Two Marches in January

As a family, my boys (5 and 3) and I attended the Marin Luther King, Jr. celebration organized by Kennesaw State University in Georgia. The commemoration included a program which featured Public Enemy founder, Chuck D as keynote speaker the singing of the Negro National Anthem as psuedo-benediction. The next activity was a symbolic March across campus lead by a young guest drumline. The march ended at a building across campus where refreshments were served.

For better or worse, my husband was working while we celebrated. His was just one of the many non-governmental companys who do not compensate employees for this holiday, nor close up shop. While he didn't seem bothered about working on King day, I did miss his presence. Nevertheless, a lasting memory was made that my boys and I will share. Even now I am enjoying hearing my youngest try to articulately speak the name Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. What a mouthful.

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The next morning we braved the cold and drizzle and arrived at the Georgia State Capital to participate in Together for Life. The activities of the day included an educational rally and silent march mourning the loss of babies through abortion, since abortion on demand through nine months of pregnancy was made possible through the court cases Roe V. Wade and Doe V. Bolton in 1973. This year the toll of abortive infant deaths reached nearly 50 million. Clerics, politicians and private citizens addressed a general theme of a national disregard for the highest ethical treatment of human life from conception to natural death. These statements took into account the week's announcement of a cloned human for the harvesting of the organs.

This time only my eldest son accompanied me as we marched through downtown. At a point he turned and asked what abortion was. I wonder how those who advocate for reproductive rights would answer this question for a five year old as thoughtful as my son is. The thought of it makes me think of Norma McCorvey's (Jane Roe of Roe v. Wade) statement that the culture of abortion requires its inhabitants to numb themselves through substances and propaganda to withstand such a dehumanizing enterprise.

As my son's question persisted, I told him that some women don't want to have babies when they get pregnant so they take the babies out and the babies die. That answer silenced the boy, probably giving him too much to think about, especially considering the way my own belly currently potrudes as I carry his sibling in month seven of gestation. I can only be caught off guard when he mentally retrieves the file of that conversation at some later date.

I record this event here for myself and anyone who believes that pro-lifers' prime activity is plodding the destruction of neighborhood abortion clinics. By and large we are women who have seen the negative impact of abortion in our friends and families. Many of us have first hand experience and regret of some kind related to abortion. I encourage any pro-choicer reading to move from the outskirts to the center of this movement. Volunteer at a clinic and see if you still believe that abortion helps women. Then volunteer at a crisis pregnancy center and compare your experiences. There are ways to help pregnant women which don't involve encouraging or enabling abortion, the ends of which leave you without regret.