Volume > Issue > The Eternal Advent of Pro-Life Activism

The Eternal Advent of Pro-Life Activism

PRO-LIFERS GO TO JAIL

By Bernadette Patel | July-August 2024
Bernadette Patel is a pro-life activist living in New York City.

“There is perhaps nothing we modern people need more than to be genuinely shaken up. Where life is firm we need to sense its firmness; and where it is unstable and uncertain and has no basis, no foundation, we need to know this too and endure it.” — Fr. Alfred Delp, S.J.

 

The music is blasting, people are laughing, and suddenly a conga line forms.

Weddings can be fun, and this one happens to be the fanciest one I have ever attended, with a live band and an ocean view. I am gliding on the copious amounts of free food and alcohol when my phone rings.

I glance at the familiar number and race outside. “You are receiving a call from…,” the robotic voice states. My heart leaps as I press #1 to accept. The signal is bad, so I start yelling, “Father! Father! How is prison?”

Two women stare at me in shock and then walk away. Quite embarrassing. But this is life when half your friends are pro-life political prisoners.

I was never a normal child growing up, but even with all my oddities I never expected my life to take this unusual turn. I have spent numerous hours wondering, “Where did it all go wrong?” or, I guess to some, “Where did it all go right?” I could never quite figure out what caused my unusual life circumstances, but a few dates stand out.

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