Richmond, VA | September 17, 2021
On a blistering hot September afternoon, hundreds of people gathered at Virginia’s Capitol grounds for the third annual Virginia March for Life.
The high humidity and heat did not seem to dampen the enthusiasm of those assembled near the Capitol steps. They applauded about 10 speakers before setting out for a 45-minute march around the Capitol complex. The crowd held numerous banners and signs, and there were many children in strollers.
Some marchers addressed comments to Gov. Ralph Northam while marching in front of a state office building. On January 30, 2019, Mr. Northam told a radio interviewer that he not only supported late-term abortion up to the moment of birth but post-delivery infanticide if a woman and doctor agreed.
During the parade, marchers sang hymns and occasionally engaged in chants with pro-life themes. The only thing missing was someone blowing a shofar at the end of the march to shake the foundations of the Capitol building like Joshua besieging the walls of Jericho.
“We’re encouraged to see that Virginians are not intimidated by the media and the pro-abortion establishment that wants to silence opposition,” said Timothy Plan founder Art Ally about the March. “By God’s good grace, we will restore respect for life in this country and stop the abortion holocaust.”
The pro-life issue is at the heart of Timothy Plan’s commitment to biblical values in investing. Ally became active in the movement in the 1980s, and listed abortion among the first filters that Timothy Plan still uses for choosing companies for its portfolios that do not violate biblical standards. Since its founding in 1994, Timothy Plan has consistently supported the pro-life movement by filtering out pro-abortion companies and sponsoring marches, crisis pregnancy centers and the showing of pro-life films like “Gosnell.”
The Virginia event went peacefully, although one man near the back of the crowd at the Capitol yelled, “Her body, her choice” over and over. At one pub on the route, I heard a guy at an outdoor table with several other men in tank tops exclaim, “If you don’t like abortions, don’t have one, you dumb *expletives *” Along adjoining streets, a few motorists honked in support of the marchers, while a few others flashed disagreeable gestures.
Speakers included Jeanne Mancini from the national March for Life Education and Defense Fund, Virginia Family Foundation President Victoria Cobb, Meg Kilgannon of the Family Research Council, Virginia Delegates Emily Brewer and John McGuire, state Sen. Bryce Reeves, Leslie Blackwell of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign and Mallory Quigley of Susan B. Anthony List.
“It always moves my heart that this issue is so important to people that they would want to come and make a public witness and stand for the most vulnerable – the unborn,” Mrs. Mancini said to cheers. Fr. Tony Marques of the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart opened the ceremonies, with Dr. Brian Autry of the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia giving the closing prayer. Mandy Dowdy sang the National Anthem.
The National March for Life 2021 took place in Washington D.C. on January 21, a day before the 48th anniversary of the Supreme Court rulings in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton that legalized abortion in all 50 states.
Virginia is having a statewide election in November, with early voting beginning on the same day the Virginia March for Life took place. The governor’s race pits pro-abortion Democrat Terry McAuliffe, a former Virginia governor and Clinton advisor, against Glenn Youngkin, a pro-life Republican who was CEO of the large financial management firm The Carlyle Group.
Mr. Northam, a pediatric neurologist, could not run for re-election. Virginia law bars governors from serving consecutive terms but allows former governors to run again after an interim office holder.
Also on the ballot are the Lt. Governor and Attorney General and the entire House of Delegates.
After taking control of the legislature and governor’s office in 2017, liberal Virginia office holders rammed through numerous pro-abortion bills. Gov. Northam signed legislation expanding taxpayer funding of abortions and ending many abortion restrictions, some of which had been on the books for decades.
A writer for Timothy Partners, Ltd. He is a regular weekly columnist for The Washington Times and Townhall.com and is frequently published by AmericanThinker.com, DailyCaller.com, OneNewsNow.com, and others. He has authored the following books: “A Strong Constitution: What Would America Look Like If We Followed the Law” (D. James Kennedy Ministries, 2018), Invested with Purpose: The Birth of the Biblically-Responsible Investment Movement, and A Nation Worth Fighting For: 10 Steps to Restore Freedom.
