The foundress of the annual March
for Life, Nellie J. Gray, passed away today at the age of 88 in Massachusetts , where she
resided.
Gray served as a corporal in the
Army during Word War II, earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and served in
the United States
federal government for nearly three decades, first in the Department of State,
then the Department of Labor. Meanwhile,
she earned a law degree and later argued cases before the U.S. Supreme
Court. Through the help of a Priest Gray
met, she converted to Catholicism.
After the Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton
Supreme Court decisions of 1973, Gray organized the first March for Life on
January 22, 1974 on the anniversary of those infamous rulings, which became an
annual event drawing hundred of thousands of attendees from across the U.S. She served as the mistress of ceremonies at
every March. Other events are held
across America
on the day. The effort is even mirrored
by pro-life movements around the world.
The March for Life and the annual report on abortion Gray produced calls attention to the evil of abortion and the harm
it causes both to babies and their parents and highlights respect for life from
conception until natural death and human liberty. Priests for Life leader Father Frank Pavone
has announced that the 2013 March for Life will be dedicated in Gray’s honor.
Gray recognized the similarity of
the evil of fascism and the Holocaust she fought during the Second World War
and the evil of tens of millions of abortions committed in the U.S. since Roe v. Wade. In both cases, she fulfilled her duty to use
her God-given talents to do good, thereby serving as an inspiration to all.
May Nellie Gray’s example continue
to inspire all Americans to respect the right to life, liberty and the pursuit
of happiness with which our Creator endows all of us, born and pre-born.
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