The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena... who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause. - Teddy Roosevelt
As any working parent can attest, it’s tough to maintain an active social life that doesn’t involve sidelines or grad parties. In other words, I don’t get out much. So it’s kind of a big deal that the past week presented me with not one but two opportunities to hang out with other adults.
Given much of my professional summer has been marked by bruising battles, tragic outcomes and the resulting threat of discouragement, I welcomed the occasions.
At the first, I joined a group made up mostly of medical professionals. One of the couples generously invited us into their home to build relationships around the commonality we shared: our commitment to the pro-life movement. I didn’t know anyone well. Yet I accepted the invitation because I was inspired by this unlikely set of advocates. Each in recent years has boldly defended his or her pro-life position within the generally pro-abortion medical field, risking their livelihoods in the process. Some have written powerful op-eds exposing themselves as pro-life. Others have taken on leadership roles in pro-life organizations. Another routinely prescribes Abortion Pill Reversal, which the doctor knows most physicians reject as “junk science.” This particular doctor, though, told us about the babies, resting in the arms of their grateful mothers, months after the physician honored their choice to reverse the abortion pill they took alone, in a fearful moment of desperation.
All described, at one point or another in their careers, having to refuse to perform or refer patients for abortion, knowing the great risks that accompanied their refusal.
After the evening spent with these courageous gladiators in white coats, an even brighter flame of devotion for this work fueled my workweek.
I spent my second night out with a dozen total strangers in the North End. As readers of the same publication, which coordinates monthly dinners for subscribers, we exchanged the usual niceties over varied entrees and ranging politics, knowing that our differences on the latter might be less palatable than the former.
My heart began to beat a little faster as each person around the table answered the inevitable “So, what do you do for a living?” I prepared myself for chilly reactions and cold shoulders. Then, in front of everyone, I stepped into the ring.
“I lead a pro-life nonprofit called Massachusetts Citizens for Life.”
Awkward Pause entered the restaurant. Raised Eyebrows followed.
“Did you say ‘pro-LIFE?’”
“Wow. You’re brave.”
“Good for you.”
“You guys have had a rough couple weeks, huh?”
Not all were “with us” (yet). But later, a few quietly acknowledged to me that they, too, were pro-life. One told me about their family’s support for a local pregnancy resource center. Several thought it was great that Riley Gaines will keynote next month’s annual banquet.
While I sensed that a couple of individuals were staunchly pro-abortion, no one ostracized me. As the night drew to a close, several people reiterated that they admired my courage – which I realized we can easily take for granted, those of us who are in this movement.
However, the one disheartening part of the evening occurred when a few who were pro-life said that they’d “never be able to admit it.”
Get in the arena!
We need you. As legislators and Governor Healey opened the door to elective abortion up to birth, on healthy moms and healthy babies, the entire country just witnessed Massachusetts turn its back on vulnerable pregnant women and fully-developed unborn infants, in a celebratory signing ceremony as seen here, in a photo released by the state's public affairs office:
If you’re already “the man in the arena,” thank you for your bravery and determination. Now, you have a responsibility to bring others in.
And if you’re watching from the security of an upper deck, what are you waiting for?
True, this work is not for the faint of heart. But, trust me, if a conflict-averse Midwestern gal can climb over the barrier of fear and down onto the field, so can you. You’ll speak the easy words of truth and prompt others to do the same. Best of all, you’ll experience the incredible freedom that accompanies a clear conscience; “The truth shall set you free,” as a guy from Nazareth once said.
When people learn the gruesome details about late-term abortion, if their conscience is well-formed, they will be compelled to oppose it. Help them understand.
Passive indifference to inhumane late-term abortion is to look the other way, a choice for complacency instead of a determination to advance human rights. History shows what that indifference means for people who society classifies as less than human and not worthy of our protection under the law.
Unfortunately for the women of our state and their unborn babies, and even some Massachusetts children at the bottom of a steep and slippery slope, history repeats itself.
You and I have no choice but to act on their behalf. Governor Healey's signature will not be the end. If anything, residents across the state are responding to a wake up call, a deafening clamor of conscience they can no longer ignore.
They just need you to direct their desire to help. Limitless potential propels us!
Here’s how you can help change history today:
1. Take part in and promote our Accountability Campaign.
MCFL is building a statewide legislative accountability project to identify where Massachusetts legislators and candidates stand on two specific issues. We will create a record that can be used by voters on Election Day and for future legislative efforts.
We are asking every Massachusetts state representative and state senator:
If reelected, will you support legislation to restore legal protections for viable unborn babies?
If reelected, will you support legislation to ensure state funding for abortion alternatives, real “choice” for vulnerable women, in an amount equal to or greater than the $7 million in state funding directed to abortion in 2025?
We’re recording the responses they send to you. Together, we will make sure voters, even voters who consider themselves “pro-choice,” know which candidates crossed a line and supported abortion up to birth.
2. Invite a friend to join you at our September 25th banquet.
The strangers I met in the North End welcomed the idea of hearing Riley Gaines, after I simply made the ask.
3. Contribute
My team and I have worked nonstop this summer, and we have no plans to rest, because it’s clear that darkness never takes a day off. But we need resources to continue this day-to-day, statewide operation.
Whatever you do, the time is now. Four years ago this week, our MCFL family lost a fearless man named Dr. Mark Rollo, whose influence continues to shape our work. After his sudden passing, Mark’s daughter recounted in her eulogy an experience that took place a few days after her father’s death.
At dawn, she said, she suddenly felt his presence with her in her parents’ home. I recall how she paused and looked up from the church lectern. Then her tone changed, and she spoke to those of us at the funeral with urgency in her voice. She was no longer a sentimental storyteller but a messenger entrusted with critical information.
“He wanted me to tell this to all of you here today,” she explained, saying she had scrambled to write the words she’d heard him convey to her that morning.
The concept of time doesn’t exist in eternal life, Mark told her. Time won’t matter anymore. What will matter, he said, is how a person spends their time in this life. His daughter looked up from her notes, paused again and asked us – Mark asked us – “What are you doing with your time?”
Thank you for your willingness to spend yourself in this most worthy cause, here in the Massachusetts arena.
Wishing you a peaceful heart this weekend, one that remains open to the good.
Myrna
P.S. - Our Accountability Project will remain a resource for future legislative efforts, helping identify where support exists and where additional advocacy is needed to advance legislation that protects viable unborn babies and gives vulnerable women real alternatives to abortion. Help us get your legislators on the record.