RICHMOND, Va. (OSV News) ─ On Nov. 3, Virginia voters will face a referendum on an amendment that, if passed, would enshrine virtually unlimited access to abortion in the state constitution.
On April 22, pro-life advocates took to the streets of downtown Richmond in protest during the annual Virginia March for Life.
Before the march, Bishop Barry C. Knestout of Richmond was a featured speaker at a rally on the Virginia Capitol grounds. Noting that the feast of St. George would fall on the following day, the bishop used strong imagery in denouncing the amendment.
"St. George was known as the dragonslayer," he said. "Today, we have a dragon hovering over Virginia seeking to devour life and to take life, to destroy that great good that God has given us."
The amendment would create risky loopholes for unlicensed abortion providers to perform unregulated abortions at any time, even up until birth; would not protect babies born alive after a failed abortion; and would severely jeopardize the current Virginia parental consent law designed to protect minors.
Around 11 a.m., thousands of people departed the state Capitol and marched up Ninth Street, along Broad Street, down 14th Street and back up Main Street in downtown Richmond. The passionate and varied crowd was made up of advocates from across the state, including parishioners from the dioceses of Richmond and Arlington.
"We've been active mostly for the March for Life in D.C.," said John Curran, who traveled with the Knights of Columbus Council 6828 from St. Bede Parish in Williamsburg. "But this year, with the new amendment that's coming out, we put a bus together to come down. It's one of the most important state marches that we've had yet."
"I don't think the public is aware of what's in the amendment, and just how far it goes," Curran continued. "We need to bring awareness to it -- to start waking people up."
Erica Banks, a March for Life volunteer and a parishioner of the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Richmond, agreed that there is a lack of understanding of what exactly the amendment promises. For example, nullifying laws that require parental consent for abortions could make Virginia a hub for human trafficking.
"If there were a comprehensive understanding of what's at stake, then maybe people would be inclined to take action," Banks told The Catholic Virginian, Richmond's diocesan news outlet.
"I think people don't understand that it's not simply a left versus right issue," Banks continued. "This affects everyone ─ young girls, women, as well as the unborn. This is the darker shadow of (society) ─ what behaviors do we protect and enable?"
Kaky Bowden, faith formation director at Holy Cross in Lynchburg, said that the parish's St. Gianna Pro-Life Ministry "doesn't support politicians or particular parties. We support citizens doing their due diligence to learn what's going on -- and this thing coming in November is really scary."
Thirteen pro-life advocates from Holy Cross traveled by bus from Lynchburg to march in Richmond.
"My grandson was born at 27 weeks," said Kathleen Washburn, a Holy Cross parishioner. "I march for him and every other baby like him."
The Holy Cross contingent stayed after the march for advocacy training hosted by the Family Foundation and the Leadership Institute.
"It was engaging. The word we kept hearing was 'boldness,'" said Bowden. "As a Church, we need to be bold in how we are standing up for the vulnerable."
Mary Adams, who attends St. Rose of Lima and the Korean Martyrs Church in Hampton, traveled from Newport News to march in Richmond.
"We are here to be a voice for the voiceless," she said.
Adams volunteers with 40 Days for Life and prays each Thursday outside of an abortion clinic in Newport News.
"I try to be there for women, in case they're being coerced into an abortion. Our approach isn't to condemn. It's to say: 'I care about you. How can I help you?'" said Adams.
A large group of students from Blessed Sacrament Huguenot in Powhatan were on hand to make their voices heard, too.
"Abortion has been going on for way too long," said Andrew Wells, a 10th grader from the school. "People that support abortion think it's not that big of a deal, that it's just a fetus or a clump of cells. But as the Bible says, God created you: 'Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.'"
Bishop Knestout applied a different passage from Scripture to the day's events ─ specifically, the Mass readings for April 19, the Third Sunday of Easter.
"This past weekend, Catholics around the world heard the same Scripture passage from the Gospel of St. Luke: the two disciples on the road to Emmaus," said the bishop. "The two disciples were discouraged, crestfallen, challenged by what had occurred just two days before with the death of Our Lord."
On the road to Emmaus, an encounter with the risen Christ changes the hearts of the downcast disciples.
"They are filled with energy, and they feel their hearts burning within them," said Bishop Knestout. "They are encouraged to go right back into the city that had caused so much fear and worry, to confront those who had opposed life."
"That dragon hovering over Virginia needs to be slain by our courage," said the bishop.
Ann McEvoy, parishioner of St. Benedict, Richmond, and a 40 Days for Life volunteer, said that she remains hopeful.
"I'm confident that we can defeat this amendment, because God can do anything," she said. "But if it passes, we as Virginians will have only ourselves to blame. We have to get out and vote."
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D. Hunter Reardon is a multimedia journalist on the staff of The Catholic Virginian, the news outlet of the Diocese of Richmond. This story was originally published by The Catholic Virginian and distributed through a partnership with OSV News.
