One of the great pleasures of my position as President of NRLC is that I get to travel the country, meeting dedicated pro-lifers who selflessly give of their time and talent to help unborn children, the elderly, and those with disabilities whose lives are at risk because of abortion and euthanasia.
One of those opportunities was this past Saturday in Virginia. The Northern Virginia Lutherans for Life conference brought together a tremendous cross-section of speakers with local pro-lifers wanting to learn more about how to make a difference in the lives of others.
Virginia Delegate Bob Marshall explained the many reasons, legal and otherwise, why the pro-life movement does not expect nor would it seek to punish women who have had abortions. Sandy Rios, director of governmental affairs for the American Family Association and host of a radio show, shared her personal experience of raising a daughter with severe disabilities.
Mollie Hemingway, a senior editor at The Federalist, shared thoughts from an article printed at the online publication. Why do we focus on “planned” v. “unplanned” pregnancies? Why do we need everything to be orderly and controlled as opposed to experiencing some chaos in our lives, she asked?
Ranjani Balan Johnson spoke about her work at Mosaic Virginia, a local pregnancy center, as well as her expanded role helping Muslim women rejected by their families because they have accepted the Christian faith.
Dr. Marie Anderson described her role at Tepeyac OB/GYN, providing care to women and their babies. She frequently cares for abortion-minded women, conveying to them how precious their babies are and helping them to experience the miracle of life.
I had the opportunity to talk about the value of human life and how our culture often devalues that life. Since society’s response to a woman with a problem pregnancy is to encourage her to kill the child, it really is no surprise that the societal response to someone with an illness or disability is to kill the “problem”– the person.
I also added the encouraging news that the number of abortions has been steadily dropping as more and more women choose life. And that young people are coming into the debate to be voices in defense of the voiceless.
Rev. Dr. John Denninger, president of the Southeastern District for the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, and Rev. Michael Salemink, president of Lutherans for Life, offered a pastoral and Christ-centered perspective for promoting a culture of life to those around us.
A beautiful Saturday morning was made even more beautiful by investing time with caring, loving people who want to help others.
What a great way to spend a day!
Daniel Miller is responsible for nearly all of National Right to Life News' political writing.
With the election of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency, Daniel Miller developed a deep obsession with U.S. politics that has never let go of the political scientist. Whether it's the election of Joe Biden, the midterm elections in Congress, the abortion rights debate in the Supreme Court or the mudslinging in the primaries - Daniel Miller is happy to stay up late for you.
Daniel was born and raised in New York. After living in China, working for a news agency and another stint at a major news network, he now lives in Arizona with his two daughters.
