Keep up to date on the most recent ongoings relating to Walk for Life and the pro-life cause here. Check back often for new posts or subscribe to automatically receive new posts by email!
U.S. Supremes Side with Pro-Lifers against Party of Death
The U.s. Supreme Court has invalidated California’s unconstitutional attack on the First Amendment rights of pro-life Pregnancy Centers. Congratulations to our friends over at Support Circle, Alpha Pregnancy, etc. Follow the links to help them!
From Catholic News Agency:
Washington D.C., Jun 26, 2018 / 08:19 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Supreme Court on Tuesday blocked a California law requiring pro-life pregnancy centers to post information on programs to obtain a free or low-cost abortion.
The 5-4 ruling in National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA) v. Becerra sent the case back to a lower court to be reconsidered, in light of the Supreme Court’s finding that “We hold that petitioners are likely to succeed on the merits of their claim that the FACT Act violates the First Amendment.”
Lower courts had rejected a petition to temporarily block the California law while it was being legally challenged. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the case against the law was unlikely to succeed on its merits.
The Supreme Court reversed that ruling, saying that the Ninth Circuit was wrong to treat the speech of pregnancy centers as a lesser category of free speech simply because it is “professional speech.”
Way to Go, Lima! Wow! walkforlifewc#
Check this out! Our pro-life brothers and sisters in Lima, Peru (estimate 800,000!!) marching for the least among us! And they were joined by others throughout Latin America!
ACI Prensa (via Catholic News Agency) has the story:
Lima, Peru, May 7, 2018 / 03:32 pm (ACI Prensa).- Huge crowds across Latin America took to the streets in recent days to call for the protection of human life from conception to natural death.
On May 5, some 400,000 Colombians in 53 cities across the country turned out for pro-life marches.
Event organizer “United for Life” told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish language sister agency, that the objectives of the march included annulling court rulings in recent years that legalized abortion in some cases and euthanasia.
“The right to life is the first right that every human being has. It cannot be manipulated, nor limited, it can only be recognized and protected by the State and society. To violate this right, or to ignore it even with rulings issued by the courts is the most serious crime,” the organization said…
In Peru, an estimated 800,000 people turned out on the streets of Lima May 5 to defend the lives of the unborn. The right to life is upheld by the nation’s constitution and civil code; however, various organizations within the country – including those financed by foreign NGOs – have been seeking for years to legalize abortion in the country. In 2014, the government decriminalized abortion in cases where the mother’s life or health were deemed to be in danger.
Participating in the Lima event were Catholics and Christians of various denominations, young people and the elderly, pregnant women, families with children and babies, and people with disabilities.
Addressing the crowd, Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani of Lima urged those assembled to be “a visible believing people, as we are now… when it’s necessary, we take to the streets… in the name of all those who have gone on before us, to give to the next generation life and the family.”
In Mexico, about 22,000 people turned out for the Great March for Life April 28 in the capital, Mexico City. While abortion is banned in much of the country, it was legalized in 2007 in Mexico City for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
Pro-life leaders Fernanda Del Villar and María José Berrueta of the Steps for Life (Pasos por la Vida) organization spoke at the march.
They said that the vast majority of Mexicans are pro-life and that “we are tired of not being properly represented by those we ourselves elect. We’re tired of the attempts to shut us up, to silence even our thoughts.”
Students for Life Fighting for Life on California Campuses!
Bless them!
Students for Life of America, SFLA, are leading the way in CA to defeat SB 320! Click here to listen to their outstanding webcast to defeat SB 320!
TOMORROW, Wednesday April 4th, from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm, SFLA invites you to Rally against SB 320 at the University of California Office of the President, 1111 Franklin St, Oakland. See details at their events page.
If passed, SB 320 will force our UC/CSU student health centers to distribute the Chemical Abortion Pill , destroying human life up to 10 weeks of pregnancy. See the Californians for Life Letter of Opposition to SB 320 here and stay tuned for details about contacting your state Assembly member to vote “NO” on SB 320.
@40daysforlife in San Francisco! #walkforlifewc
Check out these photos from San Francisco’s 40 Days for Life this past Saturday:
That’s our good Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, Fr. John Jimenez, Fr. Joseph Illo, and Fr. John Fewel in front of Planned Parenthood.
They were not alone, of course…check out the good pro-lifers:
And 40 Days for Life is worldwide, as we all know. Here is Maria Eugenia, standing with the least among us while visiting from Columbia (!), with Dora from SF’s Epiphany parish, and our great 40 Days for Life leader Dr. Ron Konopaski:
SF Archdiocesan Students Write for Life! #walkforlifewc
Pictured with the Archbishop Cordileone are grand prize winners, from left, Julienne Rose Cancio, grades nine-12, Immaculate Conception Academy; Aliyah Passion, grades three-four, Holy Angels; Mia Fuentes, grades one-two; Shylah Doyle, grades five-six, Nativity; Scott Bell, grades seven-eight, St. Isabella.
This issue of Catholic San Francisco has a story from Vicki Evans, Respect Life Coordinator for the Archdiocese, who has been with the Walk for Life West Coast since day one:
With the launch of the Respect Life Program’s “Options United for Life: Northern California Pregnancy Resource Collaborative Network” last October, it seemed appropriate to raise awareness about these lifesaving pregnancy centers in schools and parishes. So the theme of this year’s 29th Annual Archdiocesan Respect Life Essay Contest highlighted pro-life pregnancy centers and clinics in their performance of the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.
Even young children sense that when a mom is expecting a new baby, she needs extra help.
Our first and second graders wrote about different ways to offer this special help: When a pregnant mom without close family or friends feels alone or afraid, even more help and support may be needed.
Third and fourth graders wrote about additional ways to help these women in need, maybe with the parish-based Gabriel Project in mind.
Fifth and sixth graders tackled the subject of adoption and how generous it is for a woman who feels she cannot raise her baby to give the gift of life to the baby, and the gift of the baby to adoptive parents yearning for a child.
Seventh and eighth graders delved deeper into what a crisis pregnancy center or clinic does and how its staff puts the corporal and spiritual works of mercy into practice in very tangible ways.
Finally, high school students analyzed the Reproductive FACT Act, which forces pro-life pregnancy centers in California to promote and refer for abortion, even when the performance of abortion contradicts the center’s core message about the sanctity of human life. This issue is very timely given that the Supreme Court will be considering the constitutionality of California’s law this year.”
We’ll publish the essays as soon as they are available!
‘I Never thought this would happen in America’ Conscience Protection NOW! #StandWithNurses #walkforlifewc
Check out the video below and #StandWithNurses
Health care providers and trainees, churches, and others are being forced to participate in abortions or provide coverage for it in their health care plans. Federal conscience laws prohibit such coercion, but these laws continue to be violated—mostly because they don’t provide victims with the ability to defend their rights in court.
In March, Congress will likely decide whether to address the problems in current law by enacting the Conscience Protection Act. No one should be forced to participate in abortion. Members of Congress need to hear from their constituents. Go here to let them know:
https://www.humanlifeaction.org/
‘Spreading a message of love and hope’ San Jose State at #walkforlifewc
San Jose State University’s Students for Life (named SFLA’s group of the month for September 2017!) were with us at the Walk for Life West Coast! Valley Catholic, the newspaper of the Diocese of San Jose, has the story:
A First-Timer at the Walk for Life West Coast
By Laura Feldman
I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, stretched, and popped out of bed. What would today be like, I wondered? Today would be my first time to walk the West Coast Walk for Life.
The sun was barely up when our San Jose State University student club, Spartans for Life, gathered on January 27. As we piled into a van for the drive to San Francisco, the excitement was tangible. We were on a mission to share the beautiful message that all human life is precious and worth saving….
As we gathered with other students and pro-life leaders at the front of the crowd, I was struck by how joyful everyone was. It was clear by the smile on everyone’s faces and the signs that read “Smile, your mom CHOSE LIFE,” that we were spreading a message of love and hope. As we walked, we were led in song by a student from Thomas Aquinas College. When met by a group of protesters, we responded with singing and praying the rosary.
The Pro-Life movement is a cause that affects everyone. I looked throughout the crowd of people and saw every color and every age represented ranging from babies in strollers to the elderly. Most surprising and encouraging to me was the staggering number of young adults that mobilized for this event. It shows that we understand that abortion affects our peers the most – and it proves that we are the Pro-Life Generation.”
Amen! Read the whole thing.
‘Walking into the lion’s den’ Diocese of Colorado Springs at #walkforlifewc
From the Colorado Catholic Herald:
First trip to Walk for Life West Coast deemed a success
by Mary Teresa Thomas
“COLORADO SPRINGS. In the early morning hours of Jan. 25, 23 young people and adult chaperones gathered in the dark at the Catholic Pastoral Center to get on a bus to Denver International Airport. There was some unspoken concern by parents and chaperones that flying into San Francisco for the Walk for Life West Coast would be akin to walking into the lion’s den. However, just like Daniel, we had no reason to fear….
“It was a wonderful, powerful opportunity for the kids to share God’s love and be a witness of faith in the Life Movement,” said parent chaperone Melissa Smith. “My daughters and I are so grateful for everyone’s support of the Life Dinner in October that made the event possible.”
And here’s what we REALLY love hearing:
“Plans are underway already to attend the 2019 Walk for Life West Coast on Jan. 26 and the Students for Life event on Jan. 27 in San Francisco. “We are a western state, I feel we should witness here in the west, and we can make a real difference here,” Father Bierbaum said.”
#walkforlifewc volunteer new head of Archdiocesan Dept. of Human Life & Dignity
Great choice, Archbishop Cordileone!
Ms. Schmalz at a Jan. 31 Press Conference urging Californians to fight against the recent legalization of marijuana. Prescient: just yesterday 10 middle-schoolers were taken to the hospital after consuming marijuana.
Valerie Schmalz, award winning reporter and associate editor for Catholic San Francisco Newspaper, and a longtime Walk for Life West Coast volunteer, has been named the new head of the Department of Human Life and Dignity for the Archdiocese of San Francisco.
Valerie told CSF’s Tom Burke: “I became a journalist because I love the fray, and because it is a way to work for justice. This job is a new direction but for me builds on that desire.”
Education and experience have prepared Valerie well for her new post. She holds an undergraduate degree in government from the University of San Francisco and a graduate degree from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. She has served as a secular journalist including work in print and television news in Alaska, Delaware and Maryland.
She and her husband, Pat, are parents of four sons ages 18-26.
Supporting Archbishop Cordileone “in his public policy and social justice priorities” will be Valerie’s first front in the new job, she said.
“We are fortunate in the Archdiocese of San Francisco to have a leader who is truly faithful and courageous as a man and as an archbishop, and I hope to help in whatever way I can to support his priorities,” Valerie said.
“Social justice begins with the dignity of the human person, the protection of life from conception to natural death and is preserved in society by creating an atmosphere where the family based on the marriage of one man and one woman can flourish,” Valerie said. “From those principles flow all our social justice priorities as a Catholic Church including immigration reform and accompaniment of immigrants, religious liberty, care for creation, opposition to all forms of social and economic injustice, and the full spectrum of pro-life issues.”
@SFHLD
#walkforlifewc supports Alpha Pregnancy Center and YOU should too!
One of San Francisco’s brave pro-life pregnancy centers will host their annual Fundraising Banquet at the event center of St. Mary’s Cathedral on Friday, March 2. #walkforlifewc LOVES Alpha! They do incredible work on a shoestring and against great odds. Tickets are $40. If you can’t go, you CAN send a donation! Learn more or donate here. Here’s some of Alpha’s wonderful staff at the Walk’s Info Faire:
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