While media beat out the horrors of 2020, the truth is, you made this year one incredibly action-packed year for life. Here are the pro-life highlights of last year. If you have any doubt about our ability to decrease violence, and make tremendous gains for life in 2021, just read what we managed during a global pandemic, and give yourself a hand. Because we could have done none of this, and saved none of these lives, without you.

Harvard Debate: Abortion is Immorral, featuring Stephanie Gray Connors & Peter Singer

Sponsoring the Harvard-based event, MCFL collaborated with members and the young Harvard Right to Life team to bring internationally acclaimed pro-life speaker, Stephanie Gray, and Yale philosopher, Dr. Peter Singer, to the virtual debating stage in October. The topic? Abortion. The debate drew accolades, reached nearly 1,000 during its live-stream, and has been viewed by hundreds if not thousands more since on our YouTube channel. If anything, the pandemic gave us a broader audience and a stronger reach! and we made the most of each digital-inch!

Watch the recording here.

First-Ever Virtual MCFL Annual Banquet, featuring Dr. Alveda King and Melissa Ohden

“It was fantastic!”

“What a wonderful presentation. My husband loved it!”

“Wonderful job. Very professional. I wanted to increase my donation after listening to Matt.”

“MCFL is in my heart. Thank you so much.”

“Congratulations on your first event. Seems as though everything went off wonderfully from our viewpoint.”

“A terrific fundraiser tonight!” 

"Hello from the Perfetti family! Thank you for your priceless efforts to end the abortion nightmare!"

"This event is so well done! A class act. I am giving the best and most that I can. Go MCFL!"

[ Cardinal Sean O'Malley ] "This is a team effort - the Church and society are blessed by all that you do and your faithful witness."

Hundreds joined our first-ever webinar banquet, and the outpouring of love and support left us speechless -- as did the presentations by Dr. Alveda King, and abortion survivor, Melissa Ohden!

You can still access the video recording here.

Hundreds Participated in a Social-Distanced Standout to Oppose ROE

Roses are worth thousands of words. From the beginning of our quest to challenge abortion violence and protect the lives of our most vulnerable from abortion or doctor-prescribed suicide, we have used a rose to give the voiceless a voice. You delivered hundreds of roses to the State House this year despite a global pandemic. You stood in pouring rain and beat off a bone-chilling Nor-easter to oppose the deadly "ROE" Act. If that isn't a highlight for an intensely challenging year, we don't know what is.

You gave a historic amount in the end-of-year campaign to keep MCFL going in 2021

A historic number of members donated during our end-of-year fundraising campaign, and we met and exceeded our goal of $30,000 in 5 days! Your selfless generosity has given us a tremendous boost for a life-saving and life-changing 2021 -- and there's no doubt about it, our state and nation need it!

Now go out and tell your friends to join you in saving lives and changing hearts this year. Just send them to JOIN 

This year we're headed to another historic moment: The goal of repealing the ROE Act!

You marched virtually to help raise awareness and funds in Massachusetts for life issues!

The member who raised the most in November to support our pro-life outreach! She also put in the 10k with her little one. That's going the distance!

Many members took the opportunity to walk or run virtually, committing to at least 10k during November, when COVID-restrictions made holding our annual march on the Boston Common impossible. They raised thousands of dollars for outreach to pregnant and parenting women in Massachusetts.

Finally...

Some Global Pro-Life Highlights -- 2020 had these beautiful and strongly pro-life moments

Check out EWTN's Pro-Life Weekly, and their video highlight reel that includes moments like a baby being born safely within the amniotic sack when his mother was COVID-positive. 

Watch here or read the list here.

Join | Donate | Connect

This is part of a series of stories, Massachusetts Speaks, in which mothers, fathers, and siblings report their personal losses from abortion. The below is written by a father who attended Boston College.

By Theo Purington III

In October of 2006, I found out I wa a father. My girlfriend of six months was pregnant with our child. Neither of us planned this pregnancy, or had even talked about the possibility of getting pregnant. That was about to become my biggest regret. Like I said, I wasn’t ready to have a child. She said she couldn’t go forward with the birth of a child and wanted to abort. She went to the nursing staff at Boston College a week or two after she found out she was pregnant.

The nurse at B.C. told her that she would be better off having an abortion, and told her where she could get one. I didn’t make a big deal of it at the time because I wanted her to stay calm and positive. I drove her to a crisis pregnancy center in Boston when she was 5 weeks pregnant, so that she could explore her options other than having an abortion. The women at the center set up a date for her to get an ultrasound so she could see her child. We went to get her first ultrasound when she was 5 weeks pregnant.

We weren’t able to see much at this point, but we did see the heartbeat of our child. The technologist said it was too early in the pregnancy to see our baby, and to come back in 2 1/2- 3 weeks. We came back three weeks later for another ultrasound, and that’s when we saw our baby. Our child was at eight weeks gestation, and he had fingers, toes, eyes, everything. I saw and heard my child’s heartbeat; and I cried.

It was an overwhelming and beautiful experience for me--until she looked over at me and said: “What are you crying about? Worms have heartbeats too.”

Her sister had offered to pay $500 for her to get an abortion. She insisted she was going to get the abortion, was planning to get one that weekend, and broke up with me right before.

I called the abortion clinic and asked what my rights were; they said “You don’t have any”.  I then asked them, “What do you do with the aborted babies? I want to bury my child.”

They told me that it wasn’t a child, it was a fetus, and to never call again or they would involve the police.  

My hands were tied. I, as a father had no legal right to protect my child from a death committed by a “doctor”. I called everyone imaginable to see what my rights were and I got the same answer: “nothing”.

The week before my child was aborted,  I went to try one more time to ask the mother of my child to not do this. But she was adamant about having an abortion, and told me to leave. So I then asked her if I could do one thing before I left, she told me that was fine. I then got on my knees and kissed the stomach of the mother of my child and said “I love you, and Daddy will see you in heaven.” I then took the ultrasound pictures and left.

The day my child was aborted was a very painful day for me. I was informed that my child had been aborted in the afternoon on December 2nd, 2006. It was the most painful experience I have ever been through. My relationship ended with the woman that I thought I was going to marry, and I lost my first child. I didn’t want to go on; I was in too much pain. I didn’t eat. I didn’t sleep. I had nightmares of my child being aborted. The day after my child was aborted, I went to see my pastor and he suggested that I have a memorial for my unborn child. I took his advice, and had one the following Sunday at his church. I had my parents and a few friends come. It was a short ceremony, but very painful. I never thought that my child would meet God before I did.

After that day things were still very painful. I still couldn’t sleep or eat, and thoughts of suicide filled my head every waking hour. I joined Bible studies, and post-abortion Bible studies as much as possible. Those were the only people that would understand.

There were times that I wouldn’t even receive support at church. A man is really not allowed to grieve the loss of his unborn baby. I was told things like: “Your child wasn’t even born, so get over it,”“It wasn’t a baby yet,” or even people saying “Your child deserved to die.” None of those things helped me heal and just put me in more of a state of depression.

That winter I was invited to a Right to Life march in Concord, NH. I thought it might be healing, so I went. While I was there, I met a man that ran crisis pregnancy centers in NYC. After speaking to him for awhile, he invited me down to NYC for the summer. I decided to go down and give it a shot.

On July 12th 2007, the day my child was supposed to be born, I went to NYC to serve God and help men and women in situations like I was in. While I was there, I counseled around 500 men and women, and through God, saved at least 100 lives from abortion. I continued to do this work in Manchester, NH by sidewalk counseling, counseling in centers, coordinated 40 Days for Life in New Hampshire, and started speaking to different Churches and events, sharing my testimony and how abortion affects men. I recently moved to Florida where I am doing the same work. Even though I never got to meet my child, and I miss my baby every single day, I know my child is now in the arms of Jesus and I will meet him and hold him in heaven.

BAKER VETOES "R.O.E." ACT (H.5179) Christmas Eve; PRO-LIFE CITIZENS' MESSAGE, "KILL BILL, NOT BABY"

MCFL mobilized thousands of citizens across the state to call the governor's office from Thanksgiving onward. "He clearly heard the message," say members.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- December 28, 2020, Boston, MA -- Massachusetts Citizens for Life (MCFL)  applauds Governor Baker's action on December 24, 2020, Christmas Eve, vetoing the heinously anti-life bill H.5179, also and previously known as An Act Removing Obstacles and Expanding Access to Abortion in MA.

"Kill the bill, not the baby!" said Fernando Limbo, a member based in Revere, "Even our pro-choice governor can see the harm in this bill, and thank God for this Christmas Eve gift protecting life."

H.5179, nearly the same as "R.O.E."'s earlier draft, still:

• Allows underage girls to get abortions without their parents’ consent or even knowledge. (340 girls under the age of 18 had abortions in Massachusetts in 2019. Under this legislation their parents would no longer have the right to even know.)

• Allows doctors to deny life-saving medical care to a clearly viable baby born alive during an abortion. This is known as “passive infanticide.”

• Extends legal abortion all the way to 40 weeks for effectively any reason “to preserve the patient’s physical or mental health.” (emphasis added)

Speaker of the House, Robert DeLeo, responded--utilizing his Christmas Eve to promise that the House would "override the veto."

“It is appalling that, on the eve of the birth of Christ, Speaker DeLeo would promise to ram through legislation that expands the killing of babies,” said Patricia Stewart, Esq., Executive Director of MCFL.

The original bill, H.3320/S.1209, languished in committee, unable to fight commonsense opposition by citizens on both sides of the party line. Representative Claire Cronin drafted an amendment to the annual state budget to underhandedly sneak the deadly bill into law before the new year.

Following her action, both House and Senate approved the bill; but Baker rejected it.

"We expect our lawmakers to listen both to their hearts -- and their constituents," said C.J. Williams, MCFL Director of Community Engagement, "This bill is about abortion, at any cost. It is about so-called access--even to the detriment of women's health. It is not pro-choice, it is not pro-life. Kill this bill, not our babies -- and not our women!"

Members and other citizens will be contacting their state representatives all this week with just that message. Kill the bill, not the baby. H.5179 was vetoed for good reason; and MCFL expects our lawmakers in Massachusetts to respect the lives of its citizens and the voices of their constituents.

“Tell them Massachusetts MUST do better than the”R.O.E.” Act,” said MCFL President, Myrna Maloney Flynn, “For all of our citizens: Our women, our infants, and our daughters.”'

Easy-to-use list of state representatives here. You're the one they need to hear from -- tell them to kill the bill, not the baby, and to sustain the veto!

Friends --

Are you as excited as I am to finally see 2020 coming to an end?

Without question, 2020 was one of the most difficult storms all of us have had to weather. But one thing is certain: we powered through those many challenges together.

This year showed us what matters most in life, and also that we really don’t know what may happen in the next month…or even next year.

 That is why I ask: Can count on you to give a generous year-end donation of $30 or more today so MCFL can keep fighting for the unborn and society’s most vulnerable as we head into 2021?

I know this may be a tough ask considering all that has happened this year, but because of you, we have a lot to be grateful for! Here are a few of the accomplishments you’ve made possible in 2020 because of your membership with MCFL:

• We forged a new partnership with Tom Harvey, Esq. and his Alliance to Stop Taxpayer Funding of Abortion. Together, in the months ahead, we will work to add a ballot initiative question to individual ballots in the coming years, in an effort to prevent your money from funding abortions in Massachusetts;
  
  
• We recruited more activists and volunteers this year than any year prior, who dedicated their time and energy educating others on the dangers of the R.O.E. Act while also promoting a life-affirming message in their communities;
  
  
• We engaged with every state legislator to educate him or her on the dangers of the R.O.E. Act. The result? A bill akin to those that sailed through states like New York and Virginia has yet to pass here in Massachusetts -- and has even been met with resistance by our governor -- due to your partnership with MCFL;
  
  
• We partnered with students at Harvard Right to Life to host the first Annual Dr. Mildred Fay Jefferson Symposium, where pro-life all-star Stephanie Gray Connors debated notorious abortion supporter Professor Peter Singer;
  
  
• MCFL’s online educational materials appeared over 1.51 million times in Google searches, resulting in nearly 50,000 engagements, mostly with students doing research and requesting quotes and interviews with MCFL staff and leadership;
  
  
• We held our first virtual event with abortion survivor Melissa Ohden and civil rights icon, Dr. Alveda King, bringing our events to the 21^st century and reaching wider audiences;

We have a lot to be proud of in 2020, but we also have a LOT of work to do looking ahead to 2021.

First, it is blatantly obvious the pro-abortion groups like Planned Parenthood and NARAL of Massachusetts are furious with us for the amount of pressure you and your fellow MCFL members put on legislators. Despite many of their deplorable votes in favor of the heinous R.O.E. Act, many legislators were made very uncomfortable and only did so because they were threatened with having the pro-abortion machine run someone against them in a future primary. Of course, that still is no excuse for voting in favor of irresponsible legislation that endangers the lives of our women, girls and infants!

Additionally, Governor Baker, who is a self-proclaimed “pro-choice” politician, vetoed the new abortion bill (H. 5179) on Christmas Eve. This only happened because of you and your fellow MCFL members calling and emailing his office relentlessly. Yet the House and Senate chose to override his veto. Our work is not done yet! 

As we look ahead to 2021 two things are perfectly clear:

• We will be increasing our education efforts for students, the general public, and especially for legislators. We know our educational efforts are creating a more pro-life generation among the youth in our state. We saw a lot of people come over to our side when we explained the R.O.E. Act to them, and so we need to start re-educating the general public about the humanity of the unborn child and the horrors of abortion.
  
  
• MCFL will be taking on our largest pro-life recruitment efforts in the organization’s history. We hope to identify thousands of new pro-life individuals in the state who can help us in our grassroots pro-life efforts. We cannot allow the pro-abortion lobby to continue to have the influence they do in our state anymore. We must counter their efforts with a strong and robust pro-life organization. MCFL is the only single-issue organization dedicated to the LIFE issue that can accomplish this.

In order to do this, we need to raise an additional $30,000 before midnight on December 31^st. This is an ambitious goal, but if everyone receiving this email gave their most generous gift today, we would easily reach our goal -- and begin our work immediately.

Can I count on you now to make an end-of-year contribution to MCFL to help us end 2020 on an optimistic, hopeful, life-affirming note? If yes, use this link to make your generous gift now: https://www.masscitizensforlife.org/2020campaign

As the only single-issue pro-life organization in Massachusetts, we rely 100% on the generosity of our faithful members and donors to accomplish our pro-life mission.

All of us at Massachusetts Citizens for Life are ready to fight on your behalf, but we need your help. Please click here to make your end-of-year gift today. Thank you! I look forward to updating you on our ascent to $30,000 in the coming days. Together, we can do it!

Warmest regards,

Myrna Maloney Flynn

President, Massachusetts Citizens for Life

Instead of a large bill and an unnecessary surgery, Massachusetts residents were handing out care packages filled with handwritten notes, a list of free healthcare resources in the area, and brownies, to moms in unexpected pregnancies approaching the Boston area Planned Parenthood on Saturday.

"Look, I just came to get this taken care of," said a young woman through her car window, as C.J. (community engagement director for MCFL) waved at her and asked if she could help.

"But what if you were taken care of?" C.J. asked her. The woman just shook her head. But she took the little violet box, and the note with healthcare  options in the area. Later, she and her partner were seen driving away.

A multitude of people, young and old, had gathered that morning to sing Christmas carols at the well-known Boston abortion center. Young and old, secular and religious, they sang or prayed or stood quietly. A large group of Spanish-speaking citizens had bussed in, and had joined with some of the local Franciscans to pray; while a high school student from Arlington High had joined with her mother for the first time.

It was a busy morning. Christmas is often a challenging time for women who are pregnant; and Planned Parenthood doesn't make it any easier. The abortion provider advertises not help but abortion to relieve women of their challenges -- and relieves them of their living, breathing baby at the instead. 

"What I don't get," said Liana, the high-school junior, "Is, I mean, why don't we make having your baby at a hospital free? Like, why isn't there a clinic here to give birth for like $500? We tax-fund abortion, but no one is tax-funding helping moms have their baby. I always hear women say, I can't afford $5000 to give birth and then baby clothes and all that stuff. But so what? How's abortion a choice if it's the only one you give someone?"

Many of the carolers have been working overtime on just that issue, calling the governor and our lawmakers daily, even hourly, demanding they reject the "R.O.E" Act (which would increase pressure to abort a child, and offer no more support to women parenting or giving birth, along with lowering the age of abortion-consent to 16).

In the meantime, though, they stood offering support and song to the many women impacted by the normal vicissitudes of life, on top of COVID-related job losses or stress. 

"Brighton has a pregnancy resource and health center right up the street from here," said one woman, "I always tell moms, it's free. Right up the street. I'll even drive you there."

She has done just that.

But this frigid, 19 degree morning, she -- along with dozens of others -- continued to sing. From 9am to noon, they offering care boxes, hope, support, and song to each woman approaching the abortion center. Because, as a longtime sidewalk counselor quipped, "Empowerment is telling a woman to kill her child and pick up the bill. Empowerment is telling her you have the strategies, the resources, and a helping hand for her to do anything with her child."

Do you hear what I hear... they closed. 

And I think they meant life, life and protection and support, for everyone, born and preborn, mom and child.

For pregnancy resource centers and free healthcare in your area, check out: Resource Spreadsheet for Women's Health Here.

MOST CURRENT UPDATE on the "R.O.E." Act -- refiled as H.5179  (12/17/2020)

"R.O.E." failed to pass committee review after thousands of citizens gathered to oppose it in bth 2019 and 2020. Pro-abortion lobbyists then inserted the provisions found in "R.O.E" into the annual state budget, where house and senate versions were reconciled as "section 40" and sent to Governor Baker for approval or veto. Governor Baker had previously stated that he would veto "R.O.E" and reject any legislation including its provisions that legalize passive infanticide and remove parental consent. Baker rejected most of the pro-abortion provisions, including the lowering of consent for our children to 16 and removing parental consent. He left in provisions that would permit passive infanticide. 

Representatives Marc Lombardo and Allyson Sullivan have introduced an amendment to the state budget to protect our infants born alive during an abortion,  “Guaranteeing Medical Care to Babies Born Alive,” which reads as follows:

If an abortion is performed pursuant to section 12-N, the facility where the abortion is performed shall maintain life-supporting equipment, as defined by the department of public health, the physician performing the abortion must use life saving measures to preserve the life and health of a live birth and the patient.

Contact your state representative to ask him or to support the amendment, "Guaranteeing Medical Care to Babies Born Alive," and tell them you expect them to support a veto of the budget if it includes the "R.O.E" Act's

abortion expansion.

 You can look up your senator at MALEGISLATURE.GOV/findmylegislator

VIEW THE FULL RECORDING NOW 

Talking Catholic Medical Ethics with Dr. Mark Rollo

WQPH, our local EWTN affiliate, will host MCFL board member, Dr. Mark Rollo, speaking about life issues on a unique and brand-new radio show / podcast for the remainder of the year!

In the first episode, Dr. Rollo addresses the "R.O.E." Act, medical ethics, and the physicians commitment to "first, do no harm."

EWTN was excited to announce this entirely new show in the WQPH lineup from a man of unique perspective and experience.

Dr. Rollo's show, “First, Do No Harm,” will continue throughout the year on Sundays at 11am and 11pm.

From EWTN's radio network:

WQPH: Can you tell us a little bit about your background as a doctor and how you came to the Faith?

Dr. Mark Rollo: I am a cradle Catholic.  Our Catholic Faith was central to our life as a family.  We were regular church goers and we six children attended Catholic schools for much of our education. My parents were staunchly pro-life.

My mother entered the fray to oppose abortion when Roe v Wade was decided in 1973.  Her pro-life beliefs were clearly made known to all of us well before 1973 but in that year she joined Massachusetts Citizens for Life and helped start a local crisis pregnancy center. She regularly picketed planned parenthood.

My father was a surgeon and was president of the medical staff when Roe became law.   As president he could not vote on whether or not to allow abortions to be done at our local hospital.  He resigned so that he could vote against it.

I belatedly followed in my father’s footsteps to become a physician when I was 30 years old. I joined the USAF to defray the cost of medical school and as an Air Force Physician I was very blessed to work with many dedicated and mission oriented individuals. My wife and I are Fitchburg natives and after separating from active duty in 1991 we returned to this area where I practiced family medicine until this year when I retired.

The show’s title is taken from the ancient Hippocratic oath for the medical profession. With so many scientific advancements today, how do you see such history informing us?

Over the years of my practice I have seen the abandonment of the Hippocratic Oath.  2500 years ago the Oath specifically rejected abortion and physician assisted suicide.  These abominations are currently corrupting medicine.  Contraception, which is the separation of love and life, helped usher in the culture of death which I gradually came to understand.  As a result I dedicated much of my practice to modern methods of natural family planning which is fully in accordance with the Catholic Church.

What are you hoping to help your listeners appreciate better?

Ethics must form the basis of treating the whole person and it is my hope to shine a light on the medical ethical issues of the day from a Catholic perspective.  This will include not only contraception, abortion and assisted suicide but also such important issues as IVF, hospice, palliative care and end of life decision making just to name a few.  I am looking forward to delving into these issues.

Member DeeDee Dorrington describes each point in our law removed by the "R.O.E." Act. This bill would directly erase medical safeguards for women and infants in Massachusetts, and promote late-term abortion access for any reason over the safety of our daughters and our women. Watch the video below, and share with your friends! Pro-life and pro-choice voters agree: "R.O.E" is a a huge NO because it would permit infanticide, remove 3-day long grueling late-term abortions from the hospital setting, and and remove parental consent and judicial supervision of our underage daughters who might be at-risk for abortion.

Watch here.

Call the Judiciary Committee and tell them you expect them to reject "R.O.E" (S.1209/H.3320) by or before November 12th!

Chair Claire Cronin: (617) 722-2396

Vice Chair Michael Day: (617) 722-2396