On Oct. 19, 2021, students took a vow of silence for the 2,029 abortions which take place every day in America. The event was put on by Mount Students for Life, a student-led group on campus that advocates for preborn children’s right to life. Students did not speak for the entire day, except when necessary for class, wearing T-shirts with large Xs on the front, and an explanation for why they were being silent on the back. The Day of Silent Solidarity was inspired by previous civil rights movements’ peaceful protests, and in some ways, it received a similar response. While many students were kind and either agreed or respectfully disagreed with the protesters, there were some who saw it fit to slander their peers. Male students in particular were told to “get a vasectomy,” and that “F***boys should stop trying to control women’s bodies.” These statements were peculiar considering all of the officers in the club are women, as well as the majority of Pro-life advocates (#feministsforlife). Though a few students engaged in ad hominem fallacies, the majority of students, whether agreeing or disagreeing, were respectful. Students who were accosted were happy to undergo such things, especially considering that they were being silent for a day for those who were made to be silent their entire lives.
The demonstration was part of a month of activities to honor the innocent lives lost in the womb to abortion and to take care of women harmed by abortion. They organized baby items for the local Catoctin Crisis Pregnancy Center, held a tabling event informing their peers about the statistically shown physical and psychological harm that abortion causes to women, cleaned up and decorated the shrine to the Holy Innocents on campus, showcased the ‘See Me Now’ display (information on who abortion harms and how it does it) outside Patriot, and prayed a Pro-life rosary in Peace Plaza as well as the Day of Silent Solidarity. Woo -- That’s a lot of Pro-life.
This club is especially valuable to our campus, as it directly correlates with our Catholic identity. The Catholic Church, in conjunction with science and the natural law, has always held that human life exists and has inherent dignity from the moment of fertilization. Scientifically speaking, there is no difference between an embryo and a newborn except that one is further along in development and has exited the uterus. She (or he) is a human being, there is no doubt about that. She has human DNA separate from the mother’s, human parents, she responds to stimuli, has working organs and given the right environment, she will grow up to be everything her little genetic code had in store for her from the moment she was a zygote. The Church knows this, and she will stop at nothing to defend the most innocent among us.
That being said, whether you are Catholic or atheist or anything in between, you have a duty to defend the innocent. If you saw someone about to tear a baby limb from limb before your eyes, you would do whatever you could to save it. Pro-choicers, I do not say this to offend you, rather I am simply explaining why Pro-lifers care so much about abortion. It has nothing to do with taking away women’s rights. In fact, at our first tabling event this month, one of our primary points was that there should be a federally required consent law for abortion, just like there is for every other medical procedure. Women should know the risks of having an industrial vacuum cleaner or a knife and forceps stuck inside them. Women deserve better. It is why our first event of the year was organizing baby clothes to be given to mothers who are in need. Women deserve better. The only ones who benefit from an abortion are the one whose sperm helped make that baby, and the one who gets paid to cut it up, not the woman. Women deserve better.
This is why we are beginning a new initiative specifically for expectant mothers who feel that they have no options. If you are interested in helping innocent children and their mothers, email the president, Mary Grace Caltharp at m.g.coltharp@email.msmary.edu, or come to one of our upcoming events. The chances are that your opinion comes from a place of compassion, whether pro-life or pro-choice. You will not be judged and we hope to see you all there.