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Marching for Life in Tucson - 2008

Posted by Wayne Boettcher On January - 26 - 2008

Posted: 01/25/2008

St. Augustine’s Cathedral of Tucson, Arizona was originally built in the 1860’s, yet the church’s history stretches back to the chapel of the Spanish Presidio built in 1776. That was known as “The Chapel of the Royal Presidio of San Agustin in Tucson.” The clash of Western and Native culture was tumultuous, yet both survived in the unique desert environment that all Southwestern people share a love for in our uniquely blended society.

Suits and ties are not normally in evidence here at events commonly dressed up for in other lands. And Easterners are often shocked at the lack of punctuality the Southwest people exhibit. Furthermore, people in the desert just don’t seem to care that much when it is pointed out to them that they are a few minutes late! Time has a different meaning here, and in fact, Arizona still refuses to join Daylight Savings Time. We are quite satisfied with regular time, thank you very much!

All this was on my mind as I drove to the historic Cathedral on Saturday morning, January 19th, 2008. As a life-long Protestant, I wondered what the service would be like, but when I realized I was late for Mass it seemed like I was already relating to the Catholics! This tardiness caused me not to find out immediately that for the first time Protestant services were being held simultaneously in the adjoining hall. Yet I still enjoyed the Mass. Some might wonder how this new experience of dual services came to be.

The reason is because this was no ordinary Saturday but the nearest one to January 22nd, the 35th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade. This precedent setting Supreme Court case forced State governments to allow abortion, even if they wanted to ban it. As this column related previously, the legal precedent and its companion, Doe v. Bolton, are contested by their own plaintiffs who have explained that their abortion advocating lawyers tricked them into complying with the fraudulent cases. The Supreme Court refused to listen when they asked to have their own legal “victories” overturned, however.

On the weekend closest to January 22nd, Tucson March for Life has for the past 12 years peacefully marched from St. Augustine’s Cathedral to Holy Hope Cemetery. At the cemetery, roses are laid at the Monument to Rachel who symbolizes all the babies lost to abortion since 1973 in America. At the time of this writing that number is about 50,000,000. I don’t think even abortion advocates realized how prolific the practice would become. Certainly many assumptions were made about how “safe” this would make abortion for women. Now we realize that many medical problems plague women who have had abortions, from the psychological to the physical such as breast cancer or a punctured uterus.

Dr. Bernard Nathanson, a former pro-abortion activist in the 70’s who is now pro-life, now admits telling lies to “sell” abortion to the public over 30 years ago. Polls were fabricated saying 60 percent of Americans wanted abortion legalized. Among the falsehoods given were that 10,000 women were dying yearly from illegal abortions, when the correct number was closer to 250. The actual estimated number of annual illegal abortions at the time, 100,000, was expanded in pro-abortion propaganda to 1,000,000! In a tragic irony, since Roe v. Wade was passed the annual number of terminated unborn has now surpassed the false number claimed back then.

Dr. Nathanson had no qualms about abortion in those days because he didn’t think it was a real baby in the womb. He performed and participated in thousands of abortions himself. Yet later he became a baby doctor and, as womb examination technology progressed with ultrasound, fetal heart monitoring, fetoscopy and cordocentesis (where surgery is actually performed in the womb) he came to realize that an unborn baby was really a person. He then changed his mind about abortion and made several shocking movies of actual abortions in the womb, as well as writing some books about the subject.

The recently developed 4D Ultrasound is even more revealing which causes political consternation. Pro-life groups and lawmakers are calling for laws requiring women to be shown an ultrasound before they decide to abort. This leads to many deciding not to abort after all, so “pro-choice” organizations oppose it. They also oppose pro-life counselors speaking to women at all before abortions, which have led to restrictive anti-free speech rulings and oppression of pro-life groups.

Planned Parenthood is one of the largest of these. Not only does the “non-profit” organization actually perform abortions for money, it also received a “profit” of 55.8 million dollars in the 2005-2006 fiscal year, with taxpayer funding of $305.3 million. As donations fall, Planned Parenthood increasingly relies on the US government to fund its abortion-promoting policies. In that same fiscal year, they carried out 264,943 abortions and recorded no adoption referrals, perhaps to avoid the shame of the previous year’s 8-1 ratio that was roundly denounced by pro-lifers. Planned Parenthood has also been credibly accused of covering up adult relations with minors in order to sell abortions. Every pro-life person in America should write Congress and the Senate asking them to de-fund this group.

Knowing all this I proudly joined the Tucson March for Life for the first time. Though of course I have written my government representatives on these matters many times, I have never marched before and looked forward to seeing what it was like. As a matter of fact, it was a very positive experience. Everyone was very friendly and nice, with none of the grim religious fervor that pro-abortion propaganda promulgates. The common cause of supporting life brings good people of all sorts together. I had pleasant conversations with priests, ministers, a man and his sister, young teenagers, senior citizens and many families pushing baby carts. Children abounded throughout the estimated 1500 Tucsonans of the March for Life.

A fourth of the way, I ran into my own mother, whom I did not know would be in this march! I won’t go into all the ironies thereof, but I did joke to her friends that by the time she wanted to abort me, I had already been born and it was too late! She quickly denied that; indeed, working at a Crisis Pregnancy Center and having a life-long propensity to being pro-life, my mother does not want to be associated with abortion even jokingly. The work that these Pregnancy Centers do is incredible, helping mothers and fathers take care of babies or to adopt the child, counseling both men and women who have had abortions and providing vital information on babies or pro-life matters.

I carried a two-sided sign, with “We Vote Pro-Life” on one side and “Give Life a Chance” (suggested by my witty wife) on the other. After the long march we crossed the street to the Holy Hope Cemetery where chairs and a stand were set up for speakers. Bishop Gerald Kicanas of the Diocese of Tucson spoke of the importance of preserving life and fighting racism. The head of Crisis Pregnancy Centers in Tucson, John Tabor, related a story where a woman came up to him in a store and introduced a child.

“This is the man who saved your life,” she said as she presented the pro-life leader to the little girl. The true story illustrates how we may never know how each pro-life effort may save a life somewhere.

Also Christian singer Curtis Reed of Phoenix, Arizona sang a sad rap song about his own child that had been lost through abortion. There was prayer and then the people who had been lined up to present roses to the Monument to Rachel came forward one by one as the Knights of Columbus presented a touching sword salute. A somber gong note rang forth to summon the 35 rose carriers (one for each year since Roe v. Wade) to their glum task.

Several speakers noted the large number of young adults and teenagers at the March and currently active in pro-life matters. It seems a new generation of life advocates are springing forth comprised of Roe v. Wade survivors who realize how blessed they are to be alive. Perhaps it is they who will ultimately win the battle for life in America, by bringing their votes and voices to the table with youthful enthusiasm and drive. Yet we must all do what we can to save these unborn lives, whenever and wherever legally possible. Abortions are down. Life is winning. But we must never stop. More then ever, now is the time to stand up for life in America!

Wayne Boettcher is the head of AmericanProtest.net, an advice website for conservative protesters.