January 22, 2021 | Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS — Today Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL), the state’s oldest and largest pro-life organization, held a virtual March for Life to commemorate lives lost to abortion and to affirm that human rights belong to all members of the human family. The online event marked the 48th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decisions, which nullified state laws protecting unborn children from abortion.
“Although we couldn’t gather at the state Capitol this year because of COVID-19, we will never forget the unborn lives taken by abortion, the women who have been hurt, the families that have been wounded,” says MCCL Executive Director Scott Fischbach. “Today we remember the devastation of abortion and stand in solidarity with unborn children and their mothers.”
U.S. Representatives Tom Emmer, Michelle Fischbach, and Pete Stauber all shared remarks during the MCCL program, and Rep. Jim Hagedorn sent greetings as well (but could not be included because of the production timeline). Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt, and other state lawmakers also participated.
“Government’s primary responsibility is to protect life,” said Sen. Michelle Benson (R-Ham Lake), chair of the Health and Human Services Finance and Policy Committee. “And it’s even more important that, when someone doesn’t have their own voice, that you be a voice and that I be a voice for them.”
More than 62 million unborn human beings, including more than 660,000 in Minnesota, have been destroyed since the Court’s Jan. 22, 1973, decisions. Abortions in Minnesota have dropped nearly 50 percent since their peak, but about 10,000 still take place each year.
“You can never give up,” said Sen. Gazelka (R-Nisswa). “We’ve made a number of positive steps, a number of little things that we’ve done, and I think we’re convincing more and more of the next generation how precious life is.”
The March for Life program noted the challenges many pregnant women have faced during the pandemic, as well as the recent efforts to expand chemical abortions, even at the expense of women’s health. “That’s why the loving work of pregnancy care centers is more important now than ever,” said MCCL’s Robyn Swiderski.
MCCL Legislative Director Austin VanDerHeyden explained MCCL’s support in the new legislative session for a ban on taxpayer funding of abortion in Minnesota. MCCL will also work to preserve full funding for Positive Alternatives, which provides grants to programs that help pregnant women and new mothers.
“Today, on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, let’s rededicate ourselves to protecting the unborn and supporting their families,” concluded Swiderski.
The MCCL March for Life has been held each year since 1974, the first anniversary of the Court’s rulings. This is the first year without an in-person gathering at the Capitol in St. Paul. The March for Life will return to the Capitol in 2022.