Iowa pro-lifers flock to the capitol
By Tom Quiner
President Lincoln watched the Iowa March for Life approvingly
As Lincoln and Tad looked on, Iowa pro lifers swarmed the state capitol for the Iowa March for Life.
You had the sense that the man who freed the slaves looked on approvingly at the throngs praying to free the preborn from the shackles of “choice.”
Governor Terry Branstad and Bishop Richard Pates led the walk along with Lieutenant Governor, Kim Reynolds.
Everyone prayed.
I heard some folks singing “Amazing Grace.”
Protestants, Catholics, and all of the participants regardless of faith, were united in their devotion to the cause of life. One preacher who led us in prayer said something that really stuck with me. Each baby in the womb has a unique genetic code at the instant of their conception.
Governor Branstad speaks at the Iowa March for Life
There has never been anyone like that little baby. There never, ever will be.
Everyone single one of us is unique with our unique potential. All of our hopes and dreams are present in this potential, but not realized, at the instant of our creation.
A friend of mine said he was talking to an atheist recently. She stopped him in his tracks by saying that she is pro-choice because she is an atheist.
She suggests that the staking out of a pro life position is strictly driven by religion. Readers of this blog know otherwise, as I have heard from atheists who are pro life.
If anything, an atheist has substantial moral reasons to be pro life. The woman above doesn’t believe in life after death. We have one shot, in her view, and then we fade away into nothingness, into oblivion.
The Iowa March for Life
How could any moral person allow the taking away of that “one shot” of that person? A pro choice Christian might say that, well if that really is a person in the womb, he or she will end up in heaven where they’ll be okay even if they’re aborted.
The atheist doesn’t see it that way, which makes the significance of every new created being profound.
Human life is human life. Personhood is established at the instant human potential is created at the conception of an individual with a unique DNA.
The prayers of today’s Iowa Pro Life March thundered across the state. This movement is unstoppable, because it is just and moral.
No offense, Tom, but I often feel that the Catholic population in America has abandoned the pro-life cause, voting in large majorities for Democrat Party candidates, who continue to try to expand the number of abortions that occur annually. I know abortions are down somewhat, but I think that is due more to the fact that people are being more “careful” than out of any sense of morality. This is a cause that is near and dear to my heart. I know the Catholic leadership has held the pro-life line, but the rank and file are not following suit. What is it that the left has to offer that is so appealing to Catholics? Is it the idea of social justice? Is it the idea that the left is the champion of “minorities” (not really) and that Catholics at one time were a minority? It makes very little sense to me how a main-line Christian denomination can vote in large majorities for a party that support gay marriage and abortion on demand.
Although Catholics have been a driving force in the pro life movement since its conception (pun intended), too many vote Democrat for the reasons you stated. Some do it as a form of cultural auto pilot. They believe that Democrats are the part of the little guy and that Republicans are the party of the rich. It is that simple to them and nothing will ever get them to change.
I am Catholic and no offense taken Shawn. You speak a painful truth but things are changing. There are a lot of Catholics in this country and way to many of them are what we call “cultural Catholics”, Catholics who have not studied their faith or take it seriously.
Being Catholic is very much a part of our culture, as well as our faith and belief system. In the past, the Democratic party was more in line with church teaching and it was a part of our identity as Catholics to be Democrat. The party has changed and people can’t let go.
Our church went through a difficult time but I am excited about where we are headed as a church. The young people, and especially the young men coming out of seminary, give me great hope.
As Theresa Dowd says, they will be the ones to end abortion in this country.
Some of the members in Congress who call themselves Catholic and actively work to expand abortion are an embarrassment to a growing number of Catholics.
Just my take on this… I’m Catholic. I think Catholics who know their Faith and try to live their Faith are the ones who do not vote for a pro abortion candidate. There are way too many so-called Catholics who never understood their faith and must believe that the Democrat party is for the underdog and the little guy who is trying to make it in this capitalistic society. They just don’t get it and it’s so frustrating. One reason for this misunderstanding is that the Bishops and priests neglected to talk about contraception and abortion years ago, and their silence led the people to remain ignorant and to think these issues weren’t important. I do believe that the younger generation growing up now will be the one to put an end to abortion. They see the damage that’s been done to families, women and men, and society. And the Church leaders are not so silent anymore, thank God!!!
Well put, Theresa. Great seeing you at the March today, even if we didn’t get to talk.
Many will say “Lord didn’t I etc. And He will say “Depart from me you workers of iniquity ..I never knew you”. Great march today. Wonderful to see the support. Now all those saying they are prolife need to keep working. It’s not over but we are getting closer to the goal each day with God’s grace and help.
This cause cannot be stopped.
Good for you and great pics. My wife and I are going to Washington, DC. Will take pics.
Wonderful! Please send some my way to post on Quiner’s Diner.