Support your local march for life

I know we’re all excited about the national March for Life in Washington, D.C., which is only a week away! But today, I want to shine a spotlight on the many local and regional marches that will mark the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Some are happening as early as this weekend. Not everyone has the ability to travel, and besides, going to your local march fosters local connections that can help end abortion community by community.

Above: a regional pro-life march in St. Paul, MN

One such march will take place in Mobile, AL on January 19. The organizers reached out to Secular Pro-Life and we gave them an audio recording to play at the march. The transcript follows.

Hello everyone, and welcome to the Mobile March for Life. My name is Kelsey Hazzard, and I’m sorry that I cannot be there with you in person today. As you listen to this recording, I will be in Washington, D.C. for the national March for Life. It’s a shame I can’t be in two places at once – but as we all know, human cloning is highly unethical!

From Alabama, to our nation’s capital, and all across the country, people of good will are marching today in remembrance of those who have lost their lives to the violence of abortion. Many of you are people of faith, and your participation is greatly appreciated.

I bring a different perspective. I am an atheist, and I am proudly pro-life.

I have been pro-life since I was old enough to understand what abortion is: it is the destruction of a helpless human being. Though I was raised in the Methodist Church—which is officially a “pro-choice” denomination—the truth still found me.

Our basic rights do not depend on being useful enough, or convenient enough, or independent enough, or educated enough, or able enough. The child in the womb is a human being, and THAT. IS. ENOUGH.

It’s one thing to understand; it’s quite another to act. I did not get involved in the pro-life movement until I was in college. So for all the younger people marching today: bravo to you. You have a head start on me! And I know you’re going to do great things.

In 2009, I started an organization called Secular Pro-Life. Our mission is to unite people of every faith and none in defense of unborn children.

Through Secular Pro-Life, I’ve been privileged to meet countless people who have strengthened my pro-life convictions. I’ve met women who tragically trusted their doctors when they said it was only a “clump of cells”—and after all, people ought to be able to trust their doctors—only to realize the deception after it was too late. I’ve met former abortion workers, who work tirelessly to repair the damage they once caused. I’ve met abortion survivors. I’ve met mothers who have held strong and chosen life in the most challenging circumstances imaginable. I’ve met young adults who are alive today because of pro-life victories like the Hyde Amendment. I’ve met sidewalk counselors and pregnancy resource center volunteers, who provide mothers in need with peaceful solutions to their problems.

And the people I have met—the people who every day inspire me to keep fighting— come from every walk of life. They are liberals, moderates, and conservatives. They are Democrats and Republicans. They are Catholics and Protestants. They are Jews and Muslims and Mormons. They are pagans and Buddhists. And they are fellow atheists.

Abortion supporters dismiss the right to life as “just a religious issue.” I can tell you definitively that that’s nonsense. Abortion is about so much more than theological disagreements. Abortion cuts to the heart of our society. Will this be a country that strives to protect all of its inhabitants from violence, or only some? Will this be a country that sells women on abortion as the price to succeed in a “man’s world,” or will we re-embrace an authentic feminism that doesn’t require mothers to sacrifice their children?

The answers to those questions depend on one each of you. Marching today is just the beginning. Say hello to the stranger walking next to you. Start a conversation about how you will save lives in 2018. Connect with one another, find strength in numbers, and make a plan.

The abortion industry is running scared. The abortion rate is at its lowest since Roe v. Wade. Abortion facilities are closing left and right. More and more states are enacting pro-life legislation. Students are leading the pro-life movement in their schools. We have a great many reasons for hope—and now is not the time to slow down. Now is the time to keep marching.