For John Howard, prayer, spirituality and the grace of God are the source of his inspiration in the pro-life cause.
Howard first felt a strong desire to fight for the right to life in the wake of the Roe v. Wade decision. “As time went by, I realized that Roe v. Wade happened because we let it happen,” he said. Soon Howard began organizing bus trips to Washington for the annual March for Life and started a pro-life group at his parish, St. Thomas the Apostle, Old Bridge.
His involvement in the pro-life struggle increased as time went on, but it was after his retirement in 1995 that he became fully devoted to the cause. “I promised the Lord,” he said, “that if you allow me to have good health and give me the intelligence to be effective, I will devote the rest of my life to you.”
He has testified before New Jersey Senate and Assembly committees on the issue of stem cell research and continues to support changes in legislation. When a bill to authorize stem cell research was passed in New Jersey by one vote, it still did not keep him down for long.
“We get discouraged momentarily,” Howard admitted. “But we know that our Lord does not want those discouraged feelings to last very long. We know he’s with us, so we just have to keep pushing ahead.”
Howard’s sidewalk counseling outside abortion clinics has also brought him face-to-face with those affected the most by Roe v. Wade. Some have been resistant to his attempts to talk with them before entering the clinic, but he remembers one particular story of a woman who entered the clinic as he attempted to counsel her.
“I called to her and said ‘Thou shalt not kill,’ and five minutes later that woman came out and went back to her car,” Howard said. He was hopeful that his words may have saved a life. “I pray for that little child who I hope could be born as a result of that,” he said
Howard currently divides his time among a number of activities, including serving as a member of the board of New Jersey Right To Life. He is chairman of the Breakfast for Life Committee and continues to encourage others to get involved in the cause for life. “We need to have people who are unafraid to speak up when they have an opportunity,” Howard said.
Howard relies on the power of prayer to fuel his ongoing pro-life work, continuously giving thanks to God. “Everything I do is for him,” Howard explained. “He’s given me the words to say when I haven’t been able to think of them myself.”
He described his relationship with God as a source of constant inspiration for his work. Howard’s unwavering dedication makes him not only a valuable member of the pro-life cause but a continued source of inspiration to those around him.
Together in marriage and activism
The 1973 Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade sparked controversy and debate throughout the country, but for Isidoro and Maria Garcia, it was a call to action.
“We always believed that life began at conception and that the Supreme Court decision was wrong and immoral,” said Maria. The Garcias felt that as Catholics, it was important to take a stand for the issue.
They first became active on a local level through their work at St. Joseph Parish, Bound Brook, where Maria has served as parish pro-life representative and implemented the diocesan Respect Life Program. Isidoro attempted to tackle the issue on a larger scale by working for a political action committee. “The fact that we have an innocent life that is threatened and we can do something to eliminate that danger has always appealed to me,” he said.
After working on the campaign of Congressman Christopher Smith, Isidoro became coordinator of the Somerset County Life Chain in 1991. With Maria working on the parish level to gain support for their efforts, Isidoro continued to fight for the pro-life issue in spite of adversity.
During one of his protests outside an abortion clinic, Isidoro recalls an older woman approaching and greeting him with an obscene gesture. “I will never forget it,” he said. Although opponents of his cause have on many other occasions used obscenities and even racist comments to attempt to break his spirit, they have been unsuccessful in their attempts. “You pray for those kinds of people,” said Isidoro.
Even though detractors have tried to stop the efforts of the Garcias, there have been many rewards throughout their journey. Isidoro recalled taking a group of young people to a Right to Life convention and later discovering that one of the girls in the group had become pregnant. Her family informed Isidoro that she chose to keep the baby due to her experiences at the convention and thanked him for being the reason that the child was alive.
The Garcias have relied upon their faith and the inspiration of other pro-life activists to stay motivated. They regularly attend the annual March for Life in Washington and coordinate bus trips for others to join them. At the rally, the Garcias have met others whose dedication to the cause has renewed their own devotion. “I call that recharging my batteries,” Isidoro said. “In the movement we have many people who have been tremendous examples that we can follow.”
“What keeps me going is faith,” added Maria. “It is following Jesus and knowing that in the end, he wins.”
Young woman remains dedicated to pro-life cause despite adversity
At. a young age, Theresa Hanntz has already battled opposition to her pro-life activities, yet she remains undaunted in fighting for her cause.
Hanntz first became involved in pro-life work as a freshman at Immaculata High School, Somerville, when she accepted an invitation to join the school’s Pro-Life Club from teacher Kathleen Reid, a 2006 Pro-Vita recipient. “I’d always been pro-life, but I’d never really known much about it,” said Hanntz. “Once I started, everything kind of snowballed.”
Hanntz went on to become president of the Pro-Life Club and began exploring opportunities to expand her involvement. As a Senior Girl Scout, Hanntz attempted to earn the Gold Award by organizing a five-week True Love Waits program at her school. The program, aimed at freshman and sophomores, educates students on issues such as chastity, abortion and understanding God’s plan for sexuality. The Girl Scouts organization, however, did not feel that such a program was appropriate and denied Hanntz the Gold Award.
In spite of having her proposal turned down, Hanntz remained committed to the project. She had strong support from friends and family, while teachers and parents felt that the program would be beneficial to the school.
The encouragement helped Hanntz remain committed to her goal and focused on the need for the program at Immaculata. “I just became so involved in that issue and it became such a passionate topic for me,” said Hanntz. “I really wanted to spread the word.”
She appealed the decision of the Girl Scouts on the basis that the program was voluntary and required parental consent, but the Girl Scouts still felt the topic itself was too controversial. Eventually, a compromise was reached when Hanntz agreed to rename the project “Implementing a Long-Term Program” instead of focusing on the pro-life aspect, and she finally received the Gold Award.
The True Love Waits Program was a success at Immaculata, with 30 students participating. Hanntz said that she received strong feedback from her classmates who took part in the program and that everyone who participated then signed a “purity pledge.”
Hanntz is now a freshman at University of Scranton, Scranton, Pa., where she has already become the secretary of Students for Life and hopes to help the organization grow during her time at the school. She is also seeking opportunities to work outside the university, such as speaking to teenagers at local high schools.
Although Hanntz has found the student population on a college campus to include a wider range of beliefs than her high school, she sees this not as a negative opposition but rather a welcome challenge. “It gives you a really interesting environment to work in,” she said.
Hanntz has learned that fighting for one’s beliefs can be difficult, but she still believes it is a worthy cause. “It’s hard to bring out what you believe when the politically correct thing to do is not to share that,” she said. Still, Hanntz feels that the rewards of her work far outweigh the difficulties. “A lot of the time you are in the minority, but to know that you are standing up for what’s true and what’s right is so much more rewarding,” she said.
*The attached/referenced article was originally published in The Catholic Spirit, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Metuchen, and is protected under U.S. and international copyright law