Area pro-life supporters
march to end abortion

Click here to see photos from the event

By Mary Ann Wyand

Thirty-two red roses filled the tiny white casket on display in front of the stage in the Indiana War Memorial auditorium on Jan. 30 in downtown Indianapolis.

The roses represented 32 years of legalized abortion and solemnly commemorated the lives of more than 45 million unborn babies who have died in abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe vs. Wade and Doe vs. Bolton decisions in 1973.

More than 300 pro-life supporters from a number of faith communities in central Indiana were on hand to pray for an end to abortion and hear Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita and two Cardinal Ritter High School seniors speak out against the killing of babies in the womb during all nine months of pregnancy.

The Memorial Service for the Unborn was sponsored by Right to Life of Indianapolis and concluded with a peaceful and prayerful pro-life march from the Indiana War Memorial to Monument Circle and back to the auditorium.

As the keynote speaker, Rokita thanked the audience for leading the charge to protect every life.

Last week in Washington, D.C., Rokita said, President Bush said “in the plainest of terms, so that no one could misunderstand, what we all know to be true is one of the foundational blocks of this country, but has been true of free society since the beginning of time, and that is that the strong have a duty to protect the weak. … We must continue to live out that duty [to protect the innocent] as a strong people. I believe by doing this that we remain a free society.”

But in our country’s recent past, Rokita said, during the era of legalized abortion, “We have somehow abused that duty as a society. We have somehow lost the link of that duty to the collective freedom that that duty produces and, worse, we have mistakenly concluded that to be free we must allow the rights of some to trump the rights of others … that the rights of the born are better, or somehow more important, than the rights of the unborn.”

In the name of freedom, he said, “in the last thirty or so years, at least in our recent history, this [pro-abortion] lobby has co-opted one of our most fundamental principles, the duty of the strong to protect the weak, to turn that principle completely on its head, to take away the freedom to be born, to live outside the womb, all to impose a false logic and a false freedom that they … call freedom of choice.”

But there is hope, Rokita said. “We have seen it manifested especially over the last decade. We have seen it best showcased on November 2, 2004, the last election. Indeed, I truly believe that we have turned a corner, and it’s a corner that has been turned because of leadership—leadership and leaders that exist in the White House and in this house. For the first time, a majority of Americans have publicly identified themselves as pro-life, and they did so in the voting booth.”

Recent changes in the legal culture also offer hope, Rokita said, citing the “ban on partial-birth abortions, which is certainly not an entire solution. And there is legal recognition that a born fetus is life despite someone else’s attempt to abort that life. A born fetus is legally protected. Prosecutors… now consider, when a pregnant woman is injured or hurt, that that’s now injury or murder of two people. Finally, we have said in this country, as an example to the world, that we will not sanction the creation of life simply to turn around and destroy it.”

Cardinal Ritter High School seniors Kristen Maled, a member of St. Christopher Parish in Indianapolis, and June Zeunik, a member of St. Malachy Parish in Brownsburg, discussed their participation in the 32nd annual March for Life on Jan. 24 in Washington, D.C.

“The march was an amazing experience,” Kristin said, “and it is great to feel like you are making a difference and spreading a good message.”

Kristin participated in the annual archdiocesan pro-life pilgrimage to the nation’s capital for the second time last month.

“My faith in God and in the value of human life gives me my strong pro-life feelings,” she said. “Being pro-life is not only about respecting the value of human life, but also your own life because you cannot respect others if you do not respect yourself. … Being pro-life has helped me grow in my faith and confidence in myself.”

June reminded the pro-life supporters that one-third of her generation has been silenced against their will by abortion.

“Innocent babies are being denied their right to life,” she said. “Murders are committed daily without any way of punishing or stopping the acts from happening. Some people claim it is a choice—a choice that we should be able to decide the worth or importance of another’s life.”

Abortion is not a choice, June said. It is a crime that must be stopped.

“It is up to us to be the voices of the unheard victims,” she said. “It is our obligation to fight for the innocent. Attending the March for Life reaffirmed my hope for change. It was awesome to see so many people from my generation working together to make a difference in the world. … I will not stop fighting for this until the goal is achieved.” †