Nellie Gray – Tireless Warrior for the Preborn

“I press on towards the goal…” (Philippians 3:14).

For nearly forty years, Nellie Gray was the power and motivating force behind the March for Life movement. Hundreds of thousands of people have taken place in Pro-Life rallies around the world since 1974, when Nellie Gray started the first March.

When Nellie decided to do something to try and stop the government from intruding into the lives of the preborn babies, she only thought that she was having a meeting to discuss the issues. The people who met at her house thought that they would have one march and that would be it. This first March drew 20,000 people. Nellie later told reporters that they had $400 left after the March. They decided to try to hold another one the next year, and the rest as they say, is history.

Next year, 2013, will be the fortieth anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, and the 39^th March for Life will take place in January as usual. Everyone who knew Nellie will miss her. She inspired many other leading lights in the Pro-Life movement. Americans United for Life President and CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest called Nellie Gray, “a visionary woman who understood the importance of a national memorial event to commemorate the significance of the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Like the majority of women, she understood the power of women’s voices in the debate over the importance of a life-affirming society.” Nellie “had a fierce heart that valued all people – born and unborn – fearlessly working to create a picture worth a thousand words – the sight of hundreds of thousands of peaceful Americans calling on their courts and their legislators to defend life in law,” said Yoest.

Who is this remarkable woman? How did she come to be such a fierce defender of the preborn? How did this humble woman, who only wanted to save even one life begin the Marches that would draw hundreds of thousands to protest for the unborn?

Nellie had served as a corporal in the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) during World War II. She noted that many men went out to defend the lives of others, risking their own. She was also deeply moved by the events of the holocaust. It wasn’t just the overwhelming number of Jews who were killed that tugged at her heart strings. She believed that it was wrong for even one person to be intentionally killed by the government for no other reason than that the government wanted to eliminate certain persons. The government should not have that kind of authority. It was evil and should be stopped.

After she retired from the service, she began to relate the holocaust to abortion. To save even one life from the evil of abortion would be worth any effort she could put out. No government should be allowed to authorize the killing of even one preborn child. Praise God, her efforts have resulted in the saving of many lives.

Nellie’s feeling about abortion went deeper than for most people, because she was a lawyer. She practiced law for twenty-eight years as an employee for the federal government, and so she was no stranger to Washington politics.

Nellie was against compromises. Whenever a measure was to be voted on that had limitations in it, she warned others that it was not thoroughly Pro-Life. She realized how important it was to save as many lives as possible, but was wary of “exception clauses”. As soon as the government said that it might limit abortion “except for this or that” she knew that they were still retaining the power to kill the babies who did not meet the criteria. All of these attempts were meant to decriminalize abortion, which she could not tolerate.

As time went on, Nellie began to realize that the men and women who had been harmed by abortion could speak out and have an impact for the Pro-Life movement. She became a strong supporter of the “Silent No More Awareness Campaign” and asked men and women from this group to be on the platform with her at the March for Life rallies. She encouraged them to walk in the front of the March holding signs that read, “I Regret My Abortion” or “I Regret Lost Fatherhood”.

Janet Morana, co-founder of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign praised Nellie Gray for making the Silent No More group a huge part of the Marches for Life. She said, “We are so grateful that Nellie Gray shared our vision of Silent No More, and recognized that the women who have had abortions speak with unquestioned authority about the ways they have been harmed by this choice. Every year more women and men come to march and to share their testimony. Nellie Gray helped make that possible for us.”

Another area that Nellie was intensely aware of is the discrimination against minorities, especially blacks, in the abortion industry. Elsewhere on this Blog, I have posted the statistics showing that Planned Parenthood targets black children for abortion. Dr. Alveda King, director of African-American Outreach for Priests for Life acknowledges this, “Nellie Gray knew that abortion took a heavy toll from the black community and she urged us to lend our voices to the fight against this terrible injustice,” said Dr. Alveda.

And finally, we can appreciate that Nellie Gray also fought for unity among those in the Pro-Life movement. She was an inspiration to Protestant and Catholic alike through her own personal example of determination and hard work. She was a tireless warrior for the unborn. Nellie longed for unity in the movement – a unity that was based on truth. The truth is that the being in the womb is a human being from the moment of conception and no government or other power has the right to destroy life.

Thank you for your hard work, Nellie. Many will miss you in January, but everyone will remember who started it all. As Charmaine Yoest declares, “When we march this January in solemn commemoration of the 40th anniversary of Roe, we will miss Nellie and her unflagging determination to press on toward the goal. But march we will, with deep gratitude for the example she set of sacrifice and commitment to the human rights struggle of our day.”