Students from across Texas, including several Texas Right to Life Dr. Joseph Graham Fellows, are on their way to Washington, D.C., this week. They are taking time out of busy schedules to journey to our nation’s capital for an important cause, in fact, the most important cause. These young Texans are headed to the 44th Annual March for Life, and they are standing in defense of the preborn. Hundreds of thousands of other citizens will join the Pro-Life march advocating for the Right to Life of all people.
Recently, we saw the so-called Women’s March showcased by many major media outlets. The anti-Life message was broadcast from every platform imaginable. Protesters paraded through the news wearing “***** hats” and carrying profanity-laced signs. Celebrities declared “F**k you!” to any critics of the march and received wild cheers from the crowd. Chants of the tired anti-Life line, “My body! My choice!” drowned out any Pro-Life voices. These divisive theatrics are in line with the ironically named “Unity Principles” issued by the Women’s March which proclaim that all participants must accept the violence of abortion.
While the press lavished attention on the Women’s March, the real inclusive march has been ignored. For decades, the March for Life has brought together varied groups representing communities from every corner of the country united in the cause of Life. People committed to standing in solidarity with the most vulnerable, the preborn, have come together, even in years of fierce wintry weather.
Maria Agana of Houston will be attending this march with her teenaged daughter. Maria described the inclusivity of the march saying: “This is an interfaith, interracial, multigenerational national movement whose mission is to advocate for human rights of ALL citizens…from conception to natural death.”
Contrary to the divisive rhetoric of the anti-Life Women’s March, Maria said she and her daughter are “marching out of love.” She feels motivated by “a love that outpours to my neighbors especially the voiceless and the marginalized.” The preborn are the most marginalized in our society. Since Roe v. Wade more than 59 million babies have been killed by abortion in our nation.
Despite the importance of the Pro-Life cause, the fact that a majority of Americans are Pro-Life, and the many different groups who come together every year for the March for Life, the media refuse to cover the event. The inexcusable anti-Life bias of the mainstream media is perhaps nowhere as clear as in their near total silence about the March for Life.
Taylor Turcott, a student at Texas A&M and one of the Fellows marching, articulated why media coverage of the March for Life is so important. She said:
I would love to see all the diverse facets of the Pro-Life movement represented in coverage of the March. There are feminists, atheists, members of the LGBT community, former clinic workers, and people from all types of political and social backgrounds who identify with this movement, and their voices should be heard. I would hate to see more propagation of the tired narrative that the Pro-Life movement consists solely of old white men who want to oppress women.
When the committed Pro-Lifers who march on Washington every year are ignored, the media is free to peddle their myth that Pro-Lifers are a fringe group of extremists. We already saw the extremists: They call themselves the Women’s March. Far from being extreme, the Pro-Life movement is based on scientific fact, human rights, and justice for ALL people.
Dr. Joseph Graham Fellow Matthew Keller, a student at St. Mary’s University, is undeterred by the biased reporting. He sees the lack of coverage as a sign of the weakness of the anti-Life movement. “The fact is that they [the mainstream media]are scared of us and the enormity of our numbers.” In Matthew’s view, the absence of reporting should galvanize the Pro-Life community. He said, “We are the voice of the unborn; they have no media but us, and we will keep shouting until our voices cannot be ignored. We will buoy the truth in the sea of false reporting, and there has never been a better time for it.”
Indeed, this January does seem to present an opportunity for Pro-Lifers to make their voices heard. In the hostility of the anti-Life Women March, Pro-Lifers took the lead and boldly shared their message. Counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway has frequently discussed the March for Life and her upcoming appearance as a speaker. Such vocal endorsement from someone close to President Donald Trump sends a strong message about the new administration, and many Pro-Lifers are optimistic.
While the mainstream media will most likely fail to report the enormity of the March for Life once again, even though President Trump rightfully confronted the media for their refusal to report the largest demonstration for human rights in the country, Pro-Lifers are still making their voices heard. You can find posts on social media under the hashtag #WhyWeMarch. The most powerful action Pro-Lifers can take is to spread the word.
Watch President Trump’s remark to ABC here: