More and more states are organizing marches for life. Not all of these are done in conjunction with the national March for Life; instead, some are run only by pro-life groups present in those states.
That was the case this past Saturday, April 5th, with the “Florida March for the Preborn,” held in Tallahassee, and organized by a new statewide group called the Defending Life Alliance of Florida. This group has close ties with the Charismatic Episcopal Church (CEC), a denomination that has deep roots in pro-life activism.
Joining in the effort to organize and sponsor the March were Florida Right to Life (the state affiliate of the National Right to Life Committee), Priests for Life, Live Action, Students for Life, NIFLA (National Institute of Family and Life Advocates), Florida Voice for the Unborn, the Christian Family Coalition of Florida, Operation Save America, White Rose Resistance, the Women’s Health Center (Jacksonville), Seven Weeks Coffee, Emerald Coast Walk for Life, and others.
The Governor’s Faith and Community Initiative, along with Care Portal, showed strong support and were also represented at the March.
LifeNews is on GETTR. Please follow us for the latest pro-life news
Two characteristics that were highlighted during the event were the name of the March and the prayer context in which the rally was held.
First, the name was not the generic “March for Life,” but rather, “March for the Preborn.” Organizers wanted to specify, in a way that the phrase “for life” does not always succeed in doing, that the purpose of the March was to speak up for the unborn.
Every issue is a “pro-life issue” in the sense that if it weren’t impacting human life in some way, shape or form, it wouldn’t be an issue at all. But a mission is not the same as an ethic. The pro-life movement has a specific mission.
The Florida march wanted to emphasize that when we say our movement is “pro-life,” we are saying that there is a specific group of people — the children in the womb – who have been deprived of their most fundamental right, the right to life, and that it is the purpose of this movement – and of this march – to restore that right.
“Pro-life” therefore has the specific meaning of “being in favor of restoring the right to life of this specific group of children in the womb.”
Some think it is negative to narrow that focus. But that is not the case any more than it is for the American Heart Association to focus on cardiovascular health.
And the Florida march was inspired not by any particular court decision or legislative priority, but rather to be a voice for these voiceless children, and to encourage the pro-life community to work proactively to mobilize citizens to get involved in the movement throughout the year.
A second key characteristic to note about the Florida March for the Preborn is that the whole rally was a liturgy. The Charismatic Episcopal Church created the “Liturgy for the Preborn at the Time of Death” (see LiturgyForThePreborn.com). The whole rally on the steps of the Florida Capitol was this liturgy, led by a bishop and other CEC clergy, with the various speakers, myself included, speaking at the time of the homily.
The concept behind the liturgy, which is often conducted right outside abortion mills while the killing is going on, is that we unite ourselves with these children at the time of their death and that, if we cannot save them from death at that moment, we accompany them with prayer and love.
As is the case with most liturgies we experience in Church, readings are shared from the Old and New Testaments, and from one of the Gospels, intercessory prayers are offered for the Church, the needy, and the world, and blessings are bestowed.
Additionally, in this Liturgy for the Preborn, specific prayers are said for the children being killed by abortion at that moment throughout the earth.
Having the march in the context of this solemn liturgy really brought to the forefront the spiritual energy at the heart of the entire pro-life movement: an energy of love, compassion, and solidarity. It allowed us to follow Paul’s admonition to “grieve with those who grieve” (Rom. 12:15), and live the Beatitude, “Blessed are those who mourn” (Mt. 5:4).
And it allowed us to share the joy of knowing that “Jesus Christ has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through his Gospel” (2 Tim. 1:10).
We look forward to the Florida March for the Preborn being an annual event, conducted in various cities throughout the state, and continuing to unite and strengthen the pro-life movement.
LifeNews.com Note: Frank Pavone is national director of Priests for Life and the national pastoral director of Rachel’s Vineyard Ministries and the Silent No More Awareness Campaign.
