This past October, I joined fifteen young men of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) as they traveled through Virginia, spreading the pro-life message.
The caravan started on a positive note on a Friday morning, with a rosary rally outside the United States Supreme Court, marking the overturning of Roe v. Wade. From there, we moved into Virginia to continue the battle against abortion on the state level.
In Liberal Northern Virginia, TFP Volunteers Break the Pro-abortion Consensus
Our group of TFP volunteers campaigned in several cities across Northern Virginia. These included the busy metro stations of Clarendon, Rosslyn and Pentagon City in Arlington, the downtown of Falls Church and the heart of Old Town Alexandria.
The campaigns included messages for passing cars with a banner “Pray and Act to End the Sin of Abortion” and signs reading “Honk for the Unborn” and “Smile you survived Abortion,” which garnered many honks.
Meanwhile, we engaged pedestrians, offering pro-life flyers which listed ten reasons to protect the unborn.
Receiving Vitriol and Prayers in Old Town Alexandria
The campaigns had a big impact everywhere we went, but particularly in Alexandria.
The caravan set up on a busy Saturday morning, near the popular Farmer’s Market. Almost immediately, people engaged in discussions.
Two young women in favor of abortion, for example, repeatedly asked our young men to show them one woman who was on our side. Just at that moment, a family with three daughters arrived, holding our prolife flyer, and told them, “We support them.”
Other people expressed their support, having no fear of recording comments on video. One such man said he prays for us and follows us on the TFP Student Action YouTube channel. He expressed his heartfelt gratitude: “Thank you for being out here in Alexandria.”
A pro-life woman explained to our cameraman: “We need more people to advocate for all human life from conception to natural death. I think this country is too favorable toward killing babies. I’ll be praying for you all.”
A clean-cut man in a jacket passed by and exclaimed: “Thank you for being real men!”
Not all comments were positive, however. Abortion supporters showed their opposition in all too familiar ways.
An older woman cursed at one volunteer handing out pro-life flyers and attempted to grab them from him. Another enraged woman yelled that she planned to get her fifth abortion soon. A woman in a car told her husband to run over some volunteers.
Facing Death Threats and Counter-protesters
Over the next several days, the caravan traveled to several university campuses in Northern Virginia with lots of support and some opposition.
When we arrived in Richmond, however, the atmosphere turned much more hostile. As we unfurled our pro-life banner and displayed our signs at Virginia Commonwealth University, the crowds of students immediately started jeering and cursing at us.
A woman, for example, screamed, “I care about women, but you don’t care about women! TFP member Gregory Jones asked her, “What about the women in the womb?” She responded, “It’s not a woman!”
However, the insults soon escalated into threats. An enraged middle-aged man, who identified himself as a professor, debated TFP member Rafael Ramos. He insulted Charlie Kirk, to which Rafael responded, “You’re in favor of me getting shot like Charlie Kirk?” The professor affirmed, “Yes, I am!” The professor later said he would like to “stab your neck off.” He canceled his class to carry on the debate.
TFP members later faced the typical attacks from those who have no arguments. One student, for example, spat on a volunteer and ran away. I was personally hit in the face with a cup of iced coffee. Thankfully, the nearby police officer saw the incident and chased the woman down. She is currently facing charges.
Another pro-abortion woman told us, “I have already had five abortions, and I love it.”
Throughout it all, the TFP members proclaim the pro-life message with slogans such as: “Smile! You survived abortion!”
While some students did express support at this university, the hostile atmosphere only illustrated how some parts of the culture are very far gone. Some people have no problem with killing the unborn child and are now becoming okay with threatening to kill those who disagree.
TFP Campaign Sparks Debates at Old Dominion University
Our campaign at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, also sparked debate. However, many students voiced their support for us and debated in our favor.
At this campus, it was much easier to have debates with students, although some still shouted and refused to listen. There were occasions when pro-life arguments changed students’ opinions. One young man, for example, gratefully reconsidered his position, saying, “I haven’t thought about it that way. Thank you for letting me know.”
Across the street from our campaign, a small group of counter-protesters held barely legible signs. They shouted “My body, my choice!” and vile slogans.
The contrast between the TFP volunteers and the motley group of pro-abortion supporters was obvious. A young man shook hands with the TFP members, expressing his gratitude for our presence on campus. Later on, he commented on the contrast, saying, “I really see the difference. You have class, and the others don’t know what they’re doing. They’re in disorder.”
A few ladies expressed support for us. One of them observed that she couldn’t even tell they were counter-protesting us because their signage was so hard to read. She recounted that, “I was driving by, and I just had to stop and talk to you all. Thank you for what you’re doing. These people don’t know how evil abortion is.” A TFP member added: “Or they don’t want to know.” She continued: “Exactly!”
Ending with a Prayer to the Virginia Martyrs
As a symbolic and prayerful way to conclude the Virginia caravan, we stopped at the martyrdom site of the eight missionary martyrs to pray for the conversion of America. The martyrs were two Jesuit priests and six lay brothers who came to evangelize the native tribes.
We pray that the blood of these martyrs, which watered the ground in 1571, bears fruit in the complete conversion of Virginia and America. May it lead to the wholehearted rejection of the sin of abortion.
