“Come out of the shadows” was the message Leslie Davis Blackwell of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign shared with thousands of people gathered at today’s eighth annual Virginia March for Life in Richmond.
One of the featured speakers at the event, Ms. Davis Blackwell, a former regional coordinator for Silent No More, spoke about the millions of mothers and fathers who have lost children to abortion and are still living in silence and shame, unaware that healing after abortion is available for the asking.
Speaking candidly about the two abortions in her past, Ms. Davis Blackwell said, “During the many years of hiding my big secret, I tried to bury the pain and strain forward in marriage, motherhood, career. But my heart wouldn’t settle. Those abortions haunted me and living a lie was killing me.”
Thirty years after her first abortion, she found her way to Rachel’s Vineyard, a ministry of Priests for Life that offers retreat weekends all over the country, and the world.
“In His perfect timing, Almighty God led me to a transformative weekend retreat called Rachel’s Vineyard, where I was showered with his love and forgiveness.”
The event was attended by most of the pro-life members of the Virginia House of Delegates as well as Bishop Michael Burbridge of the Catholic Diocese and Bishop Barry Knestout of the Diocese of Richmond. National March for Life President Jenny Bradley Lichter was there, as was Victoria Cobb, president of the Family Foundation of Virginia.
Silent No More’s Martha Cassell of Charlottesville also was there, with both her and Ms. Davis Blackwell carrying signs that said, “I Regret My Abortion.”
“I had people coming up to me after my talk saying that people really needed to hear that message,” Ms. Davis Blackwell said. “Then I had one woman come up to me and say, ‘it was the best thing I ever did.’ You’re surrounded by all these wonderful, life-giving people and then you have the liberals coming out of the Capitol who are so triggered by us.”
Virginia pro-lifers were dealt a setback yesterday when voters approved a redistricting map that could help pro-abortion Democrats pick up four additional seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Democrats in Virginia currently hold six out of the state’s 11 seats; the new map could allow them to hold up to 10. The state Supreme Court could rule against the new maps in a case that accuses Virginia Democrats of violating procedural rules when adding the proposal to the 2024 Special Session of the General Assembly, as well as using misleading ballot language to describe the effort.
Silent No More also was represented at the first-ever Pittsburgh Pro-Life March for Life held Saturday near the campus of the University of Pittsburgh.
Campaign co-founder Georgette Forney, president of Anglicans for Life, also focused her remarks on the healing available to those who lose children to abortion.
“We all know it’s a baby that dies in the abortion procedure but there’s this false sense that women need this right,” she said. “But we’re here to tell you, this right is wrong for the women.”
She urged the crowd to pray for women who have had abortions and to spread the word about abortion healing programs. Speaking on behalf of 22,000 women who are part of Silent No More, she said, “we are women who regret making that choice,” for abortion. “Women who know now that it was the worst mistake we ever made. But the good news is, we found hope and healing. We found forgiveness in the cross of Jesus Christ.”
LifeNews Note: Leslie Palma is the communications director for Priests for Life. Silent No More is a joint project of Priests for Life and Anglicans for Life. To find programs for healing after abortion, go to AbortionForgiveness.com
