By PEGGY MOEN
ST. PAUL — On the 50th anniversary of the legalization of abortion, thousands of pro-life Minnesotans came to the state Capitol to commemorate the enormous harm of abortion and to call on elected officials to reject current bills that would enshrine abortion-until-birth in Minnesota law.
This annual MCCL March for Life took place shortly after the House narrowly approved the extreme Protect Reproductive Options (PRO) Act; the Minnesota Senate was expected to vote on it Friday, January 27, one day after The Wanderer went to press this week.
The day was sunny and cold, offering far better conditions than Minnesotans marching for life have often endured in the half-century since the U.S. Supreme Court handed down Roe v. Wade. Many of the marchers have come to nearly all the rallies, including Roger and Rosalind Zarembinski of White Bear Lake. Roger carried a large and colorful sign showing an infant and saying, “That’s my baby. I’ll love you forever.” Near where Rosalind and Roger stood was an empty baby carriage with a sign declaring, “No abortions in Minnesota.”
Another marcher carried a sign that declared: “Fear God. Don’t Murder Babies.” Many of the pro-life protesters carried red and white signs affirming: “No Abortions Up to Birth.”
At noon on January 22, MCCL President Scott Fischbach welcomed the crowd.
Fr. Chad VanHoose of St. Jude of the Lake, Mahtomedi, Minn., offered the invocation for the rally: “We ask Him for a miraculous intervention,” he told the marchers, to change the hearts of pro-abortion Gov. Tim Walz and the like-minded state legislators.
“Lord, make haste to help us.”
“Babies in Minnesota receive no protection in their mother’s wombs,” MCCL Co-Executive Director Cathy Blaeser then told the large and diverse crowd, hailing from all corners of the state. “But that’s not enough for Gov. Walz and pro-abortion legislators. Now they want to enshrine into our Minnesota laws a complete and unfettered right to abort any baby at any time, right up to the moment of birth.”
Speakers noted that 12 states are now — following the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson decision — abortion free.
Earlier, at the time of the Minnesota House vote, Blaeser stated: “Let’s be clear: The PRO Act would mean it’s legal for any baby to be aborted, for any reason and at any time up to birth. The absolutist extremism of this bill would put Minnesota in the company of just a handful of countries worldwide, among them China and North Korea. Mothers and babies deserve a far more humane and compassionate approach.”
Elective abortion has been legal in Minnesota since the U.S. Supreme Court’s January 22, 1973, Roe v. Wade decision struck down laws protecting unborn children nationwide. Although the Court’s Dobbs ruling now allows states to decide their own abortion laws, the Minnesota Supreme Court’s Doe v. Gomez decision continues to require a policy of abortion-on-demand in Minnesota.
Pro-aborts at the Capitol are advancing multiple bills to entrench and expand abortion in state law. The above-mentioned PRO Act (H.F. 1/S.F. 1), would create a “fundamental right” to abortion, even late in pregnancy, when unborn children are developed enough to feel excruciating pain and when the risks of abortion to women increase.
A separate bill, H.F. 91/S.F. 70, would repeal numerous longstanding abortion-related laws in Minnesota, including a law protecting newborns who survive abortion from being left to die.
In 2021, according to the Minnesota Department of Health, five abortions resulted in a born-alive infant. In that same year, 10,136 abortions took place in Minnesota, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. Almost 700,000 have taken place since Roe.
Notably, Pew Research on October 25, 2022 posted an article titled “Minnesota Has Become an Island of Abortion Access.”
Another speaker at this year’s MCCL rally was Alyssa Bormes, who bravely shared her story of rape, abortion, and regret. She recalled how abortionists had assured her that relief would follow the procedure, but that relief was fleeting, and she realized: “I killed my babies.”
Ultimately, she confessed her sins to a priest with ties to MCCL, and then: “Healing flooded my soul.”
Other notables in attendance included Cong. Brad Finstad and Cong. Michelle Fischbach. Congressmen Tom Emmer and Pete Stauber sent greetings. Many state lawmakers were in attendance and were introduced to the crowd by Don Parker, MCCL co-execution director. Jon Olson served as the vocalist.
Pro-life Minnesotans were anxiously awaiting the Minnesota Senate vote on Friday, January 26, as this article was written and published.
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