Respecting the Sanctity of Life: Worldwide Anti-Abortion Rallies

“(Is abortion a sin?) […] Of course, it’s a sin. Suppose we kill someone who treated us badly, that’s already very cruel because we should tolerate and forgive people, not to mention killing an innocent baby, of our own. Think about it: How can you do it?”

“(What do you think of abortion? When does the soul enter the body?) Should not have abortion. There is no question about when the soul enters the body, but it’s a question of evil thinking, killing tendency. That's what we should abolish, the killing tendency. No need to ask me when the soul enters the body. When you want to have an abortion, you have the killing tendency already and that is bad. That's what we have to uproot. We have to cultivate compassion and wisdom, not leaning toward the negative side of our nature.”

“Maybe some women would say, it’s their body, they do what they want. Fine, but not this kind of murderous action. If they want to do what they want, then they should be prepared to tone their body, to take care of their body, taking preventive medicine, so they don’t have to even do the abortion.”

“Nobody has the right to kill. (Yes. Yes, Master.) That’s very simple. The women have all the rights they want, but not the right to murder. Because that’s a crime, against any law in any country. ‘Rights.’ What kind of right to murder like that? Go scot-free and even paid for! This is really beyond idiocy. Beyond evil.”

Conscientious citizens around the world have been rising up, taking a firm stand against abortion, and rallying to provide a voice for the unborn. In the United States, abortion protests have been particularly active. Since its first demonstration led by Nellie Gray in 1974 in response to the US Supreme Court’s ruling a year earlier that made abortion legal, the March for Life has been held every year in the country, and has been instrumental in pushing the pro-life movement forward. Supporters and participants in the anti-abortion movement include people from all walks of life, such as celebrities and prominent political leaders.

In 2020, His Excellency Donald Trump, a laureate of both the Shining World Peace Leader Award and the Shining World Leadership Award for Compassion, spoke at the event. “It is my profound honor to be the first president in history to attend the ‘March for Life.’ We’re here for a very simple reason: to defend the right of every child, born and unborn, to fulfill their God-given potential.”

After almost 50 years of conducting protests, anti-abortion groups in the US finally reached a milestone in June 2022, when the Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to have an abortion. This was a momentous victory for the anti-abortion movement, for the lives of the unborn, and for humanity as a whole. The fight continues. At the 2023 rally, thousands gathered at the US capital.

In Ireland, since the passage of the Health Act 2018, which permits abortion “during the first twelve weeks of pregnancy,” the number of abortions has steadily increased. In 2022, 8,156 abortions were carried out in the country under this Act, a 22% increase from the previous year. On May 1, 2023, alarmed by this trend, thousands joined the March for Life in Dublin, walking from St Stephen's Green to Molesworth Street. Just two months later, it’s estimated that more than 10,000 people took part in the Rally for Life demonstration on O’Connell Street in Dublin, making it probably Ireland’s largest pro-life event of the year.

Blessed are all the protestors who passionately defend the weak and voiceless unborn children. Now let’s listen to Supreme Master Ching Hai’s loving reminder that life does not belong to us and all life is sacred.

“God is the original Creator of all things, visible and invisible. All the universes belong to God’s creation. We can be welcome to use them in any way we need, but not greed, not to destroy. That’s not free will. Just like in your country, you are a free country, but you cannot murder people. You cannot go and steal and rob and harm other people. So, the same way, abortion is murder. It has to be abolished. Abolished completely, 100%, because it’s murder outright, murder of the innocent, murder of the defenseless.”