Right to Life of Lenawee County service, rally denounces passage of Proposal 3

ADRIAN — Several Lenawee County residents, people from surrounding counties, pastors and lawmakers gathered Monday in Adrian for a Hope Service followed by a March for Life designed to amplify the mission of Right to Life of Lenawee County.

Maple Avenue Bible Church served as the host site for Monday’s service, which included several speakers advocating for the sanctity of life and the abolishment of abortion in Michigan and across the United States. Among the speakers was U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Tipton.

The near one-hour service, organized by Right to Life of Lenawee County, concluded with a peaceful march from the church to the grounds of the old Lenawee County Courthouse, where additional words were spoken. Along the course of the march from the church to the courthouse, walkers held signs reading, “Abortion kills children,” “Unborn lives matter,” “1/3 of our generation is missing” and “Adoption is the loving option,” among other slogans.

The service and the March for Life are held annually on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and close to the date of National Sanctity of Human Life Day, which this year is Jan. 22.

President Ronald Reagan issued a presidential proclamation on Jan. 13, 1984, designating Jan. 22, 1984, as National Sanctity of Human Life Day, noting that it was the 11th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade ruling, which nullified many state restrictions on abortion.

Reagan was a strong anti-abortion advocate, said Julie Moore, interim director of the local Right to Life chapter in Lenawee County. The Hope Service and the March for Life, she said, both serve a purpose for bringing people together so they can pray and draw awareness to the stand for life.

Roe v. Wade’s overturning by the Supreme Court June 24, 2022, was at the forefront of Monday’s service, along with the results of the November election in which Michigan voters passed Proposal 3, the “Reproductive Freedom Act for All” petition. The petition was denounced by those in attendance.

“Since that passage (of Proposal 3), we have felt discouraged and defeated,” Moore said. “I know many of you here have stood for life and have been protecting life for many years. That’s what this rally today is all about. Taking that stand for life.”

This year, a new rally is scheduled to take place on the one-year anniversary of the Nov. 8, 2022, election, Moore said. The rally will serve as a platform for people to continue their advocacy and to be a voice for the unborn.

“I would hope for you all to leave from here, encouraged and hopeful that we can, in working together, change the hearts and minds of those who think abortion is the solution,” said Moore, who also serves with the Care Pregnancy and Family Resource Center of Lenawee as its sexual risk avoidance specialist.

Walberg said it is the duty of each Christian to return Michigan to being a trailblazing state that stands against abortion. He, too, spoke out against Proposal 3.

“(Proposal 3) wasn’t reestablishing Roe v. Wade. Not in the slightest,” he said. “In fact, it was taking Roe v. Wade and expanding it even more. No limits. No timeframe. And, oh, by the way, no parental notification or involvement. Even into the area of gender modification.”

Martin Luther King Jr., Walberg said, fought for liberating humans to be treated equally under the law. Proposal 3 is no law at all, Walberg said, while referencing a quote from King stating “an unjust law is no law at all.”

“God’s law is just. And for those of us who believe in life, believe in the decency and order that God designed into creation and into our experience, we must be willing to stand against this unjust law,” Walberg proclaimed. “We must be willing to take the consequences of standing against this unjust law.”

Roxanne Meeks, executive director of the CPC of Lenawee, said people who are advocates for life must stand together, march together and have faith in one another.

“Today is a purpose of coming together for a hope and a promise for the future,” she said.

The mission of CPC of Lenawee, Meeks said, is to elevate God’s plan for life, sexuality and family within the community and to provide compassion, hope and health to men, women, children and families, all while being a place for healing.

“We have a place right here in Lenawee County, where we can activate what we believe,” she said.

Blissfield resident Liz Doyle was one of the final speakers at the church service. Doyle, who spoke for nearly 15 minutes, discussed her stance on advocating for life and speaking against abortion through the work of her expanding organization, She Leads Michigan, of which Doyle is the founder and executive director. The She Leads organization, which spans the country, is launching 15 new chapters this year, including what Doyle described as a “powerful” chapter based in California.

She Leads Michigan is an organization that honors Christian women across all sectors of society for their accomplishments, Doyle said. It encourages women to rise and speak up for biblical values, with life being at the core of its values. The organization focuses on the importance of life and faith from the womb to the tomb and beyond, she said.

“As God brings us together, we are finding faith-based solutions for modern day challenges,” she said. “Despite what we currently see in Michigan, I am full of hope for the future because I have faith in Almighty God today. I have marched with Jesus as my captain of God’s army for 55 years.”

Proposal 3, Doyle said, “moves far beyond politics.” Whatever a person’s political party, she described the proposal as “intolerable, shameful and diabolical.”

Doyle, who characterizes herself as an evangelist instead of an activist, said it is her goal to see everyone come to know about Jesus Christ, who has the power to transform hearts and minds, she said.

Robert Burke, president of the Monroe County Right to Life chapter, spoke from Scripture and urged those in attendance to make a difference in their neighborhood or community firsthand.

It was also announced the 2023 annual benefit dinner for Lenawee County Right to Life is scheduled for April 13 at the Christian Family Centre in Adrian. The guest speaker for the upcoming dinner is Amber Roseboom, current vice president of operations for Right to Life of Michigan. The title of the benefit event is "Focus on Life."

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Right to Life of Lenawee County holds Hope Service, March for Life