The Early Days of the March for Life & Why We March Now

My mother is one of the founders of the March for Life. She was a “stay-at-home” mom, pregnant with her 4th child (me), when she traveled to DC to meet with 6 people to decide what to do about the one year anniversary of Roe V. Wade.

Little did she, or anybody at that meeting, know that they would become the founding members of the largest human rights march in the history of the world.

Let it be known that these people did not hate women. Hate was never the foundation of this movement.

In fact, to this day, you would be hard-pressed to find a woman hater in the group of hundreds of thousands of Pro-Life Marchers.

Oh sure, the news media outlets, if they cover it at all, will most likely show the one jerk telling people who have had an abortion that they are going to Hell.

But let it be known, this March was founded on Love.

It was founded on the belief that all women — in and out of the womb — deserved to be acknowledged as unique, irrepeatable, and worthy of life and love.

That was the motivation for that first March.

My mother likes to point out that those people in attendance at that first planning meeting at Nellie Gray’s house were basically ordinary people.

But the truth be known, they weren’t ordinary at all. They were fearless.

They believed with every fiber of their being that, even if nobody showed up at that first March — that they they would march, nonetheless.

For my mother, marching against injustice was nothing new.

Years earlier, she marched with Martin Luther King, Jr. in the South.

She saw the very personhood of men, woman and children being questioned because of the color of their skin — and she couldn’t stand by and do nothing.

So she marched in their defense.

When abortion was legalized, she saw it as a similar attack.

Again, she couldn’t just stand by as innocent babies in the womb had their personhood questioned.

Neither could any of the men and women who met on that fateful day in DC at Nellie Gray’s house.

My mother made good time and arrived early to Nellie’s house on the morning of their meeting. She came upon another meeting of pro-life advocates, living in the beltway of DC.

My mother recounts the story of that meeting she sat in upon, while waiting for her own to begin.

There she sat as these local pro-life advocates talked about all the reasons why it was an awful idea to have a March in DC in January.

They said nobody would show up, and that a poorly done March was worse than not marching at all.

It was disheartening to say the least.

As my mother says, “When that meeting was over. I’m sure they thought they had settled the issue, but we were just beginning, and there was no way we were not going to do this!”

What can I say, my mom is one spunky lady and she had found equally spunky partners to make the March happen.

Nellie, understandably had her own doubts — but Nellie didn’t let that fear and doubt stop her from doing the brave thing and moving forward with the March anyways.

Those 6 “ordinary” people, living ordinary lives, convinced Nellie to go for it and to use her influence to try to pull in as many beltway pro-life advocates as possible.

And she did, and many who had initially had doubts changed their minds and ended up marching in that first March.

But it was those 7 people who changed the course of history when it came to the founding of the largest human rights march in the world.

Just 7 ordinary people. Let that soak in.

In that one meeting, every major decision for the first March for Life was made.

I emphasize this point because real change in this world often comes down to “ordinary” people who practice extraordinary faith.

No major organizations were willing to stake their reputation on it — so it fell into the hands of every day people like you and me.

It took humble people who were willing to say “To Hell with our reputation.” for that first March to happen.

It took brave people, who were willing to do the right thing, even if that right thing might be a colossal failure.

But that first March wasn’t a colossal failure — not by a long shot.

Over 20,000 people showed up, and it grew exponentially in the following years.

They presented the symbolic rose to lawmakers in hopes that they would ensure protection for the unborn and the most vulnerable.

That tradition continued for years afterwards.

Millions have continued to show up — in rain and snow and blizzards and biting cold — to stand up for all the mothers and fathers and babies, too.

Not everybody can March in DC, but if you ever can, you should go at least once.

It is a sea of humanity — all colors, creeds and abilities — peacefully marching side by side in power and love.

Nobody is marching to make somebody feel bad about their choices.

We march because we want them to know that their is hope and healing and life after an abortion.

And maybe you know people who have had abortions, and they seem just fine — but I can tell you I have met many a woman who isn’t fine after her abortion.

I have met women who regret their abortion — and in fact, most women who have abortions have felt pressured by the people in their life to make that decision.

It wasn’t actually their choice at all.

They thought it was the only way out.

Only it wasn’t a way out, it was a way in — into sadness, depression, despair, addiction, and self-loathing.

I march for those women who have had an abortion, as much as I march for the millions of babies aborted each year — perhaps even more.

In fact, it is because I believe those aborted babies would never want their own mothers or fathers to be brought to despair over their choices that I march.

I don’t want to add more shame to any woman’s decisions — but if we want true healing, we must acknowledge the cause of our pain and suffering.

If you have had an abortion, please know that there is healing for you. There is reconciliation with God and with your sweet little baby.

There is grace and light and beauty waiting for you.

You will not find condemnation amongst the people marching.

You will only find love and a helping hand and a way back to life and love and all the things you have been missing since that abortion.

Now is the time to forgive yourself and to seek forgiveness. Don’t delay.

Don’t think that your baby isn’t cheering you on from Heaven. Don’t believe for a second that your baby wouldn’t want to offer you forgiveness for what you did.

I have no doubt that your baby wants you to live again.

Catholics have something called “baptism of desire”.

It is the idea that if one intends to baptize their child, but their child dies beforehand, then God honors that desire of the parent.

Why not ask God to take your desire now to baptize that baby that you aborted?

Why not rely upon His mercy and ask Him to hear your sincere prayer?

I can’t help but think that God will honor that prayer.

That, my friends, is why we March.

We March for Life — everlasting life for you, and for me, for the mothers and fathers who aborted their babies, for the people who performed and assisted in the abortions, and for all those little babies — those warriors of truth.

Wherever you are in the world and in whatever way that you can — try to be a witness today to the beauty of each unique, unrepeatable, irreplaceable life lovingly created by God.

Your witness matters, more than you could know.