In preparing this update, the first since December 28, I was a bit overwhelmed by the vast amount of new material that I hope may be of interest to subscribers. So, I am reminded of the proposition of how to eat an elephant…one bite at a time. In order not to overwhelm the reader, I have broken my report into numbered updates with targeted topics, of which this is the first.

The most obvious topic is the March for Life in Washington, D.C. on January 21, which had the theme that “Equity begins in the womb.” Whereas it is not feasible to even scratch the surface in commenting on all of the peripheral activities associated with this event. I will note a few things.

First of all, be encouraged by the momentum of the pro-life movement. More people than ever before now realize that a developing baby is a person, and they are concerned that this life must be protected and that pregnant women must receive every kind of support so that abortion is not a reflex choice. Organizers for the event obtained a permit based on 50,000 people attending. The weather was harsh and concerns for COVID-19 have restricted many people from travel. However, a very determined 150,000 people came to have their voices heard.

Nevertheless, there remains bitter opposition to those efforts to protect life, educate women, and offer support and alternatives.

On January 22, President Joe Biden pledged to defend the “fundamental right” to unrestricted abortion and reaffirmed his commitment to spreading widely unrestricted and unregulated abortion. Despite not being something new in our time, it is still unsettling to see a national leader denigrate life and promote the death of the most innocent and vulnerable. It is equally perplexing to see a leader of his stature embrace the violence perpetrated on women by abortion and promote restrictions on education of women and any support mechanisms that would allow her to choose life for her baby. One might think that responsible persons would find abortion a most regrettable option and encourage every alternative. One could still support the choice of abortion while finding it the least desirable outcome in a pregnancy. What is he (and others like him) thinking!?

Vice President Harris also spoke in support of expanded access to abortion, equating it to a civil right and health care for women. She (and most democrat leaders, with the support of most lay democrats) are promoting a bill in Congress to make unrestricted and unregulated access to abortion on the demand of the mother a statutory right under national law as a way to circumvent any decision by the Supreme Court which might return the right to regulate abortion to the individual states.

The Women’s Health Protection Act (if it becomes law) will accomplish that and explicitly eliminate waiting periods, ultrasounds, requirements for education, and any discussion of alternatives and community resources, such as is currently required by laws in various states. Again, the lust to destroy incipient life and prevent a woman’s access to support so she can have a healthy baby is hard to comprehend. It is equally difficult to understand why all women do not clearly see such efforts as depriving women of access to every kind of support so that she has a choice and does not feel hopeless and abandoned with no viable option. Pro-life is the real pro-choice.

Concurrently, thousands of people from across the state attended the Texas Rally for Life in Austin on January 22. Political leaders and representatives from pro-life organizations addressed the crowds. About 60 pro-life organizations also provided booths at the Pro-Life Expo. There was a great amount of enthusiasm and hope for an end to the wanton taking of life that is advocated by pro-abortion groups.

Among those speaking was Claire Culwell, a survivor of an attempted abortion. Nothing speaks more loudly to the issue of the unborn being real people than a person whose life was not ended by abortion, a person who can assert that they had a right to be born and that their life matters.

As more and more pro-life groups become better organized and cooperate together, the assertion that all life has value will be progressively harder to refute with any credibility. Those who promote abortion as a right and the most desirable solution to an unplanned pregnancy under difficult circumstances will be discredited, finding themselves on the wrong side of the evolving values of society.