March for Life Thursday, Sept 26
The right of the unborn can not become an afterthought. We must not allow it to be placed on the policy shelf as a secondary issue to be considered later. The sanctity of human life, at all stages of development, has been and must always remain a priority for conservative-minded people.
If you can not conserve the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, then your conservatism not only lacks theological convictions, but empty of American idealism as well.
The New Jersey Family Policy Center and our national and state coalition partners will not let that happen. Above all, you will not let that happen. How do I know? Because I have seen it with my own eyes today.
Over a thousand people gathered in Trenton today for the New Jersey March for Life. The spectacle of marchers, escorted by police, closing State Street where our legislature meets in the Statehouse was one, I will soon not forget.
Pro Life Pastors Panel
Caption (Left to Right): Shawn Hyland of New Jersey Family Policy Center, Pastor Darius Nables – The Church of the Good Shepherd, Cherry Hill, Pastor Brennan Coughlin – Fellowship Cross Point Church, Chesterfield, NJ, Pastor John Grove – (retired) Columbus Baptist Church, Columbus, NJ, Pastor Fred Provencher – Cornerstone Christian Church, Wycoff, Debbie Provencher – Lighthouse Pregnancy Centers, Hawthorne, Hackensack, Paterson and Wayne
The festivities kicked off at 9AM with a Pro Life Pastors Panel inside the Trenton War Memorial. We partnered with Pastor Brennan Coughlin of Fellowship Cross Point Church in Chesterfield to bring together a panel of pastors to answer questions regarding how to Biblically and pastorally address the issue of Life from the pulpit. Our Director of Advocacy, Shawn Hyland moderated the panel, as pastors shared powerful stories of freedom and forgiveness experienced by congregation members who struggled with past decisions.
Rally for Life
Immediately following breakfast, attendees swarmed the statehouse annex to hear from national and state voices at the Rally for Life who clearly and vividly described this cause for justice. Members of the Legislature on their way to committee hearings in the Senate, and an Assembly voting session, could not ignore the plight of the unborn today. The issue was at the forefront of their minds, as it should be each day.
Caption (Left to Right): Allan Wright of The New Jersey Family Policy Center, Lou Crescitelli, Policy Director of Legislative District 24, Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia (R), and Shawn Hyland of the New Jersey Family Policy Center.
March for Life
As the Rally ended, attendees started to orderly and peacefully walk through the streets of our state capital to stand for Life. Pictures don’t truly communicate the feeling of hope, purpose, and moral goodness that permeated the atmosphere. Marchers were unashamed to publicly present their position of the dignity and humanity that is inherent in every pre-born child. The message was clear – protecting human life should be the social norm.
Friends, you are making a difference. We may not have won all the hearts and minds of our fellow New Jerseyans today, but it was another step forward. Our work will continue another day, but let’s rejoice in what God did today! I encourage you to stay vigilant with an unwavering commitment to the Right to Life no matter how long it takes.
