Baltimore Ravens' Matt Birk speaks on abortion

Matt Birk, a St. Paul native and long-time Pro Bowl center for the Minnesota Vikings, won the Super Bowl on Sunday as a member of the Baltimore Ravens. The Cretin-Derham Hall alumnus is an outspoken pro-lifer whose wife has worked at a pregnancy care center. Birk spoke recently to the National Catholic Register about responding to the 40th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion on demand.

The big picture is really ugly, but instead of letting that dominate your thinking, I would say to keep the faith and concentrate on the one or two things you can do. You may not be able to save thousands of lives on your own, but the one life you can save today does mean a lot.

Whether it's teaching our own children to be pro-life, contacting our elected representatives or working at crisis-pregnancy centers, we can all do something. These examples are in addition to prayer, which everyone can do and which everyone should do. Prayer is the basis of any good action. Each little effort helps to bring about a culture of life, a culture in which children are appreciated rather than disposed of.

I spoke at a pro-life rally in Maryland a couple years ago, and it was a life-changing experience. I heard other speakers, including women who deeply regretted their own abortions. Their work, carried out through the Silent No More Awareness Campaign, was very persuasive. It wasn't just a theoretical discussion; it was real women who had experienced the trauma of losing a child through abortion. They wanted to prevent other women from going through that same thing.

If people were told the truth about abortion, no one would ever seek out the procedure. We hear about "choice" and "reproductive rights," but no one is ever told by an abortionist, "I will kill your baby by ripping off its arms and legs." The women from Silent No More let people know the facts so that better decisions will be made. It's very admirable work.