#394 March!, Pakistan - January 19, 2018
March for Life Chicago
Frigid, frigid, frigid – but through the years of mourning the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the US Supreme Court decision that unleashed millions of government-approved deaths, the time of year guaranteed we’d occasionally have that circumstance. The thousands of people gathered for the Midwest’s march in Chicago on January 13 were a spirited group all the same, and we had our consistent-life contingent.
Matthew Kirchoff holds our banner in the Federal Plaza at the end of the march as people leave
Left to right, Rachel MacNair, Richard Stith, and Rosemary Stith
We also passed out leaflets about our Grassroots Defunding campaign, especially to students and to people with “Defund Planned Parenthood” signs. We explained there are three forms of defunding PP: government, foundations, and customers. This campaign is focused on customers. Several sets of people, especially students, had more extended discussions with us about merits and practicalities. Rachel MacNair also made a consistent-life presence and promoted the Grassroots campaign at the associated Rose Dinner the night before.
As usual, we have planned a contingent in the national March itself, a table at associated conferences, and a meet-up afterward. Member group Rehumanize International also has a meet-up before the March with speakers. Many of our member groups will also have tables. Check out Roe Anniversary Events 2018, and we’ll cover the news next week. In the coming weekend, if you’d like to pass out any of our leaflets or have them at lit tables at your own local events, they can be downloaded and printed; we also have ones specific to the Grassroots Defunding – Finding Alternatives to Planned Parenthood campaign. Below are photos of us at the March for Life Expo yesterday.
Left photo: Middle, CL President John Whitehead with Cecily Routman and Tom Kimmerle, Jewish Pro-Life Foundation. Right photo: John and Tony Masalonis at our table.
From Pakistan, Aneeza Pervez writes about her personal experience living in a country of terrorist attacks especially against academic institutions, in "Reconstruction of a Nation: Resilience in the Face of Terror". Aneeza and Rachel MacNair had a long discussion about the consistent life ethic during Rachel’s recent visit to Pakistan for a peace studies conference there. The Pakistani response to violence shows some of the power of people who won’t back down in the face of violence.
Aneeza Pervez
The Consistent Life Network sent 250 books, a biography of peace and life activist Dan Berrigan (a CLN endorser), by CLN Endorser Jim Forest, to CL member groups and supporters.
Caroline Bennett, a senior at Cornell University in public policy and communications and an intern for a Consistent Life Network project
Quotation of the Week Richard W. Garnett, professor and associate dean at the Notre Dame Law School “Life Affirming,” Notre Dame Magazine, Fall. 2017. The point of highlighting the multiplicity and relatedness of “life issues” is, again, not to downgrade the seriousness of the abortion question or to give a “pass” to officials and voters who are complicit in our unjust abortion regime. It is, instead, to recall what lies beneath the judgment that this regime is unjust. After all, there is a reason why it is. The proposal, the claim, and the truth that grounds the comprehensive and integrated pro-life position is that every person matters and no one matters more than anyone else.
Responses/News tips/Questions to share are all welcome. Send to weekly@consistent-life.org.
