Where equality begins

RICHARD A. SOKERKA

When the 49th annual March for Life is held on Friday, Jan. 21, in Washington, D.C., its theme will be “Equality Begins in the Womb,” event organizers announced last week.

According to Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life, “Equality has been a hotly debated topic in the United States as of late. These discussions are crucial for America, for the health of our country,” said Manicini. “There’s little agreement on the definition of what ‘equality’ is and who it applies to. We want to expand this rigorous debate about equality to unborn children, who are often overlooked because they cannot speak for themselves,” she said.

“Each of us is a human being, and we have inherent human dignity because of who we are in our essence,” said Mancini. In addition, human beings, she added, “should be protected from the moment of conception.”

“The pro-life movement recognizes the immense responsibility this nation bears to restore equal rights to its most defenseless citizens in the womb,” said Mancini.

“We hope the Supreme Court honors the existing constitutional protections for the unborn as they hear arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization,” she added, citing the major abortion case before the high court. Oral arguments in the case are scheduled for Dec. 1. Mancini said the Dobbs case at the Supreme Court has the potential to make a “major impact on the unborn and on equality.” The case focuses on Mississippi’s law restricting most abortions after 15 weeks. The question at hand is whether all pre-viability state abortion bans are unconstitutional.

“Our hope and our prayer is that this year’s theme, ‘Equality Begins in the Womb’ will allow not only for hearts and minds to be changed,” she said, “but that there will also be, included in this robust debate, the topic of the unborn child.”

We hope that the March for Life on Jan. 21, which, according to organizers, is the world’s largest annual human rights demonstration, will draw the biggest number of participants in its 49-year history. Pro-life people need to show the Biden Administration that abortion is not “health care” in any way, shape, or form and that the majority of Americans oppose what Biden and his Democratic cohorts have done since taking office in January in expanding abortion while continuing to not recognize the unalienable right to life every human being in the womb has had from the founding of this great nation to this day.