About 500 people gathered at the California Capitol on Monday to participate in the third annual March for Life rally through Sacramento’s downtown.
Speakers, including Republican Assembly member Jim Patterson (R–Fresno) and Lila Rose, who co-founded the anti-abortion nonprofit Live Action, likened fighting against abortion in California to a “calling” and a “mission” from God for activists.
In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, California has strengthened its pro-choice stance. Last year, voters approved an amendment enshrining the right to an abortion in the state constitution and Governor Gavin Newsom signed laws to protect people seeking the procedure when coming from a more restrictive state.
Monday’s rally began minutes after Newsom tweeted California would cut ties with the retail pharmacy Walgreens, which said Friday it would not distribute mifepristone, one of two pills needed during a medication abortion, in 20 Republican-led states.
“As you can imagine, Gavin Newsom did not have the same reaction that we have, which is celebration,” Allie Beth Stuckey, a conservative commentator, said to the crowd. “It was your raising a respectful but relentless ruckus for the things that matter that finally pressured Walgreens to do the right thing and make it a little bit harder for women to have access to the kind of substances that poison their children.”
Last month, a group of 20 Republican attorneys general warned Walgreens and CVS that distributing mifepristone in their states would be “unsafe and illegal.” The American Medical Association says the pill is safe and effective.
A group of about 15 young counter-protestors assembled for the Monday afternoon event, blasting siren noises through a megaphone and playing loud music. They carried signs saying “Keep Your Policies off Our Bodies” and “Against Abortion? Have a Vasectomy.”
The group was pushed off Capitol grounds by California Highway Patrol officers for disrupting the March for Life’s permitted event, and drew the ire of, among others, a group of three men wearing sweatshirts that showed their affiliation with the far-right Sacramento Proud Boys.
Larkin Dwyer is a 20-year-old Sacramento State student who says she’s been protesting this event each time it has happened. She says the counter-protestors organized over Instagram….
At least seven California lawmakers attended Monday’s rally, including Assembly members Joe Patterson (R–Rocklin), Devon Mathis (R–Porterville), Bill Essayli (R–Riverside), Megan Dahle (R–Redding), Tom Lackey (R–Palmdale) and state Senator Brian Dahle (R–El Dorado). The lawmakers flanked Assembly member Jim Patterson as he made his remarks on the Capitol steps.
“We’re not going away. We’re growing stronger every day,” said Patterson. “And we will continue to live pro-life everywhere we are, in every set of circumstances, because we are going to be a witness for life and there will be saved babies.”
Full story on CapRadio.
Notice not one elected official standing for life has a “D” after his or her name. My former party has truly become the Party of Death. “D” now has more to do with death than with democracy. Whatever happened to standing up for the little guy? And, we live in a virtual one-party state controlled by them. The party would be unrecognizable to most of its members from last century.
Give ’em hell, Hairy!!!
I’m tired of hearing about abortion fights. It’s like when I was growing up, all we ever heard about was the Cold War and nuclear war. Every day we were told to live in fear. Every day people were harping about the Soviets or nuclear missiles or American presidents. Thank God that’s over. I wish the abortion war would be over too.
It will be over once we again protect babies and their mothers. I’m tired too. Weariness goes with any war. WWII veterans were certainly weary by the end of that tragic period of history. Surrendering to evil is not the answer. And, while you may have tired of the Cold War and the threat of nuclear war, no one (or very few) died as a result of the Cold War. There is a spiritual war going on around us too. Just look at the Bible and the Saints. Pray for grace. That will continue until the return of the Lord. Fight the good fight, run the race and keep the faith until you’re called home. (2 Tim. 4:7)
Our lawmakers– including many so-called Catholic lawmakers—are very busy, pushing abortion pills and all types of abortions– even up to birth– at taxpayers’ expense. President Biden even proclaims that the Pope and many Catholic bishops are not necessarily Pro Life. If the Pope could only understand, that powerful Papal spiritual and moral leadership can and must greatly affect not only individuals in his Church, but entire nations. The Pope must have the courage and commitment to speak loudly and strongly on all moral issues, especially abortion– and mean business. He should have documents, even books, with clear-cut, strong passages that are quoted worldwide, in the media, to influence all– believers and non- believers. We badly need strong, committed moral and spiritual leadership, in the Catholic papacy, committed also to following Canon Law on barring immoral, heretical, bad, unrepentant Catholics from Holy Communion.
The abortion war – I take it you want the abortion struggle to end in the end of abortion.Hope I am correct.
I think that along with the Culture of Life, the Catholic Church should strongly promote a healthy, wholesome, 100% drug-free life, for young people. I just read, in a news story from “Catholic News Agency,” that the Jesuit St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia PA, has launched a new program, with four certificates, in Cannabis Studies. The four certificates include things like horticulture, business, medicinal use, etc., as related to marijuana. It enables a student to enter a career in this field. What a HORROR! I can’t imagine good Catholic parents sending their kids to a Jesuit university– to learn how to operate a marijuana business! That’s insane! Either the Jesuits ought to end this garbage, or the Archbishop of Philadelphia ought to end their association with the Catholic Church! If the Jesuits really want to do some good for society, at least they could offer programs to discourage kids from ever taking a drug, and help them to lead a good, clean, wholesome life, following Catholic teaching. And they could offer a few courses in drug rehabilitation, psychology degrees to help drug addicts, EMT certification to save lives of dope-addicted young people who overdose, etc. etc. Satan and his minions heavily infest the dark, evil, sick and sinful world of dope and alcohol addiction.