‘Everyone Can Do Something

They are still out there, and they are marching again this month with hope and energy, determination and joy. They are the people who promote and defend the right to life, beginning with the right of the baby in the womb to be born.

It has been 43 years since abortion became legal throughout the United States without benefit of a vote. The Supreme Court, ignoring the democratic process, simply handed down its Roe v. Wade decision on Jan. 22, 1973.

The pro-life movement went into action immediately to assist pregnant women, to educate the public and to help women suffering from postabortion trauma.

Recently I spoke about the pro-life cause with Dr. Antoinette Cosentino, a pediatrician (not currently practicing) and the leader of the pro-life group at Assumption parish in Peekskill. She noted a strong sign that the pro-life message is being heard: the movement is drawing increasing numbers of young people. Thousands of teens and young adults participate in the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., on the Roe vs. Wade anniversary. She’s led groups from Assumption for several years.

“You turn around and look behind you at Constitution Avenue, and everyone is probably less than legal age,” she said. Recalling her group’s participation last year, she said, “We sang. We had a bullhorn; we were singing to Jesus, chants and hymns in English and Spanish. Or we’d start the Rosary. The kids—I can’t explain the impact it had on them.

“These kids come back and they want to talk about relationships, boyfriends, girlfriends—it all ties together,” Dr. Cosentino said. “The March is a spectacular event, but the quiet work is done behind the scenes. You go back and you talk about it, in the parish, in youth groups…It’s the follow-up that counts.”

The effects extend beyond the kids who participate. Dr. Cosentino said that she has known youngsters who were able to help someone they encountered at school who was pregnant. Some of them “speak up for chastity,” she added.

“They have an impact on their friends, on the people you can’t reach in church, and that is key.”

Dr. Cosentino also assists women with troubled pregnancies, including those who have been told that their unborn baby has a fatal genetic defect.

“Those women are scared; they don’t know what to do,” she said. “They’re pro-life, but they’re still scared. Pressure is put on them…The important thing is to follow up and be there for them.”

She remarked that in every case she has worked on, the baby “turned out just fine.” Of course, it doesn’t always work out that way, and Dr. Cosentino said that she draws hope and inspiration from the women she calls her heroes, “the silent moms who take care of disabled children whom the rest of the world thinks should be dead.”

“They’re amazing women,” she continued. “They are incredible sources of strength.” The disabled children they love and care for “give joy to everyone around them,” she added.

For those who don’t have time for pro-life work, or don’t know what to do, Dr. Cosentino offers advice.

“Pray,” she said. “Contribute to a crisis pregnancy center—Good Counsel Homes, Birthright, Expectant Mother Care, the Sisters of Life. Everyone can do something; look around you and see who needs something in your neighborhood. Smile at the woman in the grocery store who’s pregnant. That’s pro-life. Take a meal to someone who just had a baby. That’s pro-life. Donate baby clothes and carriages to a pro-life center.”

She remarked that the pro-life cause rejects not only abortion, but also euthanasia and assisted suicide. Being pro-life means valuing those at the other end of the life span.

“Visit the elderly,” she said. “If you have coffee with your elderly neighbor, that’s pro-life.”

There are two things I’m going to keep in mind this year about the pro-life movement: It is sustained by heroes like Dr. Cosentino. And, as she said, “Everyone can do something.”