Joe Kohn of The Michigan Catholic
Published January 26, 2007

Photos by Gregg McIntosh | The Michigan Catholic People gather on the campus of Madonna University in Livonia on Jan. 21 during a rally to mark the 34th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision, which ensured abortion's legality in all 50 states.

Detroit — Catholics all around the metro area last weekend lent their prayers, presence and voices to the effort to end legalized abortion.

Monday marked the 34th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court decision to ensure the legality of killing unborn children in all 50 states throughout a woman's pregnancy. To protest the decision, and to pray for the Lord's intervention for families and the unborn who have been or would be hurt by abortion, many area Catholics joined prayer vigils and rallies, and either prayed or stood peacefully in front of local abortion clinics.

Led by Knights of Columbus, people who attended a pro-life prayer service on Jan. 21 walk from St. Barbara Church in Dearborn to a nearby abortion clinic.

To mark Roe v. Wade's anniversary, pro-lifers peacefully display signs in front ofa local abortion clinic in Dearborn

"We continue to remember the travesty that our court's decision placed upon our country," said Colette Dempsey, a parishioner of St. Paul on the Lake Parish who volunteers at a crisis pregnancy center and attended a prayer service at her parish to mark Roe v. Wade's anniversary. "I think we do it just to highlight it in people's minds that this is something we have to have a voice against."

Area pro-life groups such as Right to Life organized bus trips to join national prayer services and protests in Washington, D.C.

Others, such as Right to Life—Lifespan in Livonia, held rallies locally to refocus pro-lifers on their mission to promote the dignity of all people. While people young and old showed up to stand against Roe v. Wade, the growing presence of young people was apparent.

"We try to gear it toward the youth, so we had young people speaking," said Laurie Masiarak, a volunteer for Right to Life—Lifespan, which has ties to Livonia parishes. The organization drew about 100 people to a rally on the campus of Madonna University off the I-96 expressway.

"We need to continue to be the voice of the unborn and show the public that we're not going to go away," Masiarak added. "We're going to continue to place it in people's hearts that we have to continue to fight for the respect of all people's lives."

Maria Litwinczuk, 18, gave her personal testimony at the Livonia pro-life rally. Her mother, unable to care for a child, chose to give birth and Litwinczuk was then adopted.

In Dearborn Hights, an overnight vigil with Eucharistic adoration was held at St. Albert the Great Parish.

Barbara VanAssche, one of the organizers of the vigil, said the prayer service was to reflect on who abortion hurts.

"It's more a memorial for the victims of abortion," VanAssche said. "Not only is the child lost, but the mother is harmed, sometimes physically, most of the time emotionally and spiritually — and families too."

She said her and her husband became active in the pro-life cause when their children were in grade school. For a class project, their daughter was describing abortion, when their son — who was in the sixth grade at the time — casually chimed in, "Oh, that's murder."

During a prayer service at St. Barbara Church in Dearborn, Fr. Ben Luedtke tells a congregation of the perils of abortion.

And with large parts of the population still either in denial of or unaware of the fact that an unborn child is, indeed, a living human being, the awareness that pro-life events bring at each anniversary of Roe v. Wade is all the more important.

"Any child could see that," VanAssche said. "The more we've learned about it, the more passionate we've become in trying to make the public aware and make people understand that it's life."

A couple peer out from under an umbrella during the pro-life rally at Madonna University. The rally was organized by pro-life group Right to Life—Lifespan.

Prayer for Life|Archdiocesan Resources|USCCB Pro-Life Resources