Smoke bombed by protestors...
With the 49th anniversary of Roe v. Wade taking place on January 22nd, 2022, this was the biggest weekend of the year for pro-life organizations like JPII Life Center.
We kicked off the weekend Saturday morning at the Marriott Austin South for the Boots on the Ground conference, an annual educational event put on by Texas Right to Life that informs and equips the next generation of pro-life leaders. College groups from all over the state learned from powerful speakers representing nationwide organizations such as And Then There Were None, Feminists for Life, and more!
Around lunchtime, while our staff was preparing to travel from Boots on the Ground to the Capitol, the entire conference experienced a sudden interruption. A group of about a dozen counter-protesters marched into the hotel lobby chanting in the name of “abortion rights”. Prior to their exit, one person threw smoke bombs at the attendees, hitting a woman in the knee and leaving the venue with a cloud of smoke and foul smell reeking through the hallways. Footage from the disturbance can be found HERE.
But we didn’t let this slow us down. On Saturday afternoon, JPII Life Center joined thousands of pro-life advocates at the state capitol for the annual Texas Rally for Life. We debuted our brand-new ‘This Shirt Saves Lives’ tees, as well as distributed our first-ever JPII and Vitae posters for attendees to proudly show off. We had an outstanding turnout of supporters stop by our table to chat, including members of local church young adult groups such as John 10:10 (St. John Neumann) and Maronite Young Adults. We rallied alongside people of all ages and backgrounds to let the media know that as pro-lifers, we will make our voices heard until mothers’ needs are met and abortion becomes unthinkable.
This is a pivotal year in history for the pro-life movement. Legal challenges to abortion like the Texas Heartbeat Act are bringing Roe v. Wade closer and closer to being overturned.
But our work is only getting started. Now is the time for pregnant mothers to know that they ARE loved, and support through their fears and challenges is only one call away.
Will you be a part of history by supporting our mission HERE?
