ARTICLES

It's Rejuvenation Time

Pro-Life March in San Francisco

BY ALLYSON SMITH

Rainy weather did not dampen the enthusiasm of approximately 15,000 pro-lifers who marched for more than a mile along San Francisco's Embarcadero during the second annual Walk for Life West Coast, Saturday, January 21.

The number of pro-lifers who participated in this year's walk -- coming from as far away as Alaska, Virginia, and Texas -- was double that of last year's inaugural event, while the number of pro-abortion demonstrators significantly decreased from approximately 1,000 (who last year blocked the route, lobbed eggs and condoms, and spit on pro-lifers) to only a few hundred this year.

The weekend's activities began Friday evening with an interfaith memorial service at First Baptist Church of San Francisco for the victims of abortion and an all night adoration of the Blessed Sacrament at Saints Peter and Paul Church in North Beach.

On Saturday morning, San Francisco auxiliary bishop John Wester celebrated Mass at St. Mary's cathedral. Other concelebrating bishops included San Francisco auxiliary bishop Ignatius Wang, Santa Rosa's Bishop Daniel Walsh, and Oakland's Bishop Allen Vigneron.

The walk kicked off at 11 a.m. with a rally at Justin Herman Plaza. The opening included the Prayer of St. Francis, singing of the National Anthem, an award presentation, and speeches.

Father Joseph Fessio, founder of San Francisco-based Ignatius Press and provost of Ave Maria University in Naples, Florida, presented the St. Gianna Molla award for pro-life heroism to Catholic layman Jim Holman for his backing of Proposition 73, the "Parents Right to Know Initiative," which narrowly failed at the polls last November. Holman publishes the third-largest secular weekly news magazine in the country, the San Diego Reader, and four lay Catholic monthly newspapers, including the San Francisco Faith.

Father Fessio told the marchers about plans to get Proposition 73 back on the ballot this November and encouraged them to go back to their parishes to gather signatures in February. Money for this new parental notification initiative, said Father Fessio, will be spent on "advertising, radio, television, and other media, because we think that we can win."

Following Father Fessio, Walk for Life co-chairs Eva Muntean and Dolores Meehan welcomed the crowd. Meehan exhorted participants to preserve the walk's peaceful character by refraining from interacting with counter-protesters, but she also encouraged them, if assaulted, to make citizen's arrests and police reports.

Next, Feminists for Life president Serrin Foster addressed the crowd and thanked organizers and partici pants for their presence, saying, "each of you ... are living proof that you can refuse to choose between women and children." Gesturing to a large contin gent of young women standing behind her on the podium, Foster drew loud applause when she said, "I want to introduce you to the new face of the feminist movement: Look at this!"

Foster continued, "today, we take what has become a grim anniversary, and we are going to make it a celebra tion of life. We refuse to choose between women and children. We refuse to choose between sacrificing our educa tion and our career plans and sacrific ing our children....We envision a better day, when womanhood is cele brated, mothers are supported, fathers are honored, and every child has parents."

Democrats for Life vice president Carol Crossed told the crowd that a reporter had asked her if her group's members were "real Democrats." Crossed responded, "we are the only real Democrats. We don't pick and choose and leave out some vulnerable in our mission: the vulnerable unborn. If we are not real Democrats, then neither are the 47 percent of us who disagreed with our party's no restrictions [on abortion] in the 2004 platform."

Crossed continued, "Pro-life Democrats say, 'go back to protecting all of the vulnerable.' We say, 'go back to caring enough about women to give them housing, education, health care instead of abortion. Go back to listening to your own members again. Listen to us when we say our party has traded being the party of big business to being the party of big money: the big money of NARAL, the big money of Planned Parenthood.'"

Crossed concluded, "our party, the party of the little guy, is become the party that has trampled on the little guy."

Walk participants cheered loudly as former welfare mother-turned-national conservative commentator, Star Parker, who has had four abortions, ascended the podium. Parker encouraged marchers to remember "the four to five thousand women that got up this morning and said, 'well, I guess today's the day,' and they went into that so-called safe, legal, rare clinic, as I did so many times, and they left out the back door empty, knowing that this is something they may carry the rest of their lives. I talk to women all over this country that say, 'even on my deathbed, I'm going to have to say, I'm sorry for that one.' I've seen so many signs that say, 'I now have none, and I aborted my only.'" Parker told the audience to be witnesses for purity in their personal lives and exhorted young people to "make a decision to remain sexually pure until God sends you that special one."

Flanked by an estimated 300 San Francisco police officers (triple last year's number), marchers stepped off at 11:45 a.m. behind a banner that read, "Abortion HURTS Women." Many carried signs that said, "Women deserve better than abortion," as well as the papal flag, images of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Pope John Paul II (kissing a baby), and hand lettered pro-life posters.

One sign said, "They're not really people? We've heard that before." Another sign displayed a picture of the Sorrowful Mother holding her crucified, dead Son, along with the message (from the woman carrying the sign), "I hurt still from killing my child." Graphic abortion photos were discouraged by walk organizers.

During the speeches, pro-abortion counter-demonstrators, some holding NOW signs, walked amongst the crowd, drumming and chanting through megaphones. They were closely followed by San Francisco police officers.

In contrast to last year, when San Francisco's elected leaders, including Catholic mayor Gavin Newsom, came out publicly against the Walk for Life by declaring a "Stand Up for Choice Day," no such declarations were made this year. Newsom, instead, attended a fundraiser for Planned Parenthood of Golden Gate on January 19, and the abortion provider held a candlelight vigil in support of abortion rights in Dolores Park on Saturday evening, January 21.

Prior to the walk, the Anarchist Action Network called on members to "defend women's reproductive autonomy," "confront the right-wing invasion," and "shut down the Walk for Life." According to the group's web site (http://anarchistaction.org/?q=node/26), "last January, the Walk for Life came to San Francisco to bring their anti-Choice/anti-reproductive rights ('pro-life'), pro-capitalist, and homophobic message to our city. Their march was disrupted and rerouted by civil disobedience. This year they're at it again, and intend to bring out thousands (vast majority of whom are bussed in from other cities and towns), which means that we need to show up in full force and bring out just as many, if not more, people. We are calling on the people and workers of San Francisco and the Bay Area to rise up and completely stop them in their tracks and shut down their march.

"We are calling for a festive, racous [sic] and confrontational approach to this right wing invasion. Bring yourselves and your ideas to the Spokescouncil on Sunday, Jan. 15, to finalize plans of resistance. Autonomous direct actions to shut down the march are also encouraged."

At Pier 7, confrontational abortion supporters lined the street waving wire hangars and holding handmade posters that said, "F--- your agenda," "Kill your kids motherf-----," "Abort more Christians," "Fight the fascist right," "Keep your laws off my body ... and I'll keep my hands off your throat!" "Women deserve better than a bloody hangar. They do," "Abortion saved my life," "Just say No to sex with pro-lifers."

Protesters chanted such ditties as these: "get your rosaries off my ovaries," "not the church, not the state; women will decide our fate," and "if you don't want an abortion, don't have one" (sung to the tune of "If you're happy and you know it").

One person, whose real sex could not be determined, bared his/her breasts while walking alongside the marchers. Referring to that incident, Caitlin Ford, 13, of St. John parish in San Francisco said, "people were doing weird things, like going naked."

According to a photojournalism account at www.zombietime.com/walk_for_life, one anarchist "tried to hurl simulated abortions (in reality, water balloons filled with viscous red liquid and unidentified globs) at the pro-life marchers. The projectiles fell short, however, and landed on the street.... The perpetrator was immediately surrounded by police, who began to question her. She was so freaked out, she started hyperventilating. The police in turn were surrounded by the [anarchist] Black Bloc contingent shouting 'Let her go, you f---in' pigs!' While the girl tried to calm down with an inhaler of some sort."

Other pro-abortion protesters included the Raging Grannies of San Francisco, Code Pink, "Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence" homosexual drag queens, and AnswerCoalition.org ("Answer" being an acronym for "Act Now to Stop War and End Racism.")

"The number of counter-protesters was absolutely nothing compared to last year," Eva Muntean told this writer. "Last year, the packs of evil that lined that street were definitely palpable. This year, the number was far fewer. Planned Parenthood and NARAL have basically said that they were not going to support any counter-rally against us because of how bad they looked last year."

When asked if there were any arrests, Muntean said, "I heard that there were a couple of people from their side who were walking along with us and started to get belligerent. I heard there were a couple close calls."

Eva added that, in addition to foot and motorcycle patrols, the San Francisco police department "also had a police helicopter checking the road ahead of us. Their tactical team went ahead and was searching backpacks of the opposition. Apparently they were planning to throw tomato paste-filled balloons from a bridge, but the police found out and confiscated them. Who knows what else might have happened that we didn't even know about."

Sister Marie Ignatius, a religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary, told me, "it was a privilege to be there to give witness to the dignity of each life, partic ularly for the unborn, because each unborn child has a right to life. This was my second year of participating, and I thought there was a wonderful spirit of support for life among those who were present. I thought it was very affirming. It seemed like everyone was one large community of life-givers. I was very inspired by the presence of 110 students from Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, and we were delighted to welcome their chaplain, Father Cornelius Buckley, S.J., to San Francisco for the March for Life."

Berkeley Students for Life members Liz Saroki, 20, and Patrick LaVictoire, 22, attended the march with approximately 12 other students. Saroki said she thought the walk was "really successful," and LaVictoire commented, "I was really impressed with the non-violent and silent witness. It brought back the way Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King brought about social change."

Approximately 30 students from Marin Catholic High School attended the Walk.

Expectant mother Joni Durling of Antioch, who attended the walk with her husband and six born children, commented, "'if you can't beat them, out populate them' has always been our motto. It's clear that this tactic is working, and we are beating them. Where were the pro-aborts of yesteryear? While our numbers have more than doubled, theirs have dwindled to nothing."

Franciscan friars from Mother Angelica's Alabama-based Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) attended the walk to film a segment of the network's "Life on the Rock" program. Brother Leonard Mary told me, "what I'm always impressed with is the number of youth out here, and they're not afraid to come out. They're on fire with love for God and the Virgin Mary. It gives me so much hope and the entire world hope. People need to see that we're promoting life, especially those who are contemplating abortion."

Father Fessio commented, "the pro-aborts are confused. They talk as if we're a political organization. It's sad to see all the people who are so confused."

"As you were there, you felt the energy and support and enthusiasm for life," Muntean said. "To me, one of the main things that comes out of this is to rejuvenate the pro-life movement. It's a rejuvenation time. That's what we love hearing."

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