of the matter is that Iceland is not preventing or eradicating anything but rather terminating nearly 100% of their babies who receive a prenatal diagnosis of Down Syndrome.

In honor of Down Syndrome Awareness Month, yesterday, March for Life President Jeanne Mancini talked with Dr. John Bruchalski, founder of Divine Mercy Care in Fairfax, Virginia about this tragedy.

During the Facebook Live session, Dr. Bruchaski and Will Waldron, Executive Director of Divine Mercy Care, also shared about an upcoming free lecture that the center is hosting, “Down Syndrome as a Pro-Life Cause.” The lecture will feature Madame Birthe Lejeune, wife of the renowned French physician and geneticist, Dr. Jerome Lejeune. Dr. Lejeune is credited with discovering the chromosomal cause of Down Syndrome. He devoted his life to promoting the dignity of individuals with Down Syndrome and opposing abortion for fetal abnormalities like Down Syndrome.

If you are in the Washington, D.C. area and are interested in attending the event, click HERE for more information.

You can watch the full Facebook Live discussion below:

By Leave a Comment

March for Life and ADF Response to HHS Mandate Rule

 

ALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOM COMMENT
October 6, 2017 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT ADF MEDIA RELATIONS: (480) 444-0020 or www.adfmedia.org/home/contact

 

The following quotes may be attributed respectively to Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Gregory S. Baylor and March for Life President Jeanne Mancini regarding a new rule that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued Friday that expands protections in the Obama-era abortion-pill mandate for organizations with pro-life religious or moral convictions. That mandate had forced many employers, regardless of those beliefs, to provide abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization, and contraception under threat of heavy penalties by the Internal Revenue Service and other federal agencies if the mandate’s requirements weren’t met:

“The beliefs that inspire Christian colleges and universities and the Little Sisters of the Poor to serve their communities should be protected,” said Baylor. “During his campaign, President Trump promised that protecting religious liberty would be a top priority and people of faith would not be bullied on his watch. We are pleased that this rule is a major step forward in keeping that promise and restoring back to people of faith their constitutionally protected freedom. We are also pleased the rule protects the conscience convictions of organizations like March for Life, an organization that bases its pro-life beliefs on science and philosophy, and hosts the largest pro-life gathering in the world every year in Washington, D.C.

“Although organizations that filed civil rights lawsuits will still need final relief from the courts, it is encouraging to see the Trump Administration affirm the principle that all Americans should be free to peacefully live and work according to their faith and conscience without threat of government punishment. Access to contraception and other drugs and devices will continue to be as widely and readily available as it always has been for those who want these items. We commend the president for his commitment to freedom and restoring the choice of religious and pro-life employers and their female employees to work at organizations consistent with their convictions. We expect that the Department of Justice will work with us to quickly resolve these cases in a manner that fully and permanently protects the freedom of conscience of our clients.

“The March For Life Education and Defense Fund exists to protect and defend life from conception. When we were forced by the Obama administration to carry drugs and devices that destroy life in its early stages we were appalled and ultimately needed to seek legal protection. It is un-American to force non profit organizations to defy their very reason for being on something as important as life. We are grateful to the Trump Administration for this rule which will allow pro-life organizations to freely operate according to their beliefs on something as important as the protection of life and look forward to final resolution of our case in court that is consistent with this rule,” said Mancini, a litigant against the mandate. “Our nation has a rich history of protecting conscientious objectors and pro-life organizations must be free to operate according to their beliefs.” 

Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization that advocates for the right of people to freely live out their faith.

# # #

By Leave a Comment

Love Saves Lives Announcement: Pictures, Videos, & Media

On Tuesday, October 3, 2017, the March for Life Education and Defense Fund held a Capitol Hill briefing to announce the 2018 March for Life theme –>> Love Saves Lives.

See pictures, media hits, and videos from the event below.

Pictures from Capitol Hill Briefing and Theme Announcement:

Media Hits:

The Blaze

“March for Life announces timely 2018 theme: ‘Love Saves Lives’”

EWTN & Catholic News Agency

“Love Saves Lives: Theme of the 2018 March for Life”

Media Research Center Newsbusters

“March for Life Prez: Abortion ‘Creates Problem,’ But ‘Love Saves Lives'”

CBN

“‘Love Saves Lives’: March for Life Unveils New Theme as Pregnancy Clinics Rise”

Faithwire

“Theme for Upcoming March for Life Theme Will Definitely Grab Attention”

The Stream

“March for Life Announces Theme for 2018: Love Saves Lives”

CNS

“‘Love Saves Lives’ theme for 2018 March for Life marking Roe decision”

Videos:

CBN NewsWatch:

Media Research Center:

By 1 Comment

March for Life Statement on Micah’s Law

 

“The March for Life stands with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and everyone who voted to pass Micah’s Law, formerly known as the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. This common sense policy that would limit abortion to five months reflects the consensus shared by eight out of ten Americans – abortion should have real legal limits. This bill will not only save between 11,000-18,000 lives a year, but will serve to educate the public on the humanity of the unborn person and affirm the science of fetal pain early in development. We now ask the Senate to also vote on this legislation so that President Trump can fulfill his promise of signing this bill into law.” 

– Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life