Dennis Di Mauro, LFL’s representative to the National Pro-Life Religious Council, took part in the first pro-life Freedom Ride. Here’s his report:
After hearing Vernessa Mitchell’s rockin’ rendition of Unity, the pro-life anthem which urges solidarity in the cause of the unborn, I realized that the pro-life movement had finally gotten some soul. Unity was the overarching theme of the first ever Pro-Life Freedom Ride which was held in Birmingham, Alabam, on July 23-24, 2010. This event was led by the niece of Rev. بيت ٣٦٥ Martin Luther King, Jr., Dr. Alveda King, and it sought to show the similarities between the civil rights movement of the 1960s and today’s most prominent civil rights cause, the pro-life movement. Much as African-American citizens were treated as less than human in our nation’s past, today’s unborn Americans are similarly denied their God-given human rights.
The weekend kicked off on the evening of Friday the 23rd, with a rally at the Birmingham-Jefferson County Convention Complex, which, after a personal welcome from the Mayor of Birmingham, William A. Bell, Sr., included performances by numerous gospel artists (including Mitchell), and sermons by some of the nation’s most prominent pro-life clergy. Dr. Alveda King explained that today’s unborn are much like the portrayal of the infant John the Baptist in Luke 1, who leaped in the womb at being in the presence of Christ, who was himself still in his own mother’s womb. Like John the Baptist, today’s unborn cannot be heard, but they are nevertheless the living children of God. King also pointed out the parallels between the pro-life and civil rights movement, explaining that the abortionist suction is today’s lynch rope, a tool which will eliminate the next generation of African-Americans.
Father Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, likened the Israelites’ captivity under Pharaoh to the plight of the 1.2 million children killed each year by abortion. He noted that these aborted children are God’s children, and therefore society, like the Pharaoh of old, has no right to decide whether they will live or die. Pavone explained that the pro-life movement isn’t a Republican or Democratic movement; instead it is truly a human rights movement. Pastor Stephen Broden, of Dallas, Texas, and a candidate for the US Congress, spoke of the recent movie, MAAFA-21. This film exposed the roots of Planned Parenthood as a eugenics movement, which was begun, in part, to eliminate the perceived “unwanted” of society, including African-Americans. He pointed out that today’s African-American fertility rate, which is much lower than the white rate, demonstrates Planned Parenthood’s success in targeting abortion clinics in predominantly African-American neighborhoods. Jim Pinto, a long-time pro-life pastor in Birmingham, and now an activist at Priests for Life, urged everyone to attend the prayer rally at the local abortion clinic the next day. He noted that if everyone would push against the gates of hell, it will not prevail. العاب للربح من الانترنت
The next morning Freedom riders congregated at Caldwell Park in Birmingham and marched to the Planned Parenthood of Alabama abortion clinic at 27th Pl. and Highland Avenue In front of the clinic, Father Mitch Pacwa, of the EWTN television network, explained that the Roe v. Wade decision was ultimately the result of the removal of both the natural law and scripture as bases of our system of jurisprudence. Near the building where countless abortions have taken place, many post-abortive women from the Silent No More Awareness Campaign gave testimonies from their own abortion experiences, explaining how the procedure, rather than being a solution to their problems, only brought many more difficulties (physical, emotional, and spiritual) into their lives. One woman, retold the chilling story of how during her abortion, the doctor audibly counted the number of body parts from her aborted child as they were removed from her body. Pavone then recited a seemingly endless litany of names of women who have been killed by legal abortion in the United States since the Roe v. Wade decision. He explained that abortion deaths didn’t end with back alley abortions, but instead continue to this day.
The freedom riders then caravanned on a two-hour drive from Birmingham to Martin Luther King’s gravesite in Atlanta to emphasize the link between the two movements. The caravan was led by the “Freedom Bus,” and followed by numerous cars adorned with Freedom Ride flags. Upon arrival at the King Center, the freedom riders where greeted by a pro-choice counter-demonstration called “Women of Color,” which attempted to disrupt the Freedom Ride rally. تعلم اسرار الروليت In addition, park rangers forcefully removed the Freedom Riders from King Center property, grabbing signs from the pro-life protesters and even confiscating a bullhorn from Father Pavone. In defiance of the restrictions, Dr. Alveda King waded through a reflecting pool to sit at Dr. King’s tomb and dared park officials to arrest her. Echoing the non-violence of Dr. Martin Luther King, the Freedom Riders then peaceably moved across the street to a public sidewalk to continue their worship service which ended with the civil rights anthem, We Shall Overcome.
The first Freedom Ride signified a new era in the pro-life movement: one of unity among all Christians, and the important role of African-American Christians, in this effort to protect God’s children. This is truly a blessing, since it will take all of us to end the scourge of abortion in America. And this effort will continue with many more freedom rides: the next occurring in October in Knoxville, Tennesee.