There will be several events in the nation’s capital this week leading up to January 22, which is designated as the National Sanctity of Human Life Day, and marks the 50th year since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade, along with its companion case Doe v. Bolton, the infamous abortion opinions that opened the doors to killing pre-born babies for any reason and at any stage of development.
On June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court finally overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade and 1992 Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey abortion decisions. The battle has now intensified in individual states. However, America must never forget to remember the millions of children that have died, and will continue to die, at the hands of abortionists.
For example, in 2005, Angele was a single mother in her thirties with two children and pregnant with her third child. Angele thought that abortion was the answer to her circumstances. At almost 23 weeks gestation, she went to EPOC abortion center in Orlando, Florida.
On April 1, Angele was given Valium and Laminaria were inserted in her cervix to begin dilation. She was told to return the following day. On April 2, Angele took the prescribed abortion drug to induce labor. Cramping and crying, she went to the abortion center and knocked repeatedly on the door. Eventually someone came and directed her to a room that had dried blood on the wall. She was given a wet blanket as she began to bleed and go into labor. Despite her cries, no one assisted her. She went to the bathroom and after one hard push, the baby was born, fully intact and definitely alive. Angele said, “I started sobbing and lay down on the floor. I stared and stared at my son. I was horrified that I had just had him in a commode. His right leg moved. He curled up a bit, like he was cold; I screamed but no one came.” She pleaded for the clinic workers to call 911 but they did not.
Angele caressed and comforted her son by rubbing his back, tummy and chest. “I stroked his precious little head and kept telling him I loved him and we would be okay,” she said. Still no one came to help. Eventually Angele, holding the baby still attached to the umbilical cord, ran to get her cell phone to call for help. “Then Rowan stopped moving. After a few minutes I realized for certain that he was gone. I picked up my son. I held him to my chest. I rocked him and prayed. I could not stop crying,” said Angele. “I felt so bad. I felt so helpless. I had been so wrong to come here … I wanted to fix and change everything once I saw Rowan’s precious little face and body. All we needed was someone to get us to safety,” Angele said.
Amazingly, during this entire process, no physician was even present at the abortion facility.
Liberty Counsel represented Angele and filed two complaints against the abortion facility that refused to help this mother whose baby was born alive at the clinic.
Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “When I visited baby Rowan at the funeral home, he was in a shoebox. I saw his precious little body, fully formed with blond eyelashes and growing fingernails. Then I wondered, ‘How can we continue to kill our children and hide behind the rubric of choice?’”
Pictures are posted of Mat Staver and baby Rowan on Liberty Counsel’s website here.
On Friday, January 20, the annual National March for Life rally begins at 12 p.m. on Capitol Hill. Liberty Counsel will participate in the march that begins at 1 p.m. and finishes between the Capitol and Supreme Court. The theme for this year’s March for Life is “Next Steps: Marching into a Post-Roe America,” and emphasizes the need for pro-life advocates to continue boldly marching in defense of the unborn – both on the state and federal level – and advocating for a minimum federal standard to protect innocent life against radical pro-abortion legislation.
This year’s rally speakers include: Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, who won the Dobbs Supreme Court case that overturned Roe v. Wade; Franklin Graham, President of Samaritan’s Purse; Sister Mary Casey of the Sisters of Life; Dr. Christina Francis, CEO-Elect of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists; and Gina Tomes, Program Director of the Bethlehem House maternity home. They will join Jonathan Roumie, best known for his award-winning role as “Jesus” in THE CHOSEN, and Coach Tony Dungy, NYT bestselling author and Pro-Football Hall of Famer. Legislative speakers include: House Majority Leader Steve Scalise; Congressman Christopher H. Smith, Co-Chair of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus; and Connecticut State Representative Treneé McGhee.
On Sunday, January 22 at 10 a.m., Faith & Liberty will host “Prayers & Remembrance: Victims of Roe” on the west side of the Supreme Court. Three thousand flowers will be placed on the sidewalk in front of the High Court during this event to represent the American babies that are killed every day by abortion and the women who have been harmed from an abortion since 1972. Speakers will offer reflection, prayers and/or Bible verses to honor the sanctity of life.
In 1984, President Ronald Reagan issued a proclamation designating January 22 as the first National Sanctity of Human Life Day. Part of the proclamation states: “I call upon the citizens of this blessed land to gather on that day in homes and places of worship to give thanks for the gift of life, and to reaffirm our commitment to the dignity of every human being and the sanctity of each human life.”
“January 22, 1973 is a tragic day in American history. We cannot escape the consequences of this human genocide unless we stop the slaughter and repent of this terrible sin. Though Roe and Casey have now been overturned at the High Court, the work to protect innocent children from this human genocide has only just begun. We will continue fighting the battle to make the womb a safe place again,” said Staver.
