I get such a charge out of attending our semi-annual statewide membership meetings in Jefferson City!
At the most recent November 14th meeting, I exchanged stories with a younger (than me) gentleman who asked me, “So what led you to get involved in Right to Life?” “Well,” I said, “I was a young mother of our 11-month-old firstborn when I heard the news of the 1973 Roe v Wade decision on the 6:30 a.m. radio news while my husband and I were eating breakfast. It made me angry.”
The sacrifices you make day after day
“You heard the actual news report?” he asked, sounding somewhat incredulous.
I immediately thought of a conversation with the woman I had talked to at National Right to Life earlier in the week when I was seeking a bulletin insert for Respect Life Sunday in January. I described a piece of literature on my bulletin board that we used as a bulletin insert probably 30 years ago. It has a photo of a baby in an amniotic sac and above the photo are the words, “Abortion Means No Judge, No Jury, No Trial, No Appeal.” Then below the picture it continues: “And No Stay of Execution.” I added, “It says copyright 1982 on the photo.”
“Oh,” she responded. “That’s the year I was born!”
I was struck by the fact that I was talking to someone who has never known a world without legalized abortion.
Later in the meeting, we heard two dedicated leaders from the Southwest Region report that they had succeeded in re-starting chapters in Springfield and Joplin chapters that had been active and vibrant when I stepped away from pro-life work 15 years ago to serve in the legislature.
Returning to pro-life work with Missouri Right to Life, things have changed in certain areas of the organization, but I still recognized a lot of the faces of our statewide leadership team. How I appreciate the dedication of the MRL volunteers, old and new, who continue unflaggingly to work in the trenches day after day. I often feel that pro-life volunteers don’t receive the gratitude they deserve for the sacrifices they make day after day, so I want to take this opportunity to say “Thank You!!” to all who have carried the torch of pro-life dedication through the years.
Christmas Blessings,
Therese Sander
MRL Vice President