R.I.P. an Unsung Champion of the Child in the Womb
A longtime Life Legal client, Marcia Ryan of Napa, California, passed away on July 3 after a protracted illness. She was 75. And we can honestly say that she was the kind of client that justifies our mission many times over.
Often, we explain to our supporters that Life Legal’s peculiar place in the movement requires an unwavering commitment to “the pro-life little guy.” Marcia (pronounced like “Marsha”) was, perhaps, the pro-life little gal, but an accurate assessment of her work demonstrates that people like her are in truth magnificent figures, forming the very backbone of pro-life America.
Marcia commenced her commitment to direct action in 1974, a year after the disaster that was Roe v. Wade, under the able tutelage of Chicago’s legendary Joe Scheidler. Shy and reserved by nature, Marcia harbored within her an iron resolve that would keep her in operation as a sidewalk counselor for over five decades.
What are some of the lessons that can be learned about pro-life activism from Marcia’s example?
- Gentle and polite demeanor. Pro-aborts often claim that sidewalk counselors shout, screech, and consign the clients of abortion centers to the fires of Hell. This accusation isn’t only false: it’s downright dumb. The sidewalk counselor needs to engage with abortion-bound mothers, not drive them forcefully into the clutches of the abortionists. Hence, as Marcia exemplified, the sidewalk counselor needs to be gentle and polite. Marcia responded to anger and verbal abuse with calm kindness. Clients who began by heaping profanity on her frequently ended by accepting her literature and emerging unaborted, tears in their eyes, from the abortion parlor.
- Strong reliance on embryology and fetology. Marcia’s literature stressed the scientifically established facts of developmental biology – facts that the other side labors to conceal. And Marcia kept volumes of these facts in her head. She was well able to refute the falsehoods propounded by abortion advocates.
- Local support network. Over the years, Marcia referred hundreds of mothers to pro-life pregnancy resource centers – and especially to the Napa Women’s Center, another Life Legal client. She and her allies not only objected to abortion: they had a plan to circumvent the abortionists’ conveyor belt of death.
- Persistence in prayer. Marcia understood very well that opposition to abortion was a human imperative, not just a Catholic one. She understood that church teaching on the transcendent value of nascent human life was firmly rooted in reason. But this understanding didn’t prevent her from praying without ceasing. And her prayer life gave her the strength to maintain her pro-life activism for 51 years. Amazingly, in the final years of her ministry, she continued sidewalk counseling despite the severely debilitating condition – sarcoidosis of the lungs – that ultimately took her life.
- Passing the baton. A major feature of Marcia’s pro-life work was the systematic training of other sidewalk counselors. Napa has a substantial Hispanic population, and Marcia was able to give both Anglo and Latino trainees the benefit of her vast experience. These new generations of sidewalk counselors will save lives far into the future.
One of the problems with which Life Legal helped Marcia was a proposed “bubble zone” ordinance intended to hinder her efforts. When this measure was under consideration, there were heated exchanges in the letter column of the local paper. One correspondent – whose smirk was practically visible on the page – asked whether people like Marcia Ryan were foolish enough to believe that their intervention could convince any woman not to abort. Marcia didn’t have to believe anything here. She’d seen many children saved and been reliably told about many more.
A better-informed view of Marcia’s effectiveness was presented during the homily at her funeral Mass. Fr. Joseph Fessio, S.J., speculated about Marcia’s encounter with Christ in the afterlife. What did Marcia accomplish in life, asks the Savior. She speaks of her four children, their spouses, and their children, all still practicing the Faith. “But there are several thousands of others you didn’t mention,” says Jesus. “The children you saved. The children you saved. Sure, you saw a few. But what about the thousands of others?”
The late Marcia Ryan and those like her must be esteemed as essential personnel in the pro-life movement. For one thing, their faithfulness kept the issue alive when all the pundits insisted that Roe v. Wade had settled it. Whenever they may need us, Life Legal is proud to serve these humble heroes who, by their witness, save babies every day from the cruel suction aspirators of the abortion industry.