Pro-life Catholics in SD Pray to Combat Pro-abortion Amendment
What started as two men committing to a weekly rosary in front of a South Dakota Planned Parenthood facility five years ago has grown into a pro-life men’s movement dedicated to defending the most vulnerable in our society. The movement, The Jericho Wall, is currently battling an impending amendment to the South Dakota Constitution that would overturn current pro-life laws on the books, making abortion available through all stages of pregnancy. This amendment is formally known as South Dakota Amendment G but is referred to by its sponsors as the “Freedom Amendment.”
At the onset of Jericho Wall’s founding one of these men prophetically stated, “Planned Parenthood will be shut down within a year.” Little did anyone know that the COVID crisis would be the agent of this shutdown. As the men of Jericho Wall continued to pray upon the facility’s reopening, they saw it close its doors once again for abortions on the historic overturning of Roe v. Wade. Yet, the evil one is persistent and pernicious.
Now, an even more sinister plot to murder children is underfoot. Promoted through a well-funded campaign, a proposed amendment to the state constitution has the potential to make South Dakota the most radical pro-abortion state in the U.S. It would nullify all pre-existing pro-life legislation. Medical professional’s conscience clause – overridden. Parental consent for minor’s abortion – overridden. Late term abortion restrictions – overridden. The list goes on.
The Jericho Wall is grassroots. It consists of farmers, retired military men, construction workers – family men who work hard to make provisions and provide protection for their own families. Yet, they have committed their time, talent, and treasure to extend that protection and provision to the vulnerable and voiceless in the womb. They are faced with a task that seems hopeless. When faced with reality, the lack of money, manpower, and public awareness is daunting.
How can such a small, rustic group even begin to combat this evil? Yet there is hope. The Blessed Mother has gifted us with the Holy Rosary – and that is what the men of The Jericho Wall have chosen as their preferred weapon. Their mission is twofold. Firstly, and most importantly, they are recruiting people to a daily Rosary to convert the hearts of local constituents and to defeat this amendment. Secondly, to raise money for billboard advertisements to raise public awareness.
In order to defeat this amendment both prayer and money are needed. Can you help? The opposition sponsoring this bill has openly stated South Dakota will be a test state. If this can get through in a so-called conservative, pro-life, flyover state like South Dakota, it can get passed anywhere.
This is a men’s movement. In a world that screams at men to sit down and shut up when it comes to “women’s health,” will men be courageous enough to defend babies? And just as importantly, will men be courageous enough to defend women against the self-harm they inflict when they kill their own child? Pope John Paul II said it best when he stated, “A nation that kills its own children is a nation without hope.”
Jericho Wall’s mission to defeat this amendment can be summed up by the following words of St. John Vianney:
“Private prayer is like straw scattered here and there: If you set it on fire it makes a lot of little flames. But gather these straws into a bundle and light them, and you get a mighty fire, rising like a column into the sky.”
