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Tuesday, July 16, 2013

A Test of Endurance


Recognizing the Unsung Heroes
in the Fight for Life
 
 

By Maria Gallagher, Legislative Director
Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation

A number of national news operations have conducted interviews with a Texas state Senator who engaged in a lengthy filibuster of legislation designed to safeguard the health and safety of women and to protect preborn children from the ravages of late-term abortion.


I understand the media fascination with the filibuster.  One of my favorite movies is "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," in which the pivotal scene involves the late great Jimmy Stewart saying, "I guess this is just another lost cause" and talking about "Love thy neighbor" shortly before collapsing on the floor of the U.S. Senate.

Television anchors have questioned the Texas senator about how she stood for hours, without eating, drinking, or using the facilities.  A filibuster is a test of physical and emotional endurance.

So, though, is the largely unreported fight for life.


For instance, each year, hundreds of thousands of courageous people - from students to seniors - board buses headed for Washington, D.C. and the March for Life.  They endure sleep deprivation and bitter cold, on their feet for hours on end, just for the chance to stand before the U.S. Supreme Court to demonstrate their support for pregnant women and preborn children.


Again, we are talking hundreds of thousands of people. And they often receive little, if any airtime from the major networks.  I don't know how many wear pink sneakers, but I do know I have never seen their footwear profiled on the evening news. And they accomplish this grueling physical feat year after year. Some have been doing it for decades.


Many of the marchers are women, and I must confess I don't know most of their names, but they are heroes to me.


And then there are the women who rise in the dark of night to nurse the children their boyfriends-who are long gone-wanted them to abort. They do this night after night, with no TV cameras around to capture their sacrifice, and no crowd of onlookers to cheer them on. Their stamina is unsurpassed, and their selflessness is inspiring. But, again, I don't see them profiled on the morning shows.


And then there is the lovely octogenarian I know who has been providing love and support to pregnant women, day in and day out, for forty years. Again, she has been put to the test, physically and emotionally, for a lifetime. But away from the spotlight, in the extraordinariness of ordinary life.


At some point, these heroines for life were told they were engaging in a lost cause-but they knew it was a cause worth fighting for, because they were fighting for the lives of children and grandchildren, and for the true empowerment of women.


Their physical achievement far surpasses a day-long filibuster. And their legacy of love lasts far beyond one lifetime.




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