The Christopher family of Littleton regularly prays that God will change the hearts of women who are considering having an abortion.
“We’re here to spread the message of life and that abortion is wrong, and we need to stop it,” 12-year-old Noah Christopher said before Saturday’s annual “Celebrate Life Rally.”
Noah, his parents and three siblings were among some 5,000 anti-abortion activists who gathered at the Denver Capitol building Saturday to mark the Jan. 22, 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that allowed for legalized abortion in all 50 states.
Sisters with the Sisters of Life march during the Celebrate Life Rally and March, hosted by the Archdiocese of Denver and Respect Life Denver, at the state Capitol building in Denver , Colo., on Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022. Thousands attended the annual event honoring courageous mothers.
But optimism is high that won’t be the case for long.
The conservative-majority Supreme Court could possibly overturn Roe v. Wade this year, which would revert the question of abortion access to state control.
“It certainly gives us more hope,” said event-goer Eric Golesh of Arvada, who attended with his wife and four children.
‘I think it’ll bring more division among states, but it has to happen,” he said. “The protection of life is extremely important.”
People hold signs during the Celebrate Life Rally and March. Optimism was high that Roe v. Wade will be overturned. “It certainly gives us more hope,” said eventgoer Eric Golesh of Arvada, who attended with his wife and four children.
Abortion opponents argue that an unborn baby is a person and should have the same rights to life as other human beings.
Abortion supporters say a fetus is not the same as a person and women should have the right to make choices about their bodies relating to pregnancy without government interference.
A total of 629,898 legal induced abortions were voluntarily reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2019, down from the agency’s highest tracking of 1.4 million abortions in 1990, but an increase over 619,591 in 2018.
Thousands of people march Saturday during the Celebrate Life Rally and March, hosted by the Archdiocese of Denver and Respect Life Denver, at the state Capitol building in Denver. Thousands attended the annual event honoring courageous mothers.
This is the 49th year for people who oppose abortion to gather for rallies and marches recognizing the January anniversary of the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision to legalize abortion in all states.
It’s a pivotal time, anti-abortion advocates say, with the possibility of the nation’s highest court overturning Roe v. Wade this year and giving states, not the federal government, control of abortion availability.
“None of us know whether Roe is going to be completely overturned or scaled back dramatically, but one way or another, Roe is dead — so give yourselves some credit,” said Denver conservative talk show host Dan Caplis, who emceed the rally.
Carrying signs with messages that included “Honk if your mom chose life,” “I used to be a fetus,” “Let God plan parenthood,” “I was adopted not aborted,” and “Voices for the voiceless,” among others, attendees listened to ecumenical speakers before they marched around the state's government seat.
A few passers-by yelled pro-abortion views, but no formal counter-protesters demonstrated in the area.
A spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains said the organization doesn’t “condone or encourage counter-protesting,” particularly at its 24 health centers in the region, “as it only adds to the chaos and disruption.”
While rescinding Roe v. Wade would mean “conquering the highest mountain,” it would create other peaks for anti-abortion advocates to scale, Caplis said.
The prospect of a change in federal abortion law is pushing some Colorado Democratic women legislators to propose a Reproductive Health Equity Act in the session that began last week.
The bill would “ensure access to abortion and contraceptives,” sponsors have said.
Such a proposal, “quite frankly, scares the heck out of me,” state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer, a Republican from Weld County, said while addressing Saturday's crowd.
The measure would “codify abortion all the way up until birth in state law,” she said.
“We don’t want to be the most radical abortion state in the nation, which we would be if it passes,” Kirkmeyer said. “Taking the lives of children never will be a tenet of a just and moral society.”
Colorado became the first state in the nation in 1967 to decriminalize abortion in cases of rape or incest or when the mother’s life is in jeopardy. The state began allocating Medicaid funding for abortions in 1978.
“Major challenges” are ahead if Roe v. Wade is overturned, Colorado Christian University President Donald Sweeting told event attendees, as “policy battles will be local.”
Colorado is among the states, which also include California and Oregon, that probably “will become a travel destination” for women seeking abortion, he said.
Twenty-six states potentially are poised to ban abortion if that becomes allowed, pro-abortion groups have said.
The job of people who object to abortion will be the same, Sweeting said: “To speak to truth and love and point to alternatives,” and support the work of pregnancy centers, which help women who choose to carry their babies to term.
“To defend the life of the unborn in a culture of death will require heroism, courage and suffering,” said Catholic Archdiocese of Denver Auxiliary Bishop Jorge Rodriguez.
“It demands boldness and action,” he said. “It is a matter of life and death.”
This year "promises to be the most consequential in the history of the pro-life movement,” said said Focus on the Family President Jim Daly, whose Colorado Springs-headquartered Christian organization supports families worldwide through various media.
Focus on the Family representatives will march and pray in Denver and Washington, D.C., he said.
“We want more people who’ve maybe been sitting on the sidelines to see the importance to step up now more than ever,” said Diane Ferraro, CEO of the Colorado Springs-headquartered Save the Storks, a nationwide Christian nonprofit that operates mobile medical buses for pregnant women to receive free ultrasounds and other care.
Ferraro plans to be at both events, too.
She joined like-minded activists on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court building on Dec. 1, when the justices upheld a Texas ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy and indicated they would uphold a Mississippi law that bans abortions after 15 weeks of gestation.
“We’re hearing there’s a very high likelihood Roe v. Wade could be overturned,” Ferraro said.
In preparation, her organization, which was founded in 2012, is working to ensure pregnancy centers are equipped to serve a potential influx of clients.
"I encourage people to see how they can help their local pregnancy centers and maternity homes by furnishing apartments, paying for first and last months' rent, and making sure the woman is supported so when the baby arrives, she's ready," Ferraro said.
Daly said pro-life advocates need to gear up to support birth mothers before, during and after birth.
“The local church is in a unique position to provide housing, job training and other practical assistance,” he said. “We must work to make adoption an easier and more attractive option for both birthparents and adoptive mothers and fathers, encouraging and affirming the adoption tax credit.
“We must continue to champion pro-life laws in family-friendly states, recognizing these states will become a magnet for people to move to.”
If the Supreme Court were to rescind Roe v. Wade, there’s almost a 50/50 split among states that would either make illegal or limit abortion, or strengthen abortion laws.
Given the prevailing political winds, 26 states, mostly across the South and Midwest, could move to ban abortion, said Whitney Phillips, vice president of brand experience for Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains.
If that were to happen, 36 million women, nearly half U.S. females between the reproductive ages 18-49, “could lose abortion access,” she said in an email, citing an estimate from the National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda.
“At Planned Parenthood, we stand with patients and will never back down,” Phillips said. “Abortion care is health care, and access to abortion care is essential.”
The new Texas restriction has prompted women seeking abortions to travel to other states.
Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, which operates 24 health and community centers in Colorado, New Mexico and southern Nevada, has seen 550 patients from Texas seeking abortion services since Sept. 1, said Neta Meltzer, spokeswoman for the organization.
The numbers reflect “a 1,200% or even 1,500% increase in Texas patients seeking abortion care compared to the same period of time last year,” she said in an email.
There were 10,368 total abortions performed in Colorado in 2020, encompassing Planned Parenthood facilities and other sites, according to the most current public data. The total number of abortions performed in New Mexico in 2019 was 2,735.
“We're doing everything we can to provide care to every patient who walks through our doors,” Meltzer said.
Women who can’t afford to abortion costs can apply for patient-assistance funds, she added.
Organizations such as the Cobalt Abortion Fund provide “the overwhelming majority” of travel money to out-of-state patients, Meltzer said.
Money donated to the independent fund pays for abortions “without judgment or question” to women unable to pay the full cost, according to Cobalt’s website.
Even if Roe v. Wade and its issues of personhood and personal rights are removed, the divide between those who oppose abortion and those who favor it will remain, said Raul Reyes, president and founder of Life Equip Global. The Colorado Springs-based Christian organization teaches pastors and church leaders in 10 countries on how to respond with compassion and hope to a pregnant woman in crisis.
“If all sides could share what they believe and not demonize the other side, we would see that ultimately, we all care about people and each other, and we should try to build bridges and work together,” Reyes said.
He laments the “political playground” the issue has become, saying if Roe v. Wade is tossed out “it will light a fire under the pro-choice movement, and unfortunately, the division will deepen, and I don’t think ultimately it’s going to change behavior.
“It’s not laws that change hearts. It’s the will of God,” he said.
Said Daly: “We cannot predict what will happen but with prayer, God’s favor and hard work, we can deserve the victorious outcome we are praying for.”
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Thousands of anti-abortion activists gather for 'Celebrate Life Rally' at Colorado State Capitol - coloradopolitics.com
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