January 2016 Newsletter

I hope you are staying as warm as possible this weekend. My weather app tells me we just hit "0", on our way to -9 tonight. Yep, it's January in the Midwest, but let's look on the bright side.....no snow or ice! Yet........ There are a few items of interest that I'd like to tell you about as we kick off the Guild's third year:

THE WARMEST PLACE IN DES MOINES IN JANUARY!!

It is impossible for me to resist the urge to tell you about January 16th "Fourth Annual Midwest March For Life" in Des Moines. I had never attended this event in past years, and now I intend to do all I can to be there each year. It was a balmy 17 degrees during the outdoor portion of the March on the Capitol grounds, but no one complained about the weather. The energy and the dedication of those who participated kept our hearts and souls warm. And, leading the way along with the Governor, Lt. Governor, and his fellow bishops, was our own Bishop Amos!

Bishop Amos on the far right of the photo on the Capitol steps.

Bishop Amos front and center on the Iowa Supreme Court steps.

Prior to the March, the Cathedral of St. Ambrose in downtown Des Moines was nearly completely full for a beautiful Mass to pray for the defense of life at all stages, with all four of Iowa's bishops on the altar.

After a packed luncheon with a powerful keynote address by Melissa Ohden, an Iowa native and the founder of the Abortion Survivors Network (http://www.theabortionsurvivors.com), our Guild and Eastern Iowa were very well represented during the educational breakout sessions.

Dr. Karla Polaschek discussed the RU-486 "abortion pill" reversal protocol.

Dr. Alan Moy from the John Paul II Institute detailed his group's work with adult stem cells.

Both talks were very well received and generated significant interest among the attendees. Drs. Polaschek and Moy did a great job of providing information that was clear and understandable to the "non-medical-oriented" members of the audience.

Please try to attend the January 2017 event in Des Moines! The Midwest March is for those who can't march in Washington but still want their voice heard and want to be as informed as possible about pro-life issues. It continues to grow, with groups from surrounding states joining in, and reflects the growing recognition that life is non-negotiable, from conception to natural death.