Pro-life leaders recall Roe ruling

For Edward Golden, Jan. 22, 1973 brings back painful memories.

The then-president of the National Right to Life Committee couldn't believe what happened that day: The Supreme Court made its landmark decision to legalize abortion nationwide in the case of Roe vs. Wade, a ruling that dealt pro-life supporters throughout the United States their most severe blow.

"It was a complete shocker," said Mr. Golden, a parishioner of Our Lady of Victory Church in Troy. "Everything that we had privately feared happened."

On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, The Evangelist asked him and other early pro-life leaders in the Albany Diocese to discuss their memories. They shared their thoughts on the pro-life movement over the past quarter-century and looked ahead to what can be done to protect the unborn in the future.

State-level work

Prior to serving as president of the National Right to Life Committee, Mr. Golden was the first chairman of the New York State Right to Life Committee, serving from 1967 to 1971.

One of the group's main objectives was to impede progress of the American Law Institute's abortion bill in the New York State Legislature. The state Senate and Assembly approved the bill in 1970, and Gov. Nelson Rockefeller signed it into law.

"We wound up with the most liberal abortion law in the country," Mr. Golden lamented. "An awful lot of people were surprised that the unthinkable had happened."

Political effort

Consequently, the NYS Right to Life Committee became more political in nature, coordinating its efforts county by county, encouraging voter registration and actively lobbying for pro-life legislation.

Their efforts proved successful in 1972, when the state abortion bill was repealed by the legislature, marking the only time in state history that a major piece of social legislation was reversed, Mr. Golden noted. The victory was short-lived, however; Gov. Rockefeller vetoed the repeal. That setback was followed by another discouraging defeat when the Supreme Court legalized abortion in 1973.

Since that time, pro-life supporters have been able to win a great deal of support in the state Senate, but that's only half the battle, Mr. Golden pointed out. "We've always gotten bashed by the Assembly because of left-wing liberalism from the New York City area," he said.

What's ahead

One way pro-life supporters have kept the abortion debate going is by addressing the issue of partial-birth abortions. Mr. Golden strongly suggests that people who are opposed to that method continue to make their elected representatives aware of this.

"You've got to be publicly outraged at your public officials if they're in favor of this procedure," he said.

Although lobbying for legislation and speaking out against partial-birth abortions help to further the pro-life movement, saving the lives of the unborn ultimately depends upon nine men and women in the Supreme Court, he said.

"As far as reversing the law and stopping abortions, it won't come until the Supreme Court says we've had enough," Mr. Golden said. "Ultimately, the law is the greatest teacher in this country."

Determination

Alice Ramsey remembers exactly where she was when the Roe vs. Wade decision came down: in the State Right to Life Committee office, where she worked as a volunteer. She heard about the verdict from the news director for a local radio station who called the office for a comment.

When he asked her if she believed Roe vs. Wade meant the decline of the pro-life movement, Mrs. Ramsey replied that pro-life supporters "would be more determined than ever, and we would work through education to overcome this."

In retrospect, she wonders whether New York's Legislature set a precedent for Roe vs. Wade by passing its own abortion bill. "Maybe if New York hadn't passed that law, the Supreme Court wouldn't have been so quick," she said.

Keeping on

Over the years, Mrs. Ramsey has been involved with the State and the Schenectady Right to Life Committees; she also served as director of Birthright during the late 1970s. She even made an unsuccessful bid for the state Assembly in 1976. A parishioner of St. Joseph's Church in Scotia, she is a mother of nine and has 13 grandchildren.

The pro-life movement has made progress in politics, she pointed out, as candidates seem more willing to announce their pro-life stance nowadays and to run on such a platform. One area in which the pro-life movement can do more, however, is educating young people about the horrors of abortion.

"Most people are totally unaware how horrendous this procedure really is," she said, adding that America is "destroying its most wonderful resource" by permitting abortion.

The work of pro-life supporters has helped to bring abortion to the forefront of contemporary society, but it is ultimately up to those in power to implement pro-life legislation. "If we can get a pro-life president, we would make some progress," she said.

Politician's view

Neil Kelleher Sr. knows the frustration of seeing pro-abortion legislation come to pass. As a state assemblyman from 1967 to 1992, he represented parts of Rensselaer, Albany, Washington and Warren counties.

A parishioner of St. Augustine's Church in Troy, Mr. Kelleher was an ardent supporter of pro-life issues and warned his fellow lawmakers of the dangers of permitting abortion even in the earliest stages of pregnancy.

"Once you're dealing with a pregnancy, it's a human life," he recalls saying. "You'll see the day when this life will be destroyed for absolutely no reasons other than the convenience of those who created it."

Dramatic moment

Mr. Kelleher displayed a flair for the dramatic in his pro-life discourse; once, he brought a jar with two fetuses -- one at eight weeks, the other at 16 weeks -- to an Assembly session. A photo of the incident appeared in Time magazine, and Mr. Kelleher was mentioned in the accompanying story.

Another time, he brought four easels with enlarged photos of a fetus in the womb, including one photo of the unborn child sucking its thumb.

"All of these were extremely important points, and you could see that the people who supported abortion were very uncomfortable with it, as uncomfortable as they are in admitting that it's termination of life," he said.

Despite his efforts and those of other pro-life supporters, an abortion bill passed in the state legislature. Then came the Roe vs. Wade decision, which Mr. Kelleher described as "absolutely ridiculous. It shocked a lot of people at the time."

Proud of work

"If there's anything I feel awfully comfortable about and very proud of is the fact that I have opposed abortion initially before it got to be the absolutely bloody tragedy and disgrace that it is today," Mr. Kelleher said.

He applauds the current efforts of pro-life supporters amid some government opposition, but he fears that too many societal ills will prevent abortion legislation from being overturned.

"If you look around at the total collapse of morality in our society today, I find it awfully difficult to believe that there's an awful lot of hope," he said.

(01-22-98) [[In-content Ad]]