Missouri pro-lifers pray confidently for successful outcome of Mississippi case

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Hopeful vigilance pervaded a prayerful rally outside the Missouri Supreme Court Building Dec. 1.

It was the day oral arguments were presented before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case that could shape the battle over legalized abortion for years to come.

“This rally and this prayer vigil today is all about those precious children who are such a gift from the Lord,” stated Kathy Forck, the rally’s emcee. “And we pray that abortion will end, and please God, let it end soon!”

The nation’s highest court will rule next spring on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which involves a Mississippi law that outlaws most elective abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

Allowing the law to stand would significantly weaken the Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decisions that legalized abortion-on-demand throughout the United States.

About 100 people attended the rally in Jefferson City, organized by a Missouri pro-life coalition known as Team PLAY, which stands for prayer, legislation, action and “you, the people of Missouri.”

“Our motto is that when all of God’s children PLAY together, abortion will end,” said Mrs. Forck.

Speakers ranged from federal and state officials and staff members to lobbyists, activists and clergy.

All found hope in the direction the two hours of oral arguments before the Supreme Court justices had taken that morning.

Father Anthony Viviano, pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Westphalia and St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Folk, who is also the Jefferson City diocese’s moderator for pro-life ministry, led the opening prayer.

“We stand before You as men and women of faith who seek to do Your will by protecting those souls who need our assistance the most,” he prayed.

He called on God to help state lawmakers be “unrelenting warriors for the child in the womb, who silently seeks only one thing: to be born alive.”

“Fortify them, Lord, to be guardians for those who need it the most,” the priest prayed, “that in turn, they and we, Your servants, may be a light of Christ to the world.”

Fr. Viviano stated that rallies and laws are good and necessary, but God’s blessing, relied upon through prayer and sacrifice, is imperative and irreplaceable.

“No matter how the ruling comes down, we must never, EVER relent in our prayer for the unborn,” he said.

“Great cloud of witnesses”

Several speakers drew parallels between the Mississippi law the Supreme Court is considering and HB-126, the Missouri Stands for the Unborn Act, which state lawmakers passed into law in 2019.

That law’s sponsor, state Rep. Nick Schroer, noted that it includes a “trigger ban” that would make Missouri one of 12 states in which abortion-on-demand would become illegal if the Supreme Court ever overturns Roe v. Wade.

“Prayer is what got us HB 126,” Rep. Schroer stated. “Prayer is what got this pro-life generation to fire up other individuals and make sure the U.S. Supreme Court hears this Dobbs case.”

He called on everyone to pray for the Supreme Court justices, for the attorneys who argued the case, and for conversion for all people who support access to abortion.

“And mostly, we need to pray for the unborn,” he said, “the millions that have lost their lives since Roe was wrongfully decided, and those that will be impacted by this decision.”

Susan Klein, executive director and chief lobbyist for Missouri Right to life, pointed out that Missouri has passed over 50 laws pertaining to abortion since 1973.

“Missouri has led the nation in passing pro-life laws,” she stated. “We love the mom and we love the baby, and we believe that unborn children should be protected, and that a woman should be protected from the deceptions of the abortion industry.”

She noted that Missouri’s Heartbeat Law goes farther than the Mississippi law the Supreme Court is considering, by prohibiting most elective abortions when the heartbeat can be detected, as early as eight weeks into pregnancy.

“It has brought our abortion numbers down from well over 20,000 per year to 123 to date this year,” she said.

Ms. Klein called on everyone to continue praying for the justices as they deliberate the Dobbs case, and to remain vigilant, regardless of how the court rules.

“Even if Roe is overturned, we’re still going to have to be here fighting,” she stated.

She spoke of the “great cloud of witnesses” in heaven who surround the throngs of believers here on earth (Hebrews 12:1).

“We know that in that cloud of witnesses in heaven, there are over 65 million babies that never saw sunlight on this earth,” she said.

“Remain steadfast”

University of Missouri graduate Reagan Barkledge, Western regional director for Students for Life of America, pointed to the stunning advances that have taken place in technology and medical science since Roe was handed down almost 50 years ago.

3D ultrasounds allow people to see clearly into the womb and erase any doubt that human life is present.

Furthermore, she noted, evidence continues to mount that abortion does irreparable harm to women, families and society.

“Yet with all this knowledge and development, our laws are still stuck in 1973, made by inhumane and unjust Supreme Court decisions that made it legal for a woman to have an abortion for any reason, at any time,” she said.

Convinced that Roe v. Wade will eventually be overturned, she urged everyone at the rally to “remain steadfast and courageous in this fight for life.”

Justin Smith, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s assistant deputy attorney general for special litigation, said that during the oral arguments, Supreme Court justices sounded open to returning regulation of abortion to the states.

“And we hope and pray that the Supreme Court will grant that request after today’s arguments, and will allow states to protect those unborn children who are ‘fearfully and wonderfully made,’” he said, referring to Psalm 139:14.

State Rep. Cheri Toalson Reisch spoke of several of her friends’ experiences of having had an abortion.

“These women grieve, these women are regretful and remorseful for what they did,” she said. “They didn’t know then what we know now. They are sorry and wish they could go back and undo what they did.”

Jennifer Gore, legislative liaison for Concerned Women for America, said an important means of magnifying God’s greatness is to trust in Him.

“That’s what we’re doing here today,” she said. “We’re saying, ‘Lord, we know we cannot right this wrong. We cannot nullify this grievous evil of abortion that has plagued our nation for too long. But You can.’

“So let us lift our voices to heaven,” she said, “trusting in His goodness and faithfulness to provide guidance in the battle.”

Everyone has a role

Lucy Gonzalez, Missouri and Arkansas regional coordinator for Students for Life of America, spoke of the more than half of her millennial generation who believe abortion should be illegal in all or most cases.

“We are the first generation with a pro-life majority since Roe v. Wade first began tearing through this country in 1973,” she said.

She chided judges and Supreme Court justices who “have pretended that abortion is written in invisible ink in the Constitution in ways that only they can see.”

She called on each individual to contribute in his or her own unique way to advancing the pro-life cause.

“Please keep using your gifts, please keep using your God-given talents,” she stated, “and together, we WILL make abortion unthinkable.”

Kristi Hofferber, director of community engagement for Coalition Life St. Louis, spoke of that organization’s 10 years of success in counseling women from the sidewalk outside abortion clinics.

“Giving women lifesaving options is the answer,” she said.

Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft said the Supreme Court can declare what is constitutional or unconstitutional, “but they do not decide what is moral and what is right and what is just.”

“This is a day for victory!” he stated. “And this is a day to celebrate every one of you fighting for every individual to have life and to have life abundantly that was given to them by God.”

Rescue those in danger

Deacon Samuel Lee, founder and director of Campaign Life Missouri, noted that when the U.S. Supreme Court declared a constitutional right to abortion, “it did more than just sentence to death millions of unborn babies.”

“The court also bulldozed the right of Missouri’s pro-life lawmakers and citizens as well as those of other states to provide effective and comprehensive protection to innocent preborn children,” said Deacon Lee, who assists the pastor of All Saints Parish in Overland, in the St. Louis archdiocese.

He asserted that the Supreme Court can undo that error by returning regulation of abortion to the states and the people.

“And not just the right, the obligation, as it says in Proverbs 24:11, to ‘rescue those being led away to death’ and ‘hold back those staggering toward slaughter,’” he said.

“That isn’t just a suggestion from God,” he stated. “It is a command from Sacred Scripture.”

He pointed out that Missouri has a long and distinguished history of defending unborn human life, summarized in Chapter 188.026 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri.

Missouri’s first laws regarding abortion were enacted in 1825 and were revised and reenacted several times since then.

The Missouri Supreme Court ruled in 1885 that “the child is, in truth, alive from the moment of conception.”

Deacon Lee pointed to a unique statement of principle in the Missouri Stands for the Unborn Act: “to defend the right to life of all humans, born and unborn, and to declare that this state of Missouri, and all of its political subdivisions, are a sanctuary of life that protects women and their unborn children.”

In prayer, he called upon God to guide members of the Supreme Court to restore the right to life in the laws of this country.

He continued to pray: “Guide lawmakers everywhere to enact laws that protect women and their unborn children, and help them make Missouri and every state in the union a sanctuary of life.”

Making history

Mrs. Forck predicted that years from now, children will ask their parents and grandparents what they were doing on Dec. 1, 2021, the day the oral arguments were heard in that historic Supreme Court case.

“Tell them you were standing for life, not only in your homes but out in the public square, which is where we need to be,” she said.

Omar Segovia, an ethnic church planting strategist for the Missouri Baptist Convention, closed the rally with prayer.

“May You continue to raise up this pro-life movement, continue to raise up people who stand in the gap, who are going to stand for the Constitution, who are going to stand for life,” he prayed.

Then, as the wind whipped up the nearby flags and banners, the group sang two verses of “Amazing Grace.”

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