Civil rights leaders’ legacies
inspire pro-life youths

Rob Koechl

With a record breaking 8,000 attendants at the 11th National March for Life in Ottawa on May 8, a large crowd of 800 high school and university students prolonged their stay in Ottawa to participate in the National March for Life Youth Conference. The participants were encouraged to look to the legacies of the past and told not to be afraid as they go forward, for they introduced a new and vibrant life into the pro-life body.

“Youth are on the front lines of the pro-life cause and are the future of the pro-life movement,” one attendant said. “It is really encouraging and inspiring to know when I go to the youth conference so many of my peers are there fighting along with me.” The university students packed into Ottawa’s Hampton Hotel’s conference rooms to hear Dr. Alveda King, Mary Ann Kuharski of Pro-Life Across America, and John-Henry Westen of LifeSiteNews, among other speakers. In addition to the speakers, there were skits and film clips that were inspirational and moving, as well as workshops for the youth to put their new zeal into practice.

In the morning, Fr. Frank Pavone from Priests for Life celebrated Mass and the conference began with Jim Hughes, president of Campaign Life Coalition introducing the Sisters of Life, who had a very strong presence during the entire march and conference.

Sister Antoniana Maria, S.V. recounted the founding of the order by John Cardinal O’Connor and discussed the order’s mission to protect and enhance the sacredness of human life. The sisters pray and fast for the cause of life, as well as help women in distress. Sister Maria reiterated Pope John Paul II’s call: “Do not be afraid.”

Janet Morana, the co-founder and assistant to the director of Silent No More Canada, briefly spoke and introduced Angelina Steenstra, while also entreating the young people to use the resources at their hands, especially technology like e-mail and YouTube. Steenstra, the Canadian national co-ordinator for Silent No More Canada, also reiterated, “Do not be afraid,” and told the story of how these words brought her healing from her abortion.

Westen, co-founder and editor of LifeSiteNews, recounted three great figures in the civil rights movements, their legacies and descendants, all of whom have joined in the pro-life cause and claim the abortion issue to be greatest civil rights movement in the 21st century.

He told the teens about Dred Scott and the March 1857 U.S. Supreme Court ruling against him, coming to the conclusion that blacks had no rights. Westen told of Scott’s great great granddaughter, Lynne Jackson’s, involvement in the pro-life movement. He also talked about Fr. Gerald Wilberforce, whose great grandfather, William Wilberforce, worked to end the slave trade in England, and whose story is recounted in the film Amazing Grace.

Then, finally, he spoke about Martin Luther King Jr., who replied to the brutalization of high school students in Birmingham, Ala. in 1963 by saying that the civil rights community would match hate with love. King’s niece, Alveda King, spoke at the National March for Life and the youth conference, providing a powerful witness to the pro-life movement in the Silent No More Awareness Campaign.

Westen, by recalling the legacies of past civil rights movement leaders, as well as the notorious legacy of abortion, gave the participants motivation to stay strong in the pro-life cause. He ended on a note of hope, saying that William Wilberforce fought for decades and saw victory in his cause in old age.