Winter Newsletter
History of the American Pro-Life movement (Part. 2)
Written by Matthew Belyea
After the end of the Civil War and the Second Great Awakening, America had a generally pro-life attitude, even in England, where it was codified into common law and became precedent. This would continue into the Progressive Era and the Gilded Age. Teddy Roosevelt is attributed with writing “To advocate artificially keeping families small, with its inevitable attendants of pre-natal infanticide, of abortion, with its pandering to self-indulgence, its shirking of duties, and its enervation of character, is quite as immoral as to advocate theft”. This was the Populist view, which prevailed throughout the Midwest, especially in Nebraska and Wisconsin. However, this did not take very long to fall apart as the American Protestant Mainlines started drifting away from being staunchly pro-life, while the Roman Catholics remained still. The abortion issue was also big because doctors were prescribing chemical abortion to women and that was passed off. However, after the Second World War, abortion came back up in debates, especially in dealing with the baby boom. The pro-life side prevailed late into the 50s. This would be stopped during the 60s when a bunch of revolutions occurred that sought to overthrow traditional values and norms. One of these things was the advocating of abortion to be legal, since it was “oppressive”. Then in 1973, abortion was legalised in Roe v. Wade, which would end up being a precedent in abortion law. This ruling galvanised the Moral Majority, which was made up of Evangelicals and Roman Catholics who both had biblical approaches to the sanctity of life, to stand up against the injustice of abortion. The Supreme Court went on to rule in favour of abortion twice more, once in Griswold v. Connecticut, and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. The Moral Majority was a popular voting bloc, which got Ronald Reagan voted in, and again what got George Bush into office. As the moral majority starts to get old, millennials and Generation Z start to stand up in solidarity against the genocide of abortion, which was a driving force behind the Tea Party in the 2010s and also what got President Trump elected. President Trump appointed several judges to the Supreme Court, who go on to roll back the disgusting blemish on American law that is Roe v. Wade.
With all of that in mind, we must keep fighting. Over 63 million babies have been murdered by abortion since 1973. We must stand up to ensure that infants’ sanctity of life is respected. We must respect the liberty of infants. We must declare freedom in the land for all, under God. We must turn the tide despite our losses. We must remember that God’s truth is forever and that abides still. Simply put, we must stand and fight for the rights and liberty of the vulnerable. When the crusade for life seems unending and our latest initiatives have failed, when our hearts are filled with sadness or anger or fear, come to our aid, O Lord, and give us the assurance that you are ever with us, that your mercies will not end, and that you, our Creator and our God, will bring victory to all who seek to love as you have commanded them. - Litany of Life, United States Catholic College of Bishops
Pro-life quotes:
"When we consider that women are treated as property it is degrading to women that we should treat our children as property to be disposed of as we see fit."
—Elizabeth Cady Stanton
"What terrible splashing!’ the elephant frowned.
‘I can’t let my very small persons get drowned.
I’ve GOT to protect them. I’m bigger than they."
― Dr. Seuss
Pro-Life News:
Utah’s Supreme Court is deliberating the trigger law that was put in place for the overturn of Roe v. Wade. Recently, Utah’s legislature has been passing a series of bills in favour of pro-life laws, such as HB467, saying abortions can only be performed in hospitals, as well as disallowing abortion clinics to be licenced by the state. We hope and pray that Utah’s Supreme Court sees the evil of abortion and that Utah is a city on a hill that other states committed to life will follow.
In another state, Florida’s Supreme Court is now starting to hear arguments regarding the new abortion ballot measure which would amend abortion in the Florida state constitution. Florida’s Supreme Court is conservative and has been known to be favourable to pro-life issues. This November, this new ballot measure will pass. We pray that Florida will not amend genocide in their constitution and that the Supreme Court will defend all life.
Source: Florida Supreme Court hears arguments over an abortion rights ballot measure (nbcnews.com)
In France, the Assemblée nationale has voted in favour of enshrining abortion rights in their national constitution. The next step is the vote in the Sénat. If it passes, France would be the first country in the world to include abortion in its constitution. We mourn for this awful decision and hope that the Senate of France would seek justice. We pray for the pro-life movement in France and seek to stand up for the right of all infants in all worlds. Source: France on-track to constitutionalize abortion rights | CNN
Students For Life wrote a wonderful article on the importance of every life and how beautiful they all are, even amidst suffering and hardship.
Upcoming events:
We're finalizing a regular date for the monthly meetings, and the final choice will be released soon with details for our next meeting to follow! Please send us an email with the times that work best for you if you are interested.