March for Life 2012 An Amazing, Whirlwind Weekend

I was honored to have a busy four day whirlwind of a weekend Jan 20-23. Gabbi and I took Amtrak from New London to Washington DC with our friend Tracy Medling who also authored a book called "The Power of Choices" a powerful testimony about her abortion and healing. We were staying at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill so we could run a booth downstairs at the March for Life vendors area to sell our books. It was so exciting arriving in Union Station toting so many books we had to be assisted by a redcap in a golf cart!
Soon Gabbi and I were unpacked and off to the Kennedy Institute for a reception for the speakers of our First Annual Conference on Poor Prenatal Diagnoses and Therapeutic Interventions. I was honored to serve the lasagna and join Dr Byron Calhoun, Dr John Bruchalski and Dr Alberto Costa for dinner. We discussed the new study which states that abortion is safer than giving birth, and how its flawed. I was able to meet Mary Kellett, Nancy Mayer Whittington, Monica Rafie,  and members of the Kennedy Institute which is a center for the developmentally disabled of all ages.
Early on Saturday morning we were at the Family Research Council for the Conference which you can view in its entirety, here.



It was an incomparable learning experience, and even though I'm not a doctor, I was able to follow Dr Byron Calhoun as he described life saving surgeries for anomalies previously called "fatal" and learned that there are so many advances to save unborn babies, we don't have to lose hope just because a child has a poor prenatal diagnosis. I heard stirring testimony from former abortionist turned pro-life obstetrician and director of the Tepeyac Family Center Dr John Bruchalski. His stories of couples who gave birth to their children who, though only living a few moments, bore witness to the beauty and dignity of every human life was powerful. Dr Alberto Costa shared his stunning research findings using Alzheimer's drug Memantine to mitigate the cognitive delays and early onset of Alzheimer's in those with Down syndrome gave tremendous hope to this mother of a daughter with Down syndrome and proved that the Alzheimer's community and Down syndrome community have a lot to teach one another. Dr Laura Toso of the Jerome Lejeune Foundation shared how her career as a physician was inspired by her role model, French geneticist, Dr Jerome Lejeune. Dr David Prentice clarified the confusion between embryonic and adult stem cells and shared information about the 73 treatments which come from adult stem cells, many of which are life saving. No cures have come from embryonic cells at this time. I was inspired by the testimonies of Samuel Armas the baby whose little arm reached out of his mother's womb during a Spina Bifida operation and traveled around the world and Kristal Dahlegher a law student with a disability who testified that she is "God's Unmistaken Creation". Kristen Hawkins shared about her work with Medical Students for Life, two of whom, Robert Weir and Dominique Monlezun presented papers on their research,  and Jeanne Monahan gave a talk entitled, "Challenging the Perception of Perfection and Human Nature. Filmmakers Jordan and Daniel Allott shared a preview of their film. "Flashes of Color: Disability in the Age of Perfection". Which you can view here;


Soon it was my turn to share about my work with KIDS (Keep Infants with Down Syndrome) in a panel discussion with Melinda Delahoyde of CareNet, Chris Belll of Good Counsel Homes, Mary Kellett of Pre-natal Partners for Life and Nancy Mayer Whittington of Isaiah's Promise all peer ministries who help mothers who are expecting babies with special needs. It was a time of learning and inspiration which I hope many others will share by viewing this recording.

Gabbi, Leticia and Jeni Stepanek

Leticia signing books at the Basilica  Bookstore

Leticia speaking about KIDS at Family Resource Council

Dr Karen Summar, Rep Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Leticia 

Later that evening, Gabbi and I attended the fundraising dinner for St Joseph House, a respite care home run by Cubby and Dan Lahood of Silver Spring, MD. We had a table right up front and enjoyed the Singing Seminarians and the Faculty Singers from The Heights. We saw a video about Cubby and Dan's amazing apostolate, inspired by the death of their son Francis, a multiply handicapped infant who died minutes after birth, where they care for several developmentally disabled people to give their parents a break. Cubby and Dan bring the people of St Joseph's House to Mass, enjoy splashing in the pool and welcome them to their family table; in fact they and their three children integrate those they care for into every aspect of their lives, and treat them with such tender love I was reminded of a documentary I saw about Blessed Mother Teresa and her loving touch with the disabled. No wonder 300 people had gathered to raise funds for St Joseph House, it is a light to all who encounter it. Nancy Mayer Whittington, who herself lost a daughter soon after birth,  works with the Lahoods on Isaiah's Promise, an apostolate for parents of babies with poor pre-natal diagnoses.
On Sunday the Allott brothers and I discussed their plans to finish "Flashes of Color" and attended the Pro-life Leadership Mass with Cardinal DiNardo presiding. He spoke powerfully about the Obama Administration's HHS mandate that Catholic institutions must pay for contraception. He compared the USA to Ninevah in the Old Testament which was being called to repent by the prophet Jonah. At the reception Gabbi and I were honored to meet Jeni StepanekStepanek and author of the book, "Messenger" a biography of her famous son, best selling poet and spokesman for world peace, Mattie Stepanek. Jeni is a warm and engaging person and I am honored to be reviewing her book shortly.
We met USCCB Pro-life luminaries Richard Dorflinger and Deirdre McQuade, and thanks to our friend Valerie Guilloux of the Jerome Lejeune Foundation USA were able to give EWTN "The World Over" host Raymond Arroyo a copy of "A Special Mother is Born".
Then we rushed to the National Shrine of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception where I signed my book next to EWTN Show Host Brother Leo, and Bella Producer Jason Jones. Jason was leading a group in support of Rick Santorum for president in the March for Life and  I gave him a Santorum banner to lead their group. Then Gabbi and I attended a reception for Legalworks Apostolate at Catholic University Law School given for Catholic Broadcasters. I signed books for members which included Michael Hichborn of American Life League and EWTN show host Teresa Tomeo. We met our friends the Franciscans of the Immaculate who filmed this interview of me about my book for their video blog AirMaria.com.

KIDS members assemble to march for life

Later on the Metro platform at Catholic University we were serenaded by seminarians from Orlando who sang "Panis Angelicus". If only Washington were this Catholic all year!

On Monday at 7:20 I was on the SonRise Morning Show with Brian Patrick sharing my plans for a gathering of KIDS (Keep Infants with Down Syndrome) at 11AM. Gabbi and I attended part of Pro-life Con at Family Research Council watching Dr Gerard Nadal discuss his powerful combination of pro-life apologetics and biology in his writing on his wildly popular blog Coming Home. I met Michael Clancy the photographer who took Samuel Arma's photo and has traveled the world ever since testifying to the dignity of all human life. I was delighted to finally meet Josh Mercer the director of  the wonderful Catholic Vote.

Gabbi and Leticia finish the March for Life at the Capitol

We arrived at the Headquarters of National Right to Life Committee to greet our biggest group of marchers ever, including members of the International Order of the Alhambra,   three Sisters of Charity of our Lady, Mother of the Church, with students from The Academy of the Holy Family, members of Youth with a Mission and our guests of honor Rep Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Dr Karen Summar a developmental pediatrician. Congresswoman McMorris Rodgers shared what she is doing in Congress.  They are pursuing funding the Prenatally and Postnatally Diagnosed Conditions Awareness Act, and have introduced two bills, the Centers of Excellence in Down Syndrome Translational Research Act and the Down Syndrome Research Resources Act.  She spoke about how she is connecting with the Alzheimer's research community and how important it was to coordinate research for both Down syndrome and Alzheimer's (because of their close relationship genetically).  She also spoke of the status of the ABLE Act.
We presented Cathy with a beautiful, patriotic hook rug wall hanging with the message "God Bless America," which was made by one of our members, 18-year-old Anna Sheppard who has Down syndrome.
Soon it was time to march for life and KIDS members assembled outdoors for our annual photo since we were too numerous to take a photo indoors. We were greeted by freezing rain but remained steadfast marching up Capitol Hill to the Supreme Court.
Gabbi and I said goodbye to our friends and headed to the Hyatt where my books were selling well. At last the Convention closed and we had a last minute visit to the Sisters of Life stunning pro-life multi media exhibition "You and Me" at the John Paul II Cultural Center.
It was an amazing, evocative exhibit which was the perfect ending to the most amazing weekend of my career! God has granted me so many amazing opportunities to share the joy our special children bring into our lives!

Leticia Velasquez - A Special Mother is Born

Fourth Annual KIDS Event at March for Life

We are excited to announce plans for the fourth annual KIDS event at the 2012 March for Life in Washington, DC! Once again, we will be meeting at the headquarters of the National Right to Life Committee, just a few blocks from the start of the March. See details at the end of this note for time and location.

We are honored to have Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgersas our special guest for the third year in a row. Cathy is from the state of Washington and has a 4-year-old son, Cole, with Down syndrome. She is a champion for children with special needs in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Participating in the March for Life is like nothing that can be expressed in words; it just has to be experienced! Seeing and being part of the sea of pro-lifers that swarm up Constitution Avenue is so inspiring. Last year it occurred to me that out of all the thousands and thousands of different organizations, parishes, faith communities, high schools, colleges, and pro-life groups that have a presence at the March, our KIDS group may be one of the only, if not the only, group to represent a class of people who are specifically targeted for abortion--those precious unborn babies with Down syndrome.
Now that the new prenatal maternal blood test, MaterniT21, is out on the market, making it even easier to detect Down syndrome earlier in pregnancy, it is even more important for families (and friends) of children with Down syndrome to come together and have a presence at the March for Life, to show the world what a blessing our children (young and adult) are. Please, please, come if you are able! It can be overwhelming to think about driving or taking the Metro into DC with your children, but really, I think sometimes the anticipation of doing it is more overwhelming than actually doing it. If your children are not up walking the entire March, you can do just part of it. But we would so love to see you at the KIDS event!

Here are the details:
Date: Monday, January 23rd
Time: 10:30 - Noon
Location: National Right to Life Committee, 512 10th Avenue, NW, Washington, DC

Special Guest: Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who will arrive at 11:00 a.m.

The National Right to Life Committee generously invites us to use space in their offices and also provides sandwiches and refreshments. So you can have a nice lunch to give you energy for the March! Thank you NRLC!

Please spread the word to anyone you know who has a family member with Down syndrome, or anyone who has a heart for individuals with Down syndrome. If there is another Down syndrome group who will be participating, we invite them to join us. We hope to see you in a few weeks! (It would be helpful to let us know if you are coming, just so we can get an estimate of how many to expect. Also, we would like to give more details (cell phone numbers, parking directions, etc.))

Eileen and Leticia

http://keepinfantswithdownsyndrome.blogspot.com/

Here's my post from last year's event.

KIDS in the March for Life

Gabbi, Bella and Christina arrive at the Mall. 

The event after my EWTN interview with Teresa Tomeo (one of our group recorded it and posted it on Facebook, you can view it here) went very well, thanks be to God.

The EWTN area where Leticia filmed her KIDS interview. 

Leticia discussing Dr Lejeune with Valerie Guilloux and Rep McMorris Rogers. 

Gabbi filming the presentation of "Life is a Blessing"

 I came in ten minutes late, huffing and puffing, after having walked rapidly the entire 9 blocks between the EWTN interview location and the National Right to Life Headquarters, but I was thrilled to introduce Rep McMorrisRogers to Valerie Guilloux of the Lejeune Foundation. she presented the Congresswoman with a copy of "Life is a Blessing", some brochures and a press kit. I hope that this is the beginning of a fruitful relationship between the founder of the Congressional Down Syndrome Caucus and the Jerome Lejeune Foundation in the US. 



The KIDS marchers with Rep McMorris Rogers
We videotaped the entire event, and will be producing a short documentary on the KIDS participation in the March, so you can see it and share it with that big homeschooling group when its done. I would love to meet Dr Bruchalski after my back is recovered. My doctor, Dr Judith Mascolo, who was with me in the interview has put me on travel restrictions for three months. She said my back is completely stress related! Wonder where she got that idea?!

 After Rep McMorris Rogers left, I had some down time to eat and chat with Valerie Guilloux. She and her husband, Jean-Marc, are the contact people for the Jerome Lejeune Foundation in the USA. 

Eddie Sloan on dad Neil's shoulder. 

 By the time we marched, we were only Dr Judtih Mascolo, and her two daughters, Neil and Melissa Sloan and their two kids, and me and my three girls, and one of Gabbi's college friends. The six young men from Catholic University's branch of the Order of Alhambra (Catholic fraternal order which cares for the intellectually disabled) had begun to march already. My Christina refused to join the March as it was too noisy and congested, so we walked on the sidewalk alongside, with me coaxing her block by block. I miss the days she used a stroller!

Rep Cathy McMorris Rogers (center) with Leticia and family.

We didn't want to get stuck in the bottleneck in front of the Supreme Court, so, after interviewing the Neil and Melissa Sloan for the documentary, and meeting Monica, a contributor to my book A Special Mother is Born, we filmed a few minutes of the thousands of young marchers surging up Capitol Hill,  we headed for the Hyatt, and met many old friends and new ones. I got to chat with recent convert to the pro-life cause and the Catholic Church, and author of "Unplanned", Abby Johnson, and her husband. He shared how happy he was when his wife left her job at Planned Parenthood, and she shared how it was the loving, prayerful pro-life protesters who touched her heart. "The harsh ones, carrying bloody signs only hardened my resolve to keep doing what I was doing," she said. 

 I was able to tell  Terri Schiavo's mom Mary. Schindler how sorry I was for the loss of her beloved daughter and husband, Robert, who died this year, and how, as the mother of a special needs child, her daughter's murder was personal to me. I told her how we made a three foot by 12 foot sign saying "Save Terri" and held it on the Supreme Court steps while praying the rosary in her final days. Mary was moved by this, and came over to meet Christina.

We also met our friend, Good Counsel Homes Director Chris Bell and his sister-in-laws who wrote "The Caterpillar who Went to Church": series. I told them how their book was instrumental in helping me catechized Christina regarding the Blessed Sacrament, preparing her for her First Holy Communion, and Susan Brindle gave me a book which compiles all there sacrament stories into one. The Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, who run Morningstar Camp and the Franciscans of the Immaculate from Airmaria were also with us. Such saints among us!

Then, completely exhausted, we took the Metro to our hotel. The Metro was thick with priests and leftover marchers, and two lovely Virgina gentlemen gave up their seats for my young daughters. Southern hospitality at its best!

 The girls went out with Judy for pizza near the hotel which was buzzing with fraternity and sorority events (we were on the campus of George Washington University) I remained behind in the hotel with Christina, with a cold compress on my swollen feet, on my bed, trying to relax a back strung tighter than a violin, while trying in vain to find news coverage of the March on TV. Maybe that wasn't the most relaxing thing to do!

The next morning, we got a mistaken wake-up call at 7AM, tried to shower with limited hot water (the hotel had a boiler crisis) and at 9:40 got on the road. We picked up our camera equipment at National Right to Life Committee Headquarters, and some coffee, and made our last DC stop at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, where a new president was being installed in a Mass. The girls toured the Basilica while I interviewed (by phone) Fr Gary Thomas on whose experience the new film "The Rite" is based. See the interview here. 

We installed new windshield wipers on the van since my husband advised us we were heading towards snowstorms up north, and Gabbi my 18 year old was driving  ecause of my back spasms. I am in awe of her steady nerves, and common sense. Near the end of our trip, my back was feeling better and I offered to drive, however she insisted, saying, "I want to say I drove the entire journey in both directions".

Leticia and Abby Johnson, author of "Unplanned"

She did it, however we were disheartened that we arrived at the Charter TV studio too late to tape an interview on the March, because of our many stops. 

We promised to do a show for "The Face of Pro-life" next month, including our film clips. We will be sharing links to it here. 

It was a fruitful and blessed trip to the March for Life. 

Leticia, Friar Roderic Burke, FI, and Good Counsel Homes Chris Bell. 

Mary Schindler, Leticia and Christina

KIDS will be marching in the March for Life this year!

Let us know if you'll be joining us, and spread the word.
 Eileen Haupt: 802-899-4882
Leticia Velasquez: 860-336-1835

FAMILES WHO HAVE CHILDREN WITH DOWN SYNDROME
TO MARCH TOGETHER IN THE 2011 MARCH FOR LIFE in D.C.
TO RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT THE HIGH INCIDENCE OF ABORTING
BABIES WITH DOWN SYNDROME

KIDS (Keep Infants with Down Syndrome), a group comprised of families who have children with Down syndrome, will meet for the third year in a row and walk together in the 2011 March for Life in Washington, D.C.

DATE & TIME: Monday, January 24, 2011, 11:00 a.m. to Noon

LOCATION: National Right to Life Committee, 512 10th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.

PURPOSE: Meet for refreshments prior to walking together in the 2011 March for Life

This event is open to individuals with Down syndrome and their families and friends.

KIDS aims to raise awareness about the tragic 90% abortion rate of babies prenatally diagnosed with Down syndrome, to challenge the misinformation that often leads mothers to abort their babies with Down syndrome, and to proclaim the joy their children bring to their families and communities!

Through the generosity of the National Right to Life Committee, we have a convenient location to congregate, just blocks from the start of the march, and sandwiches and refreshments to enjoy before we join the march.

For more information please contact Eileen Haupt or Leticia Velasquez.

Eileen Haupt Leticia Velasquez

802-899-4882 860-336-1835

vteileen@comcast.net marysjoys@yahoo.com

KIDS at the March for Life 2010

Here is a link to my  latest inteview on "The Face of Pro-life" television show.
I discussed my experience in Washington DC as an advocate for children with Down synrome, as co-founder of KIDS (Keep Infants with Down Syndrome).

Meet me at the March for Life

My group Keep Infants with Down Syndrome will be hosting a reception with Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rogers (R-WA) who is on the Congressional Down Syndrome Caucus
at 10:30 AM at:



National Right to Life Headquarters
512 10th Street, NW
Washington DC 20004

(202)626-8800

At noon, after an hour's worth of inspirational speeches, free refreshements and fellowship, we will take up our signs, don our signature blue and yellow scarves and take KIDS to the streets. We will join the March for Life, a short walk from NRTL headquarters, and march together in solidarity for the unborn child with Downs yndrome 90%of whom are being denied life through abortion.
Join us!

Mother and daughter interview on "The Face of Pro-life"

I was preparing for an interview on this TV show about the upcoming March for Life, when the Creative Director asked if my daughter would appear on the next segment. I called Gabriela, telling her that she had 20 minutes to get ready for her television debut. After hysterical screams of "but I look terrible" died down, she got ready and came into the studio to do this outstanding interview.
 I just tried to stay out of her way, she was blooming as a pro-life leader before my eyes. And NO you don't look FAT honey, just lovely. You are a leader, articulate and convincing, well versed, and passionate, yet poised. I am awestruck by how you shone in this interview.

 How did I ever deserve such a daughter? Thank you Lord.
Here is a link to the video.

Full speed ahead to the March for Life!!

The last member of my family is on anti-biotics(they last until the March, so what can we catch now?
 "Canticle" magazine came through with a check for my article on KIDs in the March for Life (gas money)
 and I have a hotel room for Friday night.
March for Life, here we come!
Christina and I are driving while the teens in my home are going by bus. If any of you want to meet Rep Cathy McMorris Rogers at National Right to Life Headquarters at 11AM on the 22nd and join us for the March, come on over, no reservations needed! We will have a light brunch.
We have signs, banner, and scarves a plenty.
Hope to meet you there.

The devil is busy but God always wins

The only member of my family without strep throat is taking her math midterm today. We are all very sick and even our computers have viruses.That's why its been so quiet around here.

Some of my Facebook friends suggested that the computer gave me a virus.

 My plans to attend the March for Life are on hold till I see who is well enough to travel. The more of a fight I get from "Old Stinky" the more blessing I am going to get from the event. This is a predictable pattern.
He always loses, I wonder why he bothers.

God will win here too.

KIDS is on the March again!

FAMILES WHO HAVE CHILDREN WITH DOWN SYNDROME

TO MARCH TOGETHER IN THE 2010 MARCH FOR LIFE in D.C.TO RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT THE HIGH INCIDENCE OF ABORTING BABIES WITH DOWN SYNDROME

KIDS (Keep Infants with Down Syndrome), a group of families who have children with Down syndrome, will meet for the second year in a row and walk together in the 2010 March for Life in Washington, D.C.
KIDS wants to raise awareness about the 90% abortion rate of babies diagnosed with Down syndrome, to challenge the misinformation that often leads mothers to abort their babies with Down syndrome, and to proclaim the joy their children bring to their families and communities.
DATE & TIME: Friday, January 22, 2009, 11:00 a.m. to Noon

LOCATION: National Right to Life Committee, 512 10th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.
Meet for refreshments prior to walking together in the 2010 March for Life

This event is open to individuals with Down syndrome and their families and friends.
For more information please contact Eileen Haupt or Leticia Velasquez.

Eileen Haupt
vteileen@comcast.net
Leticia Velasquez
marysjoys@yahoo.com

Welcome "The Face of Pro-life" Viewers

Last night, on the live program of "The Face of Pro-life" I discussed the warm reception KIDS received in Washington, DC at the March for Life, meeting with Sen Sam Brownback and Rep Cathy McMorris Rogers, and our thoughts on where we might serve our children from here. We had several callers who wanted to know where parents expecting children with Down syndrome could find support, and I made reference to my friend Monica Rafie's website
Be Not Afraid. I also told viewers that the links on the sidebar of this site offered resources and blogs of families who had positive stories to share about life with Down syndrome.
So, if you saw me on "The Face of Pro-life" welcome and please don't be a stranger! Drop me a comment below and make my day.
I'll keep you posted about the amazing reaction Eileen Haupt and are finding as KIDS is becoming known out there. Only God knows where this will lead us, but we are 'riding the wave of the Holy Spirit' open to whatever comes.

KIDS at the March for Life

A preview of my coverage of the March is at Causa Nostrae Laetitiae including a dozen members of the group Youth with a Mission who were with us. They posted their photos here.

Meet us at the March for Life 1/22/2009

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

KIDS is on Life Site News

Yesterday, Eileen and I were interviewed by Kathleen Gilbert for this article on Life Site News. Word is spreading that we parents of special needs children are marching as a group in the March for Life.Leave a comment below or email me marysjoys@yahoo.com if you can join us. We are meeting at the National Right to Life Headquarters at 11:30 AM on 1/22. The address is 512 10th St NW Washington, DC, a couple of blocks from the Mall where the March will be starting. If you are coming by bus you can still make it, no need to make 'reservations' the more the merrier!Just bring a camera so we can get good press coverage of the event.After the March, around 2:30 -4:00 we are going to visit our friends Rep Chris Smith (R-NJ) at the Rayburn Building, and Sen Sam Brownback (R-KS) on Capitol Hill, to present them with thank you certificates for the "Prenatally Diagnosed Conditions Awareness Act".

Join us at all of these events and make your voice heard!!

"I regret aborting my special needs son"

Read this heart-rending article at The Daily Mail and understand why I am so motivated to attend the March for Life with my daughter with T21.
"Now aged 43, still desperate for that large family and still suffering miscarriages, I have to accept that I may never have another child. It's very hard. The ghost of my son lingers painfully, haunting my thoughts.
In the past nine years, not a week has gone by when I haven't thought of him. Despite the support that others - including those closest to me - expressed for my decision at the time, I don't think I can ever truly forgive myself for what I did.
What I do know, and often think, is that if my son had been born alive and perhaps with two years to live, were those not two years of my life that I could have spared to nurse him? Would it really have been such a sacrifice for me?
With hindsight, I think I could have offered that at the very least to a child I had wanted so much. "
Our children are a light to the world who can save expectant mothers this type of tragic choice which will haunt them forever. I applaud the author for sharing such a painful story. I wish her God's peace.

Join those of us who are marching with KIDS (Keep Infants with Down Syndrome) in the March for Life this year.
We will be meeting at 11;30 at the
National Right to Life Committee Headquarters
January 22nd at
512 10th St, NW
Washington DC.

An Invitation to join us for the March for Life 2009

Last year I casually mentioned to an email correspondant that I wanted to get mothers of children with Down syndrome together to march together in the March for Life. I felt that since our children are the most threatened by abortion, with a rate of 90%, that we ought to represent ourselves as a group. Eileen, who is more of a mover and shaker, loved the idea and then we let it simmer awhile. . .

Then, some things happened.

The New York Times noticed that parents of chidren with Down syndrome were organizing in response to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynocologists recommendation that all pregant women, regardless of age be tested for Trisomy 21. They were right.

A new non-invasive test arrived on the scene promising to eliminate our children with greater accuracy.

Trig Palin hit the scene, and everyone was talking about Down syndrome. My Google Down sydnrome alerts quadrupled overnight, and we had lots of interest in the Buddy Walks this fall.

The Prenatally Diagnosed Conditions Awareness Act was passed and signed Oct 8, 2008 which will give expectant parents proper medical information and referral to support groups and adoption agencies. I credit Trig Palin in part for helping to pass this bill in this article in the National Catholic Register.

SO, since this seems to be the year that we parents of children with Down syndrome are in the spotlight, and as you know, we LOST our advocate, Sarah Palin, in the tragic results of the election. We must take to the streets of Washington, and tell our new president that we will be watching him.
Help us organize and garner media attention, which will be hard on the heels of the Inauguration. Email me at marysjoys@yahoo.com to volunteer to organize your friends and meet us in DC.
We'll be posting the details of when and where we meet, and any symbols, signs, etc, we will be carrying. We are pro-life mothers (and fathers) of children with Down syndrome, and we are here to tell the world our children have the right to life.
Let's invite Trig Palin and his family to join us.
NOVEMBER 16 UPDATE:
Many interested moms are asking where we should stay on the night of the 21st. I suggest the Phoenix Park Hotel since the Hyatt Capitol Hill is already booked. Don't forget to ask for your March for Life discount. Gabbi and I met Congressman Chris Smith and his lovely wife Marie at the Philipino Family Fund Cocktail Hour there last year. We also ran into David Bereit of 40 Days for Life. They have a lovely Irish pub where prolifers gather to form their battle plans on Jan 21st. It's there I met Fra Augustine of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate.

Gabbi's March for Life 2008 Montage

Gabbi goes to Washington

Gabbi and I left home Monday January 21st for a whirlwind two days chasing Congressmen for interviews, social gatherings with pro-life luminaries, political activism and prayer at the March for Life.

We stayed at the Phoenix Park Hotel on the 21st, right across the street from Union Station, and down Capitol Street from the Capitol itself.


We met our attorney for our attempt at bringing Catholic Radio to Long Island at the Dubliner the pub at the hotel that evening and met his pro-life activist friends, including Br. Augustine of the Friars of the Immaculate Heart whose order will be running a Catholic radio station upstate New York. These friars brought the statue of Our Lady of America to Ground Zero last anniversary of 9/11, where she circled the area, and rode up 5th Avenue to St. Patrick's Cathedral. If you are not familiar with this approved apparition from 1953, I posted on it here.
After dinner, I requested one of my favorite Irish ballads,"The Whistling Gypsy", and left the cozy pub since I wanted to show Gabbi the prayer going on at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. We attended the rosary and compline in the Crypt Church at the Basilica till midnight. I posted on this here.

On the 22nd we attended the Memorial for the Pre-Born at the Hart Office Building,where we met David Bereit, and Tony Melendez whom I posted on here. We heard inspired preaching from Fr. Frank Pavone, then we didn't get to Blogs for Life till about 11AM when Rep Christ Smith was speaking, and former Kansas Attorney General Phil Kline, who was awesome. He is in the throes of the battle to put lawbreaking George the baby killer Tiller behind bars where he belongs. Pray for him, if he succeeds amidst all the corruption in Kansas, then he promised to bring what he learned to the rest of us, and we can begin to dismantle the abortion machine, bit by bit.




Then Gabbi and I attended the March for Life, meeting many Long Island friends, I was interviewed by Japanese TV and did some interviewing of my own, and Gabbi took over 50 photos, which I made into a montage you can see here or on YouTube. I look forward to the celebration we'll have when we overturn Roe v Wade, and the state laws, and a mother's womb is no longer the most dangerous place in our land.

We spent a brief time in the Hyatt around 4PM to see the displays, meeting Norma McCorvey, the "Jane Roe" of Roe v Wade, and Fr. Tom Euteneuer, President of Human Life International as well as Slaves of the Immaculate Heart who ran Morning Star Camp which Gabbi and Bella attended camp last summer.



We ran round the corner, changed into our nice clothes, and at 5 we attended the Filipino Family Fund Champions for the Family Award Reception at the Phoenix Park Hotel. Eduardo Verastegui didn't make his appearance there, but we met Leo Severino and his brother Roger, Bobby Schindler, Chris and Marie Smith, and Maureen Flynn. Maureen writes the magazine, "Signs and Wonders for Our Time" and organizes the International Week for Prayer and Fasting each October at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. Maureen's husband Ted Flynn, whose tape "The Thunder of Justice" . Leo Severino thanked us for the success of his film, "Bella" and informed us that the DVD will go on sale May 16. I met his brother Roger who works as an attorney for the Becket Fund.
It was an amazing two days, and I formed many contacts with whom I hope to coordinate our efforts to pass the Kennedy-Brownback Bill to protect unborn children with prenatally diagnosed conditions like Down syndrome.

My March for Life 2007 Slide Show

Is now available, with many other videos of the March on YouTube.