Advancing on the pro-life front: pro-life marches on the 33rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade underscore the momentum shift that has taken place against abortion.

Hundreds of thousands of pro-life advocates turned out for marches and rallies throughout the country to mark the 33rd anniversary of the infamous Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that struck down virtually all state restrictions on abortion. More than 100,000 pro-life demonstrators converged on Washington, D.C., on Monday, January 23, for the annual March for Life. Two days earlier, on Saturday, January 21, the second annual West Coast Walk for Life in San Francisco drew more than 15,000 supporters, doubling attendance from the previous year. Tens of thousands more turned out for similar right-to-life events in state capitals and major cities from coast to coast, demanding an end to the holocaust that has taken the lives of more than 47 million unborn babies since the 1973 ruling.

In the nation's capital, the March for Life began at the National Mall and ended at the Supreme Court building, highlighting the current battle in the U.S. Senate over the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. The theme of the 33rd annual March for Life was: "Roe v. Wade Violates the American Way." And pro-life leaders let it be known that reversing the Roe decision remains a primary goal.

"The State or a person," said Nellie Gray, president and original organizer of the March for Life, "can never justify the intentional killing of an innocent born or pre-born human in existence at fertilization. No Exception! No Compromise! We are calling for Americans to unify on goals and strategies to overturn Roe v. Wade, and replace it with the life principles." "We expect every Supreme Court justice to overturn Roe versus Wade. We expect them to do the right thing," Gray told marchers in Washington, D.C.

President Bush--who was in Manhattan, Kansas, for a speech--lent his support to the March for Life rally, saying, "You believe, as I do, that every human life has value, that the strong have a duty to protect the weak, and that the self-evident truths of the Declaration of Independence apply to everyone, not just to those considered healthy or wanted or convenient." He added, "These principles call us to defend ... all who are weak and vulnerable, especially unborn children."

The youthfulness of the pro-life movement was evident at Roe v. Wade anniversary rallies across the country, but was especially pronounced at the national March for Life, where tens of thousands of high school and college students came by bus, train, car, and plane to stand up for life and oppose the culture of death. A Youth Mass celebrated by Cardinal Theodore McCarrick at Washington, D.C.'s MCI Center before the march was filled to capacity with 22,000 young people. Another 2,000 were reportedly turned away because the facility was already overcrowded.

Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), like others addressing the March for Life, noted the overwhelming prevalence of youth in the crowd and urged the young people to increase their efforts against abortion. "As I look out at the tens of thousands of young people at this march, a source of inspiration and hope, I can't help but to offer an invitation, a challenge, a plea, for you to absolutely redouble your prayers, fasting and work on behalf of those at risk, both mothers and babies," Smith said. The congressman quoted Matthew 25, referring to Jesus' admonition about "Whatsoever you do to the least of these you do unto me."

Remembering Terri

Euthanasia took center stage alongside abortion this year, pushed to the fore by the court-ordered dehydration killing of Terri Schindler Schiavo. Terri Schiavo's brother Bobby Schindler addressed the national March for Life, pledging that the foundation the family established in her name would bring the fight against euthanasia to public prominence.

"We lost Terri, but this does not mean God did not hear your prayers," said Schindler. "Your prayers sustained our family, and we are here today to tell you that we are going forward to fight against care rationing, euthanasia, and medical killing. We have established The Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation to help others avoid the same fate my sister endured."

As if to underscore the growing threat on this front, the Supreme Court, on Tuesday, January 24, voted 6-3 to uphold Oregon's physician-assisted suicide law. Taking a cue from the court's ruling, the California legislature began pushing forward on an "Aid in Dying" bill modeled after the Oregon law.

Alarm over the growing assisted suicide movement, together with hopefulness concerning the potential for change in the Supreme Court's makeup, and encouragement from pro-life gain on a number of fronts, contributed to a boost in numbers at right-to-life rallies this year. Pro-life leaders pointed to polls and expressed optimism about winning the hearts and minds of the American public, despite the pro-abortion bias of the major media. They also pointed out that even Planned Parenthood and other abortion advocates acknowledge that fewer and fewer doctors are willing to perform abortions, and many abortion mills have closed down over the past several years. According to the website LifeDynamics.com, "There used to be over 2000 abortion clinics in America. Today, there are 737. Clearly, the pro-lifers are winning this battle."

Opinion surveys conducted by major media organizations and polling groups show that as Americans become more familiar with the facts concerning abortion, their views become more clearly pro-life. In a Gallup poll last May, for instance, only 23 percent of those surveyed said abortion should remain "legal under any circumstances," which is the rule set by Roe v. Wade. The largest group--53 percent--said abortion should be "legal only under certain circumstances." Surveys repeatedly show that many Americans who say they support Roe v. Wade do not realize how sweeping it is, with many thinking it applies only to cases involving incest, rape, or where the life of the mother is endangered. However, over 90 percent of the 1.5 million surgical abortions performed every year do not fall into any of those categories.

Victory in San Francisco

The turnout for this year's "Walk for Life, West Coast" in San Francisco clearly gave cause for pro-life optimism, if not outright exuberance. In 2005, the Walk for Life participants were "greeted" by official denunciations from Mayor Gavin Newsom and other city officials, and vicious harassment by a militant throng of pro-abortion, lesbian, homosexual, communist, and anarchist activists. (See "The Brutal Face of 'Tolerance,'" in our February 21, 2005 issue.)

Last year, the pro-abortion mob, over 1,000 strong, assaulted the 7,500 peaceful pro-life marchers with a deafening cacophony of obscenity and blasphemy over bullhorns and a public address system with huge speakers mounted on a flatbed truck. At several points the pro-abort demonstrators turned physically violent, clashing with the outnumbered police and temporarily blocking the path of the pro-life marchers and forcing the march to detour several blocks around their blockade.

Leaders on both sides of the abortion issue speculated that the militance of last year's pro-abortion demonstrators and the prospect of an even larger and more aggressive pro-abortion mob this year might dissuade many pro-liters from returning to San Francisco. To the contrary, the Walk for Life more than doubled, bringing out more than 15,000 marchers in the city that has become synonymous with left-wing politics and moral perversity. At the same time, the militant pro-abortion contingent, while no less obnoxious, was considerably smaller this year, numbering only about 250.

With a beefed-up San Francisco Police Department contingent running interference, the spitting, cursing, screaming pro-aborts were kept at a sate distance and the Walk for Life was able to proceed on its planned course without incident. Following the same itinerary as 2005, the Walk for Life began with a rally and prayers at Justin Herman Plaza and then commenced with a three-mile march along the city's historic Embarcadero and Fisherman's Wharf, ending at the scenic Marina Green below the Golden Gate Bridge. As with the national March for Life in Washington, D.C., and many other rallies, the San Francisco event was notable for the huge presence of young people and the growing numbers and visibility of women who have had abortions, carrying signs reading "Silent No More."

Star Parker, a former "welfare mom" who had four abortions before turning her life around, was one of the principal speakers at the pre-march rally at Justin Herman Plaza. Parker, founder of the Coalition on Urban Renewal & Education (CURE) and a frequent guest on national media programs, said that change is on the way. She noted that in the 1700s, Benjamin Franklin told the Constitutional Congress: "It may be legal, but it's not lawful to own another man." Today, Parker told the cheering crowd, "We stand again and say it may be legal but it is not lawful that we go into the womb. We reach up into that mother's womb, and we destroy that life. This will not go on forever!"