An effort to ‘change hearts and minds’
Jennifer Neville, Special to The Catholic Virginian
Hundreds lobbied. Thousands marched. It was a day in which pro-life advocates stood up to say, “We count.”
The Virginia Catholic Conference (VCC) and the Dioceses of Arlington and Richmond partnered for “a full day of advocacy, witness and prayer” through Defending Life Day and the Virginia March for Life, Wednesday, Feb. 1, in Richmond, according to Jeff Caruso, VCC executive director.
of the Virginia Catholic Conference, which represents Virginia’s bishops on matters of state policy. (Photo/Michael Mickle)
The day featured legislative advocacy, a pro-life rally and a march that flooded Capitol grounds and parts of downtown Richmond. It was the first Virginia rally after the U.S. Supreme Court case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization which last year overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide. States once again have the authority to enact laws regarding abortion.
The event started with Defending Life Day which drew nearly 600 people who, after learning about pro-life and pro-choice proposals at the General Assembly committee level, addressed their legislators.
They supported proposals such as the those that would prohibit taxpayer funds from subsidizing most abortions, ensure doctors provide life-saving care to babies who survive abortion attempts, and require the provision to a pregnant woman the full scope of resources available to her and science-based information when considering what is best for her pregnancy. They opposed a proposed amendment that would make reproductive choice a right in the Virginia Constitution.
In Virginia, abortions are allowed through the second trimester and in the third trimester if “the continuation of the pregnancy is likely to result in the death of the woman or substantially and irremediably impair the mental or physical health of the woman.” According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 15,604 abortions performed in Virginia in 2020.
“It’s just so important for people to engage with their legislators and witness for life and pray for unborn children and women experiencing crisis pregnancies and families and make sure we have policies that welcome every child in love and protect every child in law,” Caruso told The Catholic Virginian.
Participants agreed.
Mike Martin, from St. Michael the Archangel Parish, Glen Allen, grand knight of Council 11172, said he was at the event to “change hearts and minds.”
Ted Quinter, of St. John the Apostle Parish, Virginia Beach, said, “I think you have to practice what you preach or in my case, what you believe. If there’s going to be anything changed, people have to be willing to go out and fight for it. It isn’t enough to be strong in a position, you’ve got to do something… advocate for what you believe in.”
Some people found their advocacy experiences positive. Others felt like their opinions fell on deaf ears.
Wayne Lombardo, from St. John the Apostle Parish, said a legislator to whom he and fellow parishioners talked was open, responsive and proactive as he listened to concerns, shared positions on pro-life matters and encouraged voting.
But although an aide of a different legislator listened to students from Catholic High School, Virginia Beach, he said right to choose outweighed their opinions, said senior Audrey Litkowski.
Classmate Alan Nicholas explained, “It was nice of him to listen to our beliefs and arguments, but it seemed like a one-sided conversation. We were being listened to but not heard.”
After Defending Life Day, busloads and cars full of people – young and old, students and families – poured upon the Capitol grounds to join the crowd for the ensuing rally. Spectators cheered during pro-life speeches at the event, and then the throngs of people, including Gov. Glenn Youngkin, joined together in the Virginia March for Life. Participants waved banners. Chanted. Sang. Danced. A small snare drum band played.
Ian Tallent, sophomore at Peninsula Catholic High School (PCHS), Newport News, said, “I want to show that high school students want to make a difference and to be God’s hands and feet.”
Dan Doyle, from Sacred Heart Parish, Norfolk, and a knight in Council 367, said, “If we’re not here, nothing happens. We can’t change legislators’ hearts. We can’t change laws.”
Kelly Tallent, a parishioner at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Newport News, said, “this was my opportunity to put boots on the ground and show up.” She believes the march “announced we had something to say, and we wanted to be heard.”
Participants found the sheer number of people at the rally and march both inspiring and reassuring.
“It feels good that I’m not ostracized because of my beliefs. I’m not alone,” said Connor Muha, PCHS sophomore.
Likewise, Anna Johnson, from Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, who described the rally and march as friendly and unifying, said “it was really exciting to see such a large amount of pro-life Virginians there” and fellow student Lauren Klubertanz described the event as empowering, refreshing and uplifting and said that seeing other college aged students there “was like a breath of fresh air.”
So many parishioners described the day as peaceful, joyous, inspiring, empowering, energizing and hopeful.
“I just sensed a very positive aura and a very hopeful one for our pro-life advocacy. Even though three abortion bills were defeated Jan. 20, it doesn’t stop the movement. It does not get us down. We go with even more vigor,” said Barbara Firich, from St. John the Apostle Parish. “I liked people coming together from all over the state for that one cause, and with that, it does bring a lot of hope.”
Caring for mother, child focus of Defending Life Day
Joe Staniunas, Special to The Catholic Virginian
A woman with glasses and shoulder-length hair stood before more than one-thousand people on the lawn of the Virginia State Capitol and described how afraid and lonely she felt when she found out she was pregnant at age 17. Stephanie Adkins said she had just moved to a new state, didn’t know anybody and was ashamed to talk to her parents. She turned to a guidance counselor, and he directed her to an out-of-state abortion clinic, even cashing her check with school funds to pay for it.
“If I had known then what I know now, I would have made a different decision,” she told the crowd that chilly, partly cloudy day. “It has affected my life every day since then. I have experienced a lot of depression and anger and hatred towards God.”
to serve as marshals of the Virginia March for Life, helping carry a large banner and leading throngs of people during the march Feb. 1 in Richmond. (Photo/Michael Mickle)
Making sure that women and their unborn babies are protected from a decision like the one Adkins made was the main message of Virginia’s second Defend- ing Life Day, Wednesday, Feb. 1. Sponsored by the Virginia Catholic Conference, the Dioceses of Arlington and Richmond, and the Virginia Society for Human Life, the event included meetings between pro-life advocates and legislators, a rally featuring speakers from several anti-abortion groups, and the annual Virginia March for Life.
Many participants spent the morning sharing the message of caring for mother and child with state sen
ators and delegates. Parents with young children, teens wearing their high school colors, men and women sporting hats, coats and scarves in red — the symbolic color of the pro-life movement — lined the sidewalk for a full city block outside the temporary General Assembly building to go through security screening. They had to leave signs outside but their concern for pregnant women and their unborn children seemed to be written on their faces.
In his prayer before the march, Bishop Barry C. Knestout asked God to open people’s hearts to the needs of women and their unborn babies.
“Help us to be generous, just and open to your will to welcome and protect innocent life, to shelter mothers who are alone, anxious and homeless,” the bishop said. “Grant that all who believe in your Son may proclaim the Gospel of Life with honesty and love to the people of our time.”
Earlier, the bishop noted that this event was the day before the Feast of the Presentation. The ritual sacrifice at the temple offered by the Holy Family, he said, reflects the sacrifices of those who came to Defending Life Day.
“We know that the Holy Spirit dwells within our hearts,” the bish- op said. “And we give over some time, our comforts, our concerns in order to be able to go before those who have political power and influence to advocate for the smallest, youngest children in our midst, the unborn. We know it will bearfruit.”
Joining him at the rally and other activities throughout the day was Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington, the new chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-life Activities.
“Be assured that all the bishops throughout this country, in solidarity with our Holy Father Pope Francis, are tireless in our defense of the sacredness of all human life, especially the vulnerable and the unborn,” he said. “We will be tireless in our work to bring an end to abortion.”
Defending Life Day took place less than a week after legislation that would place new restrictions on abortion procedures died in the state Senate; any pro-life bills that may be approved in the House of Delegates and cross over to the Senate are also expected to fail there. All the more reason that pro-life activists such as Felicia Pricenor, vice president of government affairs for the national March for Life, urged people to “continue to march, not only here in Richmond but in DC and call for state and federal pro-life legislation that protects both mom and baby.”
Victoria Cobb, executive director of the Family Foundation of Virginia, said that seven months after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a constitutional right to abortion, “the season for celebration is moving into the season for hard work.” In Virginia, she said, that means lobbying against measures such as adding an abortion rights amendment to the state constitution and supporting bills that will do more to help pregnant women keep their babies.
The occasion also featured politicians who support pro-life legislation. Del. Emily Brewer (R-Suffolk) told the crowd to re- member that abortion always has two victims and that those opposing it must join to create a culture of life.
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares praised the pro-life pregnancy centers across the state and promised to do all he can to protect them from vandalism or any at- tempts to shut them down. Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears urged people who were about to meet with lawmakers in the morning to“be strong, be courageous.” Gov. Glenn Youngkin got a warm welcome as he took a spot in the front row of the march before bowing out about halfway.
The cheers for the governor, though, were not as loud as the ones Adkins had received earlier, as she recounted her recovery from the choice she made 25 years ago this year.
“God was there alongside me every step of the way,” she said. “He made sure that I knew he was there and that when I was ready to reach out to him, he was there with open arms for forgiveness and healing.”
As he will be, she said, for any woman who has found it too hard to choose life.