December 13, 2023
Jordan Brittain, Pacific Southwest Regional Coordinator
GUEST POST: The Pro-Life Generation recently rallied on the steps of the Arizona Supreme Court, as the justices heard oral arguments in the case Planned Parenthood vs. Kris Mayes/Hazelrigg. The results of this case’s ruling could put hundreds of thousands of preborn lives at risk, as the judiciary weighs out taking one of two paths when it comes to the state’s abortion policy: keep a 2022 measure that allowed more than nine in 10 abortions to take place by legalizing abortion up to 15 weeks (about three and a half months), or a pre-Roe law that limits abortion earlier in pregnancy.
During the rally, there was cordial and friendly engagement between Students for Life Action team members and students, and other demonstrators. One interaction, however, turned decidedly hostile. Here’s what happened, according to our representative on the ground:
“We got there around eight in the morning to find a long line of people waiting to get into the courthouse. For an hour or so, they were milling around and talking, and you could feel the energy building in the air.
“A local news station was asking for interviews and comments, and as the resident Students for Life Action teammate, I stepped forward to speak. They asked me why I was there – and when I said I stood for life at conception, the reporter asked about the argument that the 1864 law is ‘archaic.’
I responded that it’s never archaic to defend life; it’s timeless. Just as slavery was fought in the 1800s, slavery is still wrong to this day…and so is abortion. A former Planned Parenthood worker who was with us also stepped forward to be interviewed.
The doors opened and arguments started at 9:30 a.m. sharp. We stayed outside on the steps, praying together, and then made our way to the west side entrance where the press conference was being set up. There was a large group of pro-lifers, and a crowd of abortion supporters across the street. One lady walked over and kept yelling, “Put it on the ballot, let the people decide, this is a democracy.”
Unfortunately for her, the legality of killing innocents should not be a matter of majority opinion.
We gathered at the steps to prepare for the Alliance Defending Freedom (the legal group representing the pro-life position) to come out of the courthouse, and all applauded when they did. The pro-life lawyers spoke out about the value and sanctity of all human life, making the point that Arizonans have a right to defend it from conception, as they have been doing since the 1864 law was reaffirmed in 1977.
Despite a mostly great event with lots of productive conversations and an air of hopefulness about the future, there was one hiccup. As we were preparing to leave, an abortion supporter approached our group and dumped coffee all over our belongings and our signs.
This was not unexpected, as we’ve seen at many events in the past where the abortion lobby will get hostile, loud, or even physical. If anything, I just felt sad – but what can we expect from a side with no message but death? At the end of the day, we had truly lost nothing as we fought for life…but they had lost both their dignity and their coffees”
READ: Nobody Calls Theirs Lawyers More Than the Abortion Lobby