Let's keep marching all year

By Tony Magliano
Catholic News Service
What a wonderful sight to behold: From the top of Capitol Hill as far as I could see, there were a sea of people on the march for life!
But the 39th March for Life was bittersweet.
It was inspiring to see so many people from so many states marching on behalf of our unborn brothers' and sisters' right to be born. But it was sad to think that we have been marching for 39 years -- with no end in sight.
Last year in the United States, approximately 1.2 million tiny human beings were aborted, that is, were brutally dismembered and murdered. And it was all perfectly legal.
While we have made significant advances in many states to provide some protection for the unborn, we are still a very long way from acquiring full legal protection for every unborn baby.
The March for Life in Washington, D.C., the Walk for Life West Coast and pro-life demonstrations in various state capitols are all well and good, but these one-day annual events are simply not enough to bring an end to the horrible injustice of legal abortion.
We need to march all year long -- lobbying, demonstrating, educating and praying for the full protection of every single unborn person's life and dignity, and while we're at it, every born person's life and dignity as well.
At the request of the U.S. bishops, please email and phone your congressional delegation (202-224-3121) urging them to co-sponsor and vote for:
-- H.R. 3, S. 906, "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act."
-- H.R. 358, S. 877, "Protect Life Act."
-- H.R. 361, S. 165, "Abortion Non-Discrimination Act."
-- H.R. 1179, S. 1467, "Respect for Rights of Conscience Act."
For more information concerning these bills, visit www.nchla.org.
Also, kindly consider signing up to receive legislative alerts from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Please go to www.usccb.org and put your cursor on "Issues and Action." Then click "Take Action Now." And finally, click "Sign up for future action alerts," type in your contact information and click submit.
And because many life issues are also being dealt with on the state level, don't forget to also contact your state Catholic conference and get on their legislative alert list as well.
Raise money to fund a pro-life billboard (www.prolifebillboards.com).
Ask your pastor to always include petitions for the unborn and all vulnerable people in the prayer of the faithful.
Urge your parish respect-life committee to organize a regular, prayerful, peaceful and educational parish presence at the nearest abortion site. Priests for Life (888-735-3448/www.priestsforlife.org/mills) is available to help your parish get started in this essential Catholic witness.
In her Nobel Peace Prize lecture, Blessed Teresa of Kolkata said, "I feel the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a direct war, a direct killing -- direct murder by the mother herself. ...
"Because if a mother can kill her own child, what is left but for me to kill you and you to kill me -- there is nothing in between."
Indeed, abortion is war -- waged against the smallest and weakest members of humanity. War always inflicts the most suffering on the most vulnerable.
Let's continuously respond to the Lord's call to be consistent peacemakers on behalf of all of our brothers and sisters -- born and unborn.
Let's keep marching all year!