Immediately following the inauguration of President Obama, thousands of Americans, many of them high school students, will descend on Washington, DC, for the annual March for Life. Begun in 1974 as a protest of the Roe v Wade (1973) court decision legalizing abortion, the yearly “march” has grown. From 20,000 ardent pro-lifers in 1974, the march today draws hundreds of thousands (200,000 average in 2003-2006 according to the March for Life website). Many of these are high school students attending Catholic schools.
The Catholic Connection
American Catholics have made the March for Life a primary yearly event, focusing on the one social issue that dominates Catholic lobbying efforts in national and state politics. Ironically, five of the nine Supreme Court Justices, including Chief Justice John Roberts, are Catholic. Yet experience has shown, particularly in the Congress where many pro-choice Democrats are Catholic, that religion does not trump political views.
In 2004, St. Louis Catholic Archbishop Raymond Burke refused communion to John Kerry, a Catholic, because of his stand on abortion. (CBSNews.com, April 6, 2004, David Hancock) Also in August 2004, the Archbishop of Atlanta and the bishops of Charleston and Charlotte, NC refused communion to any politicians that did not renounce their views on abortion. Their joint statement was entitled, “Worthy to Receive the Lamb: Catholics in Political Life and the Reception of the Holy Communion.”
These views have been reiterated by the Catholic Church in the 2008 election (Baltimore Bishop’s Conference, November 2008). In November 2008, Francis, Cardinal George of Chicago drew a parallel, stating, “If the Supreme Court’s Dred Scott decision that African Americans were other people’s property and somehow less than persons were still settled constitutional law, Mr. Obama would not be president of the United States.”
Drawing on Catholic Students
Many of the Right to Life Marchers will be students. In an effort to attract students to the cause, the March for Life organization has even established a number of student “contests” for 2009. These contest reward essays, poems, and posters. Three winners in junior high school and three winners in high school will receive $100, with another $100 going to a local “prolife charitable” organization, and an invitation to the Rose Dinner. (March for Life, PO Box 90300, Washington, DC 20090).
Using students for a national cause is always controversial. Critics ask to what extent junior high school students fully understand the politics or abortion or the complicated legal issues that regard Roe v Wade as a precedent case regarding abortion in America. Other critics point out that the March itself only serves to keep the issue before the public. In and of itself, it cannot change government or court policy.
Abortion in America Unchanged
According to the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform and the Guttmacher Institute, women having abortions identifying themselves as Protestant accounted for 37.4 of all abortions performed (1996 statistics) while Catholic women accounted for 31.3%. According to the Guttmacher Institute, 1.21 million abortions were performed in the United States in 2005, a decrease from the 2000 number of 1.31 million.
Although the March for Life draws attention to abortion in America one day every January, abortion statistics appear to indicate that the March itself does not affect national numbers. Additionally, since the March attracts more students every year, abortion numbers still show that 56% of all women having abortions are in their twenties. (Guttmacher Institute) Of the total number of abortions reported by the Guttmacher Institute, 78% list some religious affiliation.
How Effective is the March for Life?
Considering the fact that the majority of the high court justices are Roman Catholic, is it possible to assume that Roe v Wade may be overturned in the near future? This question haunts Right to Lifers. If and when the US Supreme Court agrees to hear a case giving it the possibility of overturning the 1973 decision, Right to Lifers may be disappointed.
The March is effective in reminding the nation that a crucial social issue divides people of faith. Until resolved, access to abortion will be the law of the land. Further, America's youth, particularly those in Catholic schools, will have to decide if their beliefs truly supersede social norms.
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