Speakers at MidWest March for Life — ‘Your voice matters on Amendment 3. Use it!’
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The David of the Bible gathered five smooth stones before heading into battle against the mighty Goliath.
Missourians hoping to remove abortion-on-demand from its place of privilege in the state Constitution will have to do the same.
“Devotion, conversations, presence, leadership, visibility — none of these stones are flashy,” said Reagan Barklage, vice president of field operations for Students for Life. “All of them require courage. Every one of them matters.”
Mrs. Barklage spoke passionately from the steps of the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City during a rally preceding the 16th annual MidWest March for Life on April 30.
She and her fellow presenters focused on the importance of passing Amendment 3 to the Missouri Constitution.
If approved by a majority of voters in the Nov. 3 election, Amendment 3 will modify a previous amendment that narrowly passed in 2024 and substantially weakened the state’s hard-fought regulations on abortion.
Among those contested regulations are: allowing only medical doctors with admitting privileges to a nearby hospital to perform abortions; requiring parental consent for minors seeking abortions; and requiring abortion clinics to be licensed and inspected.
“Let me be clear about something,” said Mrs. Barklage. “Picking up a stone should make you a little uncomfortable and make you flex your courage muscles. If it doesn’t, pick a heavier stone.
“Because what we’re fighting for isn’t abstract,” she said. “It’s about real, innocent pre-born lives, real futures, and what kind of state and generation we choose to be.
“So, which stone will God use through you to let Missouri pass Amendment 3?” she inquired. “Everyone brings their own gifts to this movement, and together, our stones will defeat death.”
Linda Freire, senior Midwest regional programs manager for Sidewalk Advocates for Life, shared with the marchers her experience of having a chemical abortion.
“I left that abortion facility, got in my car and immediately started having contractions,” she said.
The pain was unbearable.
“I vomited, I was bleeding, I was crying, I was hopeless,” she said.
She went back to the abortion facility for help.
“They let me stay for a little while, let me rest, and then told me to go back home,” she recounted.
Mrs. Freire crawled up the steps of her family home, and her mother was there to help her.
Her mother also urged her to return to God, who is merciful and loving and wanted to forgive her.
Mrs. Freire named the baby she had lost and accepted God’s mercy.
After completing her doctorate in physical therapy, she became associated with Sidewalk Advocates for Life, the nation’s largest pro-life sidewalk outreach organization.
“The abortion industry claims that it helps women, but I know firsthand that it hurts women,” she said.
“They make abortion seem like the solution to a problem, but they refuse to acknowledge that it creates so many more problems,” she stated.
She said passing Amendment 3 would go a long way to help women steer clear of abortion and its effects.
“It will restore the protections for pre-born babies and their mothers by banning abortion with some rare exceptions, reinstate health and safety inspections at abortion facilities, and require parental consent for minors seeking abortion, require physicians who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals, ban fetal-organ harvesting, and end most taxpayer funding of abortions,” she stated.
Mrs. Friere urged everyone present to be a beacon of hope to their fellow Missourians.
“We must all share this truth and support women so that they know they can choose life for their babies, that they are strong, that they are capable, and that there are resources available to help them through birth and parenting,” she said.
“Women deserve better”
For 17 years, Mayra Rodríguez managed abortion clinics in Arizona and defended the expansion of abortion rights.
“Boy, was I wrong!” she said.
Haunted by what she saw happening to women and their pre-born babies, she spoke out publicly and wound up getting fired.
“I saw women getting hurt,” she recalled. “I saw women broken, I saw women crying immediately, regretting their decision to have an abortion.”
She took her former employer, the nation’s largest abortion provider, to court and won.
“Women deserve better!” she thundered from the Missouri Capitol steps.
She spoke of the need for everyone to help convert the unconverted — including people like her earlier self.
“We have to show the rest of the world how we can defeat the abortion industry in Missouri,” she said.
“We need you in the street, we need you door-knocking,” she stated. “We need you to talk to your neighbors, we need you to give them information. You all need to be the voice of the ones who cannot speak.”
Standards of care
Dr. Sarah Florence is a family medicine physician in Missouri, with particular experience in women’s health.
“I am here today because I care deeply about the health and safety of women and the protection of Missouri children,” she said.
Dr. Florence has cared for women through crisis pregnancies, managed miscarriages and obstetric emergencies and supported mothers in their most vulnerable moments.
She said the safeguards that would be restored with the passage of Amendment 3 are essential.
She said that if abortion is “healthcare” like its proponents claim, it should meet the same standards as the rest of medicine: clear protocols, reliable follow-up, fully informed decision-making, and physicians held to the same legal and clinical expectations as any other field.
She applied the same line of thought to medical interventions on minors who have gender dysphoria.
Minors would be protected from those procedures if Amendment 3 passes.
“Missouri children deserve better,” she said. “They deserve compassionate, thorough mental health care. Real compassion is not rushing a child toward irreversible change.
“We should not accept lower standards of care for women,” she concluded. “We should not experiment on children in the name of compassion, and we should not abandon evidence when it matters most.”
Speak up!
Levi Hart, cofounder and CEO of Reach Reproductive Health in the St. Louis area, came to experience loss after the mother of his pre-born child chose abortion.
He encouraged everyone at the rally to think of 10 fellow Missourians who they know could go either way on Amendment 3, “and go talk to them.” “Start having a discussion and help them vote ‘yes,’” he said.
Crystal Lane talked about her experience of finding healing after abortion, although still bearing the loss.
“The choice to end my daughter’s life left me with harm I carry every single day,” she said.
For her, abortion wasn’t healthcare.
“It was a wound, emotional, spiritual and physical, that I was left to deal with alone,” she stated. “While the world called it a choice and walked away, I found myself trapped in the pain and the regret of my choice, causing my life to spiral out of control.”
By passing the pro-abortion amendment in 2024, Missouri became the first state to end a total abortion ban at the ballot box.
“We can also be the state that looks honestly at what that has cost women like me, and reverse it,” she said.
Monica Snyder is executive director of Secular Pro-Life, an organization that specializes in making secular arguments against abortion.
She said passing Amendment 3 will require herculean effort and cooperation.
“We cannot do it without you!” she told the crowd. “Every single one of us has the ability and responsibility to speak!
“You need to go out and talk, you need to go out and get a little louder,” she said. “So, learn about it and get ready to talk to people about it.”
Worth fighting for
Father Nicholas Reid, pastor of St. Martin Parish in St. Martins and St. Michael Parish in Russellville, revealed he and his twin brother were born two months prematurely in a U.S. Navy hospital in Japan, weighing 3 pounds, 12 ounces apiece.
The military personnel assigned to that hospital ensured the babies’ health and well-being.
“I long for a nation that looks upon each of the most vulnerable and their mommas and says, ‘These also will we fight for — for they are worth it, and we are the kind of nation built on generations of such sacrifices,’” he said.
He led the assembly in prayer:
“Lord, we thank you for the sacred gift of life, from conception to natural death,” he prayed. “Stir the conscience of our state and nation. Give courage to our leaders to protect the unborn, the vulnerable, each and every one made in your image and likeness.”
Path of love
Members of the CoMo Life Teen Ensemble from St. John Henry Newman Parish in Columbia, led by Haydee Cullem, sang contemporary worship songs as the people gathered into march formation.
The marchers, mostly wearing red, moved peacefully from the Capitol South Lawn to East Capitol Avenue, carrying signs and banners past some of the city’s most recognizable landmarks.
Priests and students of Helias Catholic High School in Jefferson City carried a rugged cross at the front of the march.
Students from St. Bridgid of Kildare School in Pacific carried reliquaries containing relics of St. Carlo Acutis, St. Dominic Savio and St. Maria Goretti.
Members of the clergy followed.
Upbeat chants and reverent prayers filled the streets.
Signs and banners abounded.
After the march, people spent the rest of the afternoon on the Capitol grounds, attending workshops, visiting tables, picking up information and talking to state lawmakers.
An overflow congregation joined Bishop James V. Johnston Jr. of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Bishop Edward M. Rice of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, Father Anthony Viviano, moderator for pro-life ministry in this diocese, Monsignor Robert A. Kurwicki, vicar general, and other priests at the Closing Mass in the Proto-Cathedral of St. Peter, near the Capitol.
“How fitting that we complete our day of talks and rallying and marching with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, which is our most profound encounter with Jesus Christ, the living God who gives life in abundance!” Bishop Johnston stated from the pulpit.
He said much of what drives the culture of death is fear, along with lies that justify an evil response.
“Let us not be deceived,” he said. “Our path must always be that of Jesus, which is the path of love, peace and truth.”
He urged everyone to defend innocent life, but to do so grounded in love, peace and truth.
“We must never resort to hatred or violence or falsehood,” he declared. “We must strive to speak the truth in love, seeking to win over the minds and hearts of those who have been deceived and carried away by fear and false propaganda.”
To do this effectively, all must stay in close communion with Jesus, the bishop stated, “for without him, we can do nothing.”
“We can also proclaim the infinite mercy of Jesus to those who have been wounded, to those who carry the heavy weight of guilt from shedding innocent blood,” he said. “Jesus’s mercy is greater than any sin.”
Lasting impressions
Helias Catholic freshmen Sophia Schulte, Elle Bruemmer and Julia Bernskoetter believe the march was meaningful and impactful.
“We want to save lives and help prevent abortion,” said Elle. “If we put up with abortion, we’re allowing the ending of innocent human lives.”
They mentioned things they can do to help the pro-life cause throughout the year.
“You can talk about this with friends and family, and tell them your beliefs and why you have them,” said Sophia.
Elle said it starts with simple conversations with friends and classmates.
The girls considered how they would react if a young friend confided in them about an unplanned pregnancy.
“I would tell her that I’m going to be there to support her and help her and that choosing life will be the best thing for her,” said Elle.
“There are always options that are better than abortion,” said Sophia.
“And there are so many people who are willing to help,” Elle added. “If you reach out to them, you’re going to get the help you need.”
“Adoption is always an option,” said Julia. “So many families are willing to adopt but aren’t able to do that when a baby gets aborted.”
Kathy Forck, a member of St. Andrew Parish in Holts Summit and cofounder of the MidWest March for Life, said she thanks God for another successful event.
“For the past 16 years, our diocese has lovingly brought this march together to honor Jesus Christ and defend innocent human life,” she said. “It is truly all His work, and we give Him all the glory.”
She thanked the planning team for working tirelessly to make this year’s march possible: Bonnie Lee of Open Heart Baptist Church, Columbia; Cyndi Tandy of Concord Baptist Church in Jefferson City, Jefferson City; Mary Hoffmeyer of St. Francis Xavier Parish in Taos; Donna Bernskoetter and Marian Forck of St. Stanislaus Parish in Wardsville; Claudia Galbraith of St. Peter Parish in Jefferson City; Roger Kempker of St. Peter Parish in Fulton; Doris Schmitz and Karen Love of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Columbia; Sonia Potts of Sacred Heart Parish in Columbia; Dennis Fessler of Immaculate Conception Parish in Macon; Pat Bock of St. Joseph Parish in Westphalia; Kenny Bax, husband of the late Judy Bax, of St. Margaret of Antioch Parish in Osage Bend; Alice Oligschlaeger of St. Lawrence parish in St. Elizabeth; and Mike Forck of St. Andrew Parish in Holts Summit.
Students from Helias Catholic were very helpful.
Mrs. Forck said the Knights of Columbus honor guard at the front of the March reflected the courageous witness and material support of K of C members throughout the state.
“Their support is everywhere — in the logistics, the resources, the manpower and the spirit of the day,” she said. “This is what it looks like when men of faith rise up with courage, unity and purpose. They lead because they know that when Christ comes first, everything else follows.”
