'Every life counts, that's why the fight goes on,' say pro-life advocates

By Andrea Acosta

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (OSV News) -- "The battle continues, and we will continue until the word abortion is unthinkable," pro-life advocates said during the 2024 National Hispanic Pro-Life Congress held at St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Falls Church.

Overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022 had been a great triumph, but the fight remains to end abortion at any stage of pregnancy and until abortion is unthinkable, said congress speaker Neydy Casillas, an attorney working at the Global Center for Human Rights.

Groups that promote abortion and gender ideology go to international bodies because they are aware of the impact that the decisions of these organizations have on the world and people's lives, said Casillas, who has worked for the defense of life at the Organization of American States and the United Nations.

She told attendees at the Jan. 20 congress Planned Parenthood is one such group, which has worked with international organizations insisting that abortion is a woman's right. But people who advocate for life are in the majority, she said, arguing that 73% of Americans oppose abortion after 15 weeks of gestation.

Citing data collected by Susan B. Anthony Pro-Live America, Casillas claimed that only 10% of Americans support the more radical position on abortion. Even at 63%, most Americans oppose chemical abortion via mail-order abortion pills.

Casillas said that some women who have taken the pills have had complications, including some who have ended up in the hospital or died from taking the pills unsupervised.

The media has a decisive role in shaping public opinion and has played a key role in this issue. She said there has been a "bombardment" in the news that is "pro-choice" against the family and promotes gender ideology.

"Some media try to silence people who oppose abortion, they call us anti-choice, even though we defend the most fundamental right, which is the right to life," she said.

But despite this, "more people are realizing that abortion is a big mistake," she added.

By overturning Roe with its Dobbs decision in June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court negated a so-called right to abortion that the 1973 ruling said was a right under the U.S. Constitution, and now each state is free to legislate and determine what protection the unborn have.

In the wake of Dobbs, California, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Vermont and Kansas voters either rejected restrictions on abortion or expanded legal protections for it in 2022. Ohio voters passed a measure to codify abortion access in the state's constitution in 2023.
This year, Maryland and New York will vote to amend their constitutions to include abortion while several other states have ongoing efforts to put abortion on the ballot.
At the same time, 24 states have pro-life protections restricting abortion, according to a tracker by national pro-life group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.
"We have to start working because now we have the opportunity to fight to eliminate abortion. There is a lot to be done to make abortion not an option," Casillas said.

According to the World Health Organization, about 73 million abortions are performed worldwide each year.

The United States is one of seven countries that allows abortion after five months of pregnancy, Casillas said.

According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, which monitors laws, some countries consider it a personal choice, allowing it for socioeconomic reasons, on request, to save the mother's life or preserve her health. Other countries consider it illegal, and still others only accept it in specific situations, such as fetal malformations or in cases of rape.

Suriname, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and Honduras are the only countries in the Americas where abortion is totally prohibited.

When talking about Planned Parenthood, Casilllas told the audience that this organization is one of the biggest promoters of abortion in the U.S. and that it manages large sums of money to run its clinics. "Abortion is a business. These organizations profit from abortion, they are in the business of destroying families," Casillas said.

Planned Parenthood was founded in 1916 to provide information on sex education, contraception, and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, to offer women the option of abortion and to promote it. Its nearly 600 health centers offer these services.

According to Casillas, Planned Parenthood promotes a campaign that seeks to make people insensitive to unborn babies, who are defenseless.

The organization's goal is to desensitize people, she added.

"If they make us insensitive, they simply turn us into puppets, and that way the governments and groups that want to manipulate and rule the world win," Casillas said in her speech, "while we lose our identity, our gifts, the most precious thing in our hearts."

With the reversal of Roe, Planned Parenthood has had to close many clinics in the U.S. and is focusing on other markets such as Latin America, where the right to life is at risk, the lawyer said.

Casillas said people of faith who defend the inalienable right to life must pray, organize a rosary for life, speak out for life without fear in parishes and in the community, be aware before voting and take on the mission of defending life.

"We are called to act. It is a privilege to participate in this battle. God is with us, and we will triumph," she added.

The Jan. 20 pro-life event was organized by Alianza por la Vida, a local nonprofit that first organized this annual congress five years ago to share Spanish-language resources with the Hispanic community. "There was nothing in Spanish regarding (pro-life) formation, so we decided that it was important to have a congress in Spanish to reach those Hispanics who come to the March (for life)," Pilar Vázquez, who volunteers with the organization, told OSV News in the days leading up to the event.

During the congress, pro-life advocates, like Omar Aguilar, stressed that every life is valuable, which is why the fight continues. "We need a new perspective" to bring about change in society, said Aguilar, the father of five children and director of religious education at St. Cecilia Parish in Dallas.

"Currently false freedom has been instituted, people live in the absurd lie that abortion is a right, and we continue to seek relief from this sick society," Aguilar told the congress's 40 attendees, many of whom attended the March for Life Jan. 19 in Washington.

Some congress attendees came from New York, New Jersey, Indiana and Massachusetts and dozens joined via livestream, while others tuned in through Radio Maria, organizers said.

Aguilera said during his presentation that having access to "free, safe and legal abortion" is like living in the shadows and women have lived in that shadow for decades. Without a doubt, life begins at the moment of conception, Aguilar said.

He added that, as a father, he worries that children who are raised Catholic at home become atheists six months into college. He believes the Supreme Court decision should not weaken the pro-life movement, as there is still much work to be done. "The struggle continues in the true pursuit of the common good, of true justice," he said.

The pro-life fight has advanced in states such as Alabama, where abortion is banned in almost all circumstances, and in Texas, where most abortions are banned after six weeks and anyone who facilitates abortion can be sued.

But in states such as Oregon, he told attendees, the law protects unrestricted abortion during the nine months of pregnancy, and in 2022 the state approved $15 million in state funds to support those coming into the state to access abortion services. He also mentioned Ohio and voters there giving abortion protection by amending the constitution last year.

Aguilar emphasized the need to recognize reality without becoming discouraged, to recognize the real need to work for the common good, to fight for human dignity.

"Catholics must have conviction and get involved, they must no longer be afraid to speak out, to raise their voices, and they must be intentional in the defense of life," Aguilar stressed, convinced that God is the one who gives the faithful courage in the battle to defend the life of babies in the womb.

Marvin Molina, digital and social media specialist for the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, said it is a cause in which every Catholic should be involved.

Likewise, Rossnat Rodriguez, moderator of the conference, said parents have a key role to play and there is a lot of work to be done in our homes. "What we sow now is what we will reap in the future," she said.