Maggie DeWitte’s speech from Iowa March for Life 2024
Pulse Executive Director, Maggie DeWitte (far left), addresses a large crowd at the Iowa March for Life 2024
Good afternoon! Are we not Blessed to live in Iowa? What a great day to be an Iowan and to be with a group of people who care about the most important issue — LIFE!
I am Maggie DeWitte, Executive Director of Pulse Life Advocates. On behalf of the sponsors of today’s event, Pulse Life Advocates, Iowa Catholic Conference, Iowa Right to Life, Dubuque County Right to Life, Coalition for Life of Iowa, The Family Leader, and the Iowa State Knights of Columbus: welcome and thank you for being with us!
This is our second annual Iowa March for Life; an important event to celebrate the end of federal abortion law and turn the page to a new chapter of defending life right here in our own state of Iowa.
And that is exactly what the pro-life movement in Iowa is doing. We are giving a positive vision to the importance of protecting life. Now is the time for boldness, truth, as well as compassion and love. That is how we win this battle.
We are exposing the extremism of the other side and speaking with moral confidence. And it’s working; 66% of Americans support placing legal limits on abortion. Is that enough? NO; but it is a step in the right direction.
One thing I have learned over the twenty years of being in this fight here in Iowa is that slow and steady does win the race. After 50 years of federal abortion law, it is going to take time to change hearts and minds. We have to give Iowa a vision in which they see that abortion isn’t the answer. Killing an unborn child in the womb will solve nothing. It won’t end poverty … but create more poverty. It won’t end inequality … but create more inequality. It won’t end mental health issues … but create more mental health issues. It’s never the answer, and it is never the solution.
And we are going to keep repeating this message loudly: Abortion Hurts Women; We Don’t Need Abortion; and none of us in the pro-life movement are going to stop until we have eliminated abortion in the state of Iowa!
I will leave you with this: while I am super glad you are all here today — please don’t let this be the only thing you do for life this year. Please help us. Pray about where you fit in, because, trust me, you fit in! There is a place at the table for every single one of you. Don’t stand on the sidelines. This is literally a life and death issue. Creating a culture of life starts with you. Be the voice! Thank you!
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