Katrina Jackson: Pro-lifers at 'turning point,' end to shedding innocent blood is here
WASHINGTON — The Louisiana state senator set to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court in March in defense of a law she authored believes the pro-life movement has reached a critical juncture in history.
In an interview with The Christian Post Thursday following the third annual gala for the pro-life group Save the Storks at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Building, Louisiana state Sen. Katrina Jackson, D-Monroe, said the movement to save the unborn has reached "the turning point."
"I really believe that through prayer, we're at the turning point," she emphasized, "that people are going to turn from an extreme view and people who have been scared to speak up and say, 'Look, I'm a Democrat, I'm a Republican, I'm this, I'm that, but I'm pro-life.' And I think we'll see that, and we will finally begin to see an end, an eradication of the shedding of innocent blood," she said.
"But it will happen through prayer. It will happen that people come together and really say, 'This is no longer a party issue, this is a God issue; this is a United States issue. And we're going to stand together and protect our children.' And I believe this is the turning point."
In March, Jackson will present oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in the case June Medical Services v. Gee in defense of a bill she authored requiring abortionists in the state to have admitting privileges at a hospital within a 30-mile radius of the abortion clinics where they work. Jackson has also sponsored an amendment to the state constitution called No Right to Abortion that will be on the 2020 ballot.
The Gee case is the first major abortion matter to be heard at the high court since President Trump appointed Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh to the bench. Over 200 members of the U.S. House and Senate signed an amicus brief in support of the Louisiana law and asked the court to scrap the central holdings in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey that have enshrined abortion as a constitutional right for decades.
When asked how Christians might pray for the success of the legislation and that the heart of the Supreme Court will be turned toward women's health, Jackson added that people should pray that the Supreme Court will "reinstate what they said, that we can regulate in the area of abortion when it concerns women's health." She also asked that believers pray for her family as well, because they are facing a "heavy battle" as spiritual warfare surrounds this issue.
"And [pray] that He gives us unspeakable joy throughout this process," she said.
During her remarks Thursday night, Jackson emphasized the need for unity across party lines when it comes to the unborn. Being around "lifers" always energizes her and it's like family, she said.
Jackson was also one of the featured speakers on the March for Life stage at the National Mall this year and in 2019.
"It's so important to let people know everywhere that the fight for life doesn't have a partisan stance to it but that we love babies," she said from the stage Friday at the March for Life.
She believes the coming years portend profound change in the fight for the unborn.
"I tell people all the time that this decade will mark the major fight for life because at this time we're about to turn the situation around. I see the bands and the chains dropping off Roe v. Wade. I see people and babies being born everywhere. I see us celebrating life like never before."
Former White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders also attended the Save the Storks gala where she was a featured speaker.
Founded in 2010, the mission of Save the Storks is to equip pro-life pregnancy centers to more effectively connect with abortion-vulnerable women in their communities.