WINDSOR TERRACE — Leading up to the annual March for Life in the nation’s capital, Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, Kan., spoke to The Tablet Jan. 20, about the status of the pro-life movement in what he referred to as ‘a very active battlefield.’

“I can remember in the 1980s, watching the secular news media talk about the march as this dying gasp of the pro-life movement,” Archbishop Naumann said. “Well, here we are in 2020 and we’re still here, still marching.”

The chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities first became involved with the pro-life issue back when he was an associate pastor. As the archbishop of the third largest city in Kansas, Archbishop Naumann spearheaded efforts to restrict abortion in the state and continued to make bold statements on cultural issues.

Last year, he wrote to lawmakers urging for support of the Dignity for Aborted Children Act, which is an Indiana law requiring dignified disposition of aborted fetal remains. The measure was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.

“I think it’s a moment of great opportunity, but also a moment of peril as well,” he said, “because we have this hope that the Supreme Court, which really created the problem for our country, may at long last be willing to return to the states some ability to protect unborn children, so there’s great hope there. But at the same time, it’s elevated our opponents on the other side.”

Tens of thousands from across the country are estimated to participate in the national march, Jan. 24. The archbishop said the pro-life crowds are growing and young.

“The polling data shows that this generation is more pro-life than their parents,” he
said. “The march each year is a moment of renewal for all those that go to it — to go back to their communities and be engaged and help fight the fight for life.”