In the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season, when our thoughts turn to loved ones near and far, may I ask you to think about someone else who needs not only our love but our protection?
She is floating in a darkened womb. She hears her mother’s every heartbeat. At 22 weeks old, her own heart beats strong. Full of promise and hope she is as alive as you and I.
And with your help, National Right to Life fights to protect her right to life even though she will never know it.
Made possible by your generosity, NRLC also battles for the mother who is looking down at her son who is quietly brushing the hair back from his forehead. The soft, rhythmic sound of the ventilator interrupts her thoughts. She glances away from his face long enough to look up at the cardiac monitor and she smiles – his heart also beats strong. He is alive and a mother hopes.
We fight for his right to life even though he may never know what was done on his behalf.
And then there is that precious great-grandmother. The flowers on her nightstand have wilted in the week since her 86th birthday. She doesn’t always remember specifics and sometimes she gets confused, but she knows enough to refuse the Do Not Resuscitate order the nurses at her assisted living facility are insisting she sign.
She’s healthy, she’s alive – and we fight for her right to life even though she likely will never know what was done on her behalf.
Finally there is that remarkable young man. The accident robbed him of his ability to walk but his drive burns undiminished. He pushed himself across a wooden stage to accept his college diploma, he “danced” at his daughter’s wedding in a light-weight aluminum wheelchair, and at his retirement party his family gifted him the latest motorized version.
But now he worries about insurance denying needed surgery because of his disability. He has a beautiful retirement ahead, he’s alive – and we fight for his right to life, because often, if not NRLC, who?
For decades, NRLC has worked quietly, faithfully, and effectively to make a difference, not a statement. It is wonderful that pro-life champion Rep. Chris Smith calls NRLC “the hub, the nerve center, of the pro-life movement,” but it is what we are able to do with that hard-earned reputation that matters. And that is to defend the powerless, to be a voice for a voiceless, to stand up when the odds seem overwhelming and prevail.
Unlike Planned Parenthood, we have no government pipeline pouring tens of millions of dollars into our coffers. We have only you.
But that is all we need.