I AM the Pro-Life Generation

I wanted one of those signs to bring home, but I ran into the same problem I always have -- it's just not worth taking it back on the bus. In case you didn't know, January 22nd is the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that legalized the taking of innocent life. Every January, pro-life people take to the streets of DC to commemorate the date and demand change. This year, since the 22nd fell on a weekend, the March for Life happened Monday, January 24th.

I took a group of students from CCM up to DC for the occasion. We stopped at my home parish and bussed in with them, to avoid the cost and trouble of Metroing or driving into the city. The bus dropped us at the Mall in time for the rally beforehand. As usual, the rally consisted mostly of politicians who all said the same thing and pro-life leaders who spoke the same rhetoric that we've all been hearing. Of course, some of it was occasion-specific, referring to the pro-life House, the passage (and hopeful repeal) of the healthcare bill, and the prominence of young people in the crowd.

We met up with a few people in the crowd -- I got to see a friend from Catholics on Call and a W&M alum who is currently in seminary. For the March itself, we joined the W&M SFL group and a good friend from undergrad who now studies at UVA. My most surprising encounter occurred as the crowds were starting to move. I saw a good looking guy (he gets the flattery because he said he reads this blog) waving at someone, I thought behind me. Two seconds later, I saw a friend from undergrad retreats heading my way, and he greeted me with the words, "I guess you didn't recognize me with the hat." True story!

It doesn't sound right to say that the March was "good," but it was. In reality, it doesn't function as much as a protest as a coming together for mutual encouragement and motivation. I'll post later about the media attention, but really the March allows for pro-life people to come together and see each other, hear each other, and remember that we're none of us working alone, even as we're working scattered throughout the country. And when hundreds of thousands of people flood the streets each year, it does say, "We will not forget. We will not go away. We will not stop."

My favorite sign made the title of this post. Students for Life of America was handing them out, and they truly give me hope. Abortion is becoming less linked to other issues and young people are finding was to be "pro-life and." Pro-life and liberal, pro-life and feminist, pro-life and punk, pro-life and cool. While, as one of my CCMers rightly pointed out, we will only end abortion with prayer and continual living out of Christian lives, this awareness that being pro-life is not a narrow, conservative category also points in a positive direction.