Marching as Though Lives Depend Upon It, They Do

We will join the March for Life with a new group I have created with Eileen Haupt called KIDS "Keep Infants with Down Syndrome".

WASHINGTON (Catholic Online) - The most poignant moment of the film "The Sound of Music" was when the ancient bells, joyously pealing for the wedding of Maria and Captain Von Trapp, slow to a solemn tolling, announcing the Nazi takeover of Austria. Today's Inauguration with its' unbridled emotions of optimism and hope, will be replaced by a more solemn tone two days later, when the National Mall will again be filled with hundreds of thousands of Americans.

The March for Life has been held for 36 years since the legalization of abortion throughout nine months of pregnancy with the Roe v Wade decision. Each year, over one hundred thousand marchers descend upon Washington for a solemn protest of the murder of over 50 million of their fellow Americans in their mother's wombs. Yet the mainstream press is conspicuously absent.

Perhaps this year, there may be some stragglers from the press corps, still recovering from the festivities who will be awestruck at the sight of Constitution Avenue completely filled with marchers, from the Capitol Building down to the mall in front of the Washington Monument. If they are, its' because the paltry media coverage of the March for Life usually focuses on a handful of eccentric-looking protesters, avoiding panning the crowd at all costs to hide from the public the sheer magnitude of the March. They will be struck by the youthful exuberance of half of the marchers who are survivors of Roe v Wade, born while their mothers could have legally aborted them. The few members of the media who see this will be impressed. And, on orders from on high at their newsrooms, they will keep their impressions to themselves.

The suppression of media coverage of the March for Life is nothing new. Marchers have devised means to overcome it, taking amateur video to upload on YouTube, blogging and relying on the faithful coverage of EWTN. What is new is the suppression of free speech during the Inauguration. After the contentious election of President George W. Bush, after pro-lifers spent weeks on their knees praying for a pro-life president, my husband and I felt compelled to attend the Inauguration to show our young daughters the fruit of their prayers. We stood in the freezing rain for hours to see President Bush take the oath of office, and struggled to get to the parade route so the girls could enjoy the floats inspired by the First Lady, Laura Bush, a librarian with a passion for reading. We pushed Isabella's stroller through scores of college age protesters, and their adult chaperones, with their signs containing ad-hominem attacks on President George W. Bush, peppered with profanity, all questioning the legitimacy of his presidency. It was too much for us. We never made it to the parade route.

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The next day, I arose before dawn, brushed snow off my car, and headed to the White House visitor center to wait in line for tickets to greet President Bush personally in the White House. We were keenly disappointed to learn that he had stopped greeting visitors only forty minutes before our time slot. I had wanted to tell the President that since his presidency had been decided by the Supreme Court on December 12, the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Patroness of the Unborn, that he had better be the most pro-life President in American History. Little did we know that Governor Jeb Bush and his family were actually at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City praying for him on that day. President Bush has been the most pro-life president of America, signing numerous bills protecting the sanctity of human life, both at home and abroad, appointing outstanding Supreme Court justices, declaring last Sunday, "Sanctity of Human Life Sunday" and protecting the consciences of health care workers who won't participate in the taking of human life.

He kept faith with those of us who prayed for his presidency and rejoiced at his Inauguration. The March for Life 2001 was a joyous event, highlighted by a phone call from our new President who was reinstating the Mexico City Policy of Ronald Reagan as his first act in office, saving millions of lives around the world. We knew that the Culture of Life was about to enjoy a resurgence in Washington, and though the weather was 40 and overcast, spring was in the air.

My daughters and I will go to Washington this year with heavy hearts. We will join the March for Life with a new group I have created with Eileen Haupt, a pro-life activist from Vermont, called KIDS "Keep Infants with Down Syndrome". We have never met, yet we have a shared bond; we both have children with Down syndrome. Over 90% of babies with Down syndrome are aborted in America. Our new President has the most pro-abortion voting record of any politician in history. He has promised to further the Culture of Death as the highest priority of his administration. Eileen and I organized KIDS to call attention to the fact that our children are valuable additions to our families, and to America. We know that if those of us who love children with Down syndrome don't speak up that no one will.

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We invite you to join us at 11:30 AM as we assemble at the National Right to Life Committee Headquarters at 512 10th St NW, Washington DC on January 22, 2009. We will greet our new President with a reminder that if he wants to be known as a one of the great protector of civil rights, that the smallest and most vulnerable Americans must be included, regardless of their place of residence; their mother's wombs.

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Leticia Velasquez is the mother of three, and a freelance writer and blogmaster who writes for several publications concerning the arts, life, faith, family and culture. She is a contributing writer for Catholic Online.

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