By PEGGY MOEN
ST. PAUL — MCCL’s 42nd annual January 22 rally took place under unusual circumstances. Traditionally, the pro-life rally has been held on and below the steps of the state capitol here, with pro-lifers marching on the grounds, in view of a podium set on top of the steps. But, with the capitol undergoing renovation, the march for the second year in a row was held on the lower capitol mall, with pro-life leaders addressing the crowd from a portable platform.
Another difference: The temperature was in the 20s — above zero.
The capitol’s renovation could symbolize a needed renewal of government, and the warmer weather could be a harbinger of hope for the long battle for life.
But the real cause for rejoicing at the rally was the ever-growing numbers of young people taking part — some of whose parents might have been born after Roe v. Wade was handed down.
Among the thousands taking part were scores of teenagers, marching with friends and family or under the banners of schools and fraternities.
“Blessed José Sanchez del Rio High School Seminary — We Are for Life,” read one banner.
In a sideshow along the frozen pathway, about 20 students from the seminary led chants, like “We love babies, yes we do, we love babies, how about you?” Drums and maracas accented the chants.
The students traveled north to St. Paul from their school in Mankato, Minn., first attending the Pro-Life Prayer Service at the Cathedral of St. Paul preceding the March.
“We’re here to see if we can stop abortion,” Daniel Sanchez, an eighth grader, told The Wanderer.
Many pro-life marchers stopped along the way to join the students’ chants, including another youth group, the Columbian Squires of Holy Family Parish, St. Louis Park, Minn.
The Squires — a Knights of Columbus youth fraternity — also carried a banner, announcing they represented the “Pope Pius XII Circle 895.”
Asked why they came to the March, Squire Gregory Fink told The Wanderer that “part of being a Squire is doing service projects and spiritual projects.”
We want to “defend life and stand up for it,” said Jonathan Hagen.
The three other Squires at the March were Caleb Rome, Grant Hagen, and Jeremy Rivard.
Thirty-Four Knights of Columbus from La Crescent also traveled from southern Minnesota to come to the March. KC Ricardo Acevedo said he has been marching for 14 years “because pro-life is important to me.”
After the half-hour march around the lower mall, the program began. Leo LaLonde, president of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, reminded everyone that Roe v. Wade has resulted in 58 million babies killed in the United States, and “brought untold suffering to their mothers.”
LaLonde pointed to the “I Regret My Abortion” signs ringing the platform, held by those who have undergone abortion and then repented.
MCCL Executive Board member Jaclynn Miller then announced the 2016 legislative agenda of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life.
She declared: “Every abortion kills an unborn child, but dismemberment abortions are some of the cruelest abortions of all and it’s time to ban them,” adding that in 2014 there were more than 700 dismemberment abortions in Minnesota.
The legislative agenda also seeks the licensing and inspection of abortion facilities, which currently are exempt from the licensing and inspection required of other outpatient surgical centers across the state.
The third agenda item calls for lawmakers to end taxpayer-funded abortions, which account for 38 percent of all abortions performed in Minnesota. At the March, blue and white signs stating “No taxpayer funding for abortion providers” stood out.
Keep fighting, Miller urged the pro-lifers, until “all babies born and unborn and their mothers are protected.”
LaLonde encouraged all pro-lifers to attend Minnesota’s March 1 precinct caucuses, as that determines who will run for office.
Kurt Daudt, speaker of the Minnesota House, spoke to the March, declaring: “Minnesota is a pro-life state!”
Daudt, a Republican, noted that the Minnesota House last session passed bills eliminating tax funding of abortion and requiring the licensing and inspection of abortion facilities. But, he said, unfortunately these bills did not become law because “Minnesota has a pro-abortion governor and Senate.”
Rep. Daudt said that, in light of last summer’s videos of Planned Parenthood, he has called on Gov. Mark Dayton to investigate Minnesota’s facilities. But the governor, said Daudt, “continues to deny” that the illegal selling of baby parts happened.
Minnesota’s pro-life Members of Congress John Kline, Erik Paulsen, Tom Emmer, and Collin Peterson sent written greetings that were read at the March. Congressmen Peterson and Paulsen decried President Obama’s veto of the legislation defunding Planned Parenthood.
The local hierarchy played a role as well in Minnesota’s marking of the Roe v. Wade anniversary. Bishop John LeVoir of New Ulm spoke at the cathedral’s Pro-Life Prayer Service, and Bishop Paul Sirba of Duluth delivered the invocation at the MCCL rally.
Bishop Sirba mourned the loss of life to abortion, prayed for “the conversion of those who willingly participate in this sin,” and concluded: “God in your mercy, hear us, we pray.”
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