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Nanda Gasperini, a pro-life graphic artist in São Paulo, Brazil, designed this pro-life flag that was selected as the international symbol of the pro-life movement. (Courtesy Pro-Life Flag Project)

A new flag waves over the pro-life movement

July 28, 2021
By George P. Matysek Jr.
Catholic Review
Filed Under: #IamCatholic, Feature, Local News, News, Respect Life

The rainbow flag is an instantly recognized symbol of the LGBTQ movement, just as the Thin Blue Line flag is synonymous with support for law enforcement. Now, leaders in the pro-life community hope a new flag featuring baby’s feet held in a mother’s hands will serve as the universal symbol for protecting the lives of the unborn.

The new flag was selected in an online vote organized by the Pro-Life Flag Project, a grassroots effort involving more than 70 partners including Maryland Right to Life, the March for Life Education and Defense Fund, Students for Life of America, New Wave Feminists, Democrats for Life, Save the Storks and Focus on the Family.

James Chapman, spokesman for the Pro-Life Flag Project, said Will McFadden, the project’s founder, conceived the idea in 2017 while attending the March for Life in Washington, D.C., where he observed no unifying symbol. The effort gathered steam as McFadden saw the rainbow flag become increasingly entrenched in the culture.

Chapman said there were “several thousand” entries in the international design contest for the pro-life flag. Two rounds of final online voting in mid-July resulted in nearly 6,000 votes cast, he said.

The winning flag, which features two stripes that highlight the two distinct lives present in a pregnancy, came out on top among three design finalists. It was designed by Nanda Gasperini, a pro-life graphic artist in São Paulo, Brazil.

Erin Younkins, director of the Office of Life, Justice and Peace in the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s Institute for Evangelization, said she hopes the new flag will be a source of unity in what she sees as a sometimes fractious pro-life movement.

“There is a lot of division in the movement with different political ideologies and different religious backgrounds and motivations,” Younkins said. “Especially last year, we saw a lot of friendly fire and fighting among pro-life groups.”

Younkins, a parishioner of St. Peter in Libertytown, said the flag clearly reminds all pro-life supporters that fighting to protect the lives of the unborn is what they share in common.

“Bringing the movement together as much as we can is an important goal for me,” she said. “I think the fact that it’s being done on a national and international level is really exciting.”

Some social media commentators have criticized the winning flag’s design because it focuses solely on the protection of the unborn and leaves out other pro-life concerns such as outlawing the death penalty and assisted suicide.

Chapman noted that the anti-abortion message was the “singular issue” the Pro-Life Flag Project sought to represent.

“Throughout the course of the project, we received a few requests to broaden the scope of the flag to include different topics other than the anti-abortion, pro-life message,” he said. “These requests, however, varied significantly and were often at odds with each other.”

The winning flag includes a white background that symbolizes non-violence in the womb as well as the innocence of the unborn child. A white heart in between baby’s feet symbolizes the pro-life movement’s love for both the mother and her child, according to the Pro-Life Flag Project’s website.

The featured pink and blue colors are associated with baby boys and girls, but also reemphasize the two lives of the mother and child. The stripes form an equal sign, which the Pro-Life Flag Project said emphasizes that the unborn child is “equally and fully human, and therefore deserving of equal human rights,” while also representing the role of both the father and mother in creating and raising a child.

If the flag is flown ubiquitously, Chapman said, it will raise awareness for the pro-life cause among pro-life and pro-choice advocates alike.

“We think that the existence of a pro-life flag will allow the everyday pro-lifer to show support and stand in visible solidarity with the worldwide movement,” he said.

Chapman said he hopes the symbol gets used “in any possible way that it can be helpful to the pro-life movement.”

“We hope to see the pro-life symbol on clothing, lapel pins, magnets, yard signs, prolife pictures, logos, banners and more,” he said. “We hope it becomes as prominent as the rainbow flag.”

The Pro-Life Flag Project is arranging flag licensing so that any pro-life, nonprofit organization may freely copy, reproduce, promote and sell any products containing the design. The design may not, however, be used as an organization’s official logo.

For more information, see www.prolifeflag.com.

Email George Matysek at gmatysek@CatholicReview.org

Also see

Archbishop Lori among bishops telling Congress to protect women and children, ‘stop pushing abortion’

Declining birthrates impoverish future, pope says

Officials condemn violence, threats after high court leak on abortion case

Archbishop Lori calls for prayer in response to leaked Supreme Court opinion

Outside the Supreme Court, Catholics join diverse chorus on abortion

Leaked draft of Supreme Court opinion indicates overturn of Roe decision

At Baltimore Basilica, Cardinal Sarah says holiness is possible

Youthful voices fill Baltimore Basilica with sacred song

How can we be peacemakers in a divided world?

Copyright © 2021 Catholic Review Media

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George P. Matysek Jr.

George Matysek, a member of the Catholic Review staff since 1997, has served as managing editor since September 2021. He previously served as a writer, senior correspondent, assistant managing editor and digital editor of the Catholic Review and the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

In his current role, he oversees news coverage of the Archdiocese of Baltimore and is a host of Catholic Review Radio.

George has won more than 100 national and regional journalism and broadcasting awards from the Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association, the Catholic Press Association, the Associated Church Press and National Right to Life. He has reported from Guyana, Guatemala, Italy, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland.

A native Baltimorean, George is a proud graduate of Our Lady of Mount Carmel High School in Essex. He holds a bachelor's degree from Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore and a master's degree from UMBC.

George, his wife and five children live in Rodgers Forge. He is a parishioner of the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland.

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