The gift of life
By Tavia Malone, Globe staff writer
Posted April 11, 2002

Marge Stanek believes one of the greatest gifts from God is the gift of life. She believes in it so much that she has been fighting abortion for nearly 30 years.

Stanek, the 69-year-old Sioux City mother of nine children, has devoted thousands of hours of her  time to promote the pro-life movement.

She started in 1973, the year abortion was legalized. At that time, she was carrying her eighth son.

The thought of killing an unborn baby filled her with heartache.

"Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that I was ever going to have as many blessing and gifts as I have received in my life," she said. "I not only have a wonderful family, but relatively good health and everything in abundance. I am grateful beyond words for all of the blessings I have received."

Prayer and her involvement in the community have helped Stanek to become passionate about the pro-life movement.

"I think all of my life the Lord has prepared me to be very active as a defender of human life," she explains. "I do believe that my prayers, and especially rosary novenas to the Blessed Mother, have helped me through all of the trials and troubles in my life."

Stanek is still amazed at the path her life has taken as a pro-life movement leader. "[Since 1973], my involvement in the pro-life movement kept increasing and I became involved with the Right to Life movement," she said.

She has always felt that what she could do to help promote human life was extremely important. In 1988, she became a board member for Queen of Peace, Inc., and worked to increase the importance of prayer in people's lives.

"I realized that prayer has to be first to help with these goals, and then prayer leads you into action," Said Stanek. "Action is a spin-off of that."

Through her work in the Queen of Peace, Stanek came to realize that Sioux City did not have a memorial to the unborn. In 1993, she developed the Circle of Life Memorial to the Unborn, with the help of Siouxland Right to Life and the Knights of Columbus.

"From that point, we decided that maybe we should have 22nd of the month pro-life prayer services," she said. "We created the prayer service because we have to deepen our prayer life to put an end to abortion."

They chose to hold the ecumenical prayer service on the 22nd of every month because abortion was legalized on Jan. 22, 1973. In addition, Queen of Peace holds extra events in the month of January to help curb abortion.

"We have continued our prayer efforts and it has increased our awareness," said Stanek. "I think it helps the community be aware that there are people working more actively."

Stanek, along with Siouxland Right to Life, works hard to let people know which political candidates are also defenders of human life. "I believe that our leaders need to reflect what God wants us to do," she said.

She also finds inspiration in the words and works of Pope John Paul II. "He stands out as the most beautiful pro-life leader through the years," said Stanek. "He's written many, many detailed articles and has written the Gospel of Life."

Mother Teresa is someone who Stanek also respects as a pro-life leader. "They became heroes to me and drew me deeper into the movement," she said.

One thing that Stanek always keeps in mind is the fact that Jesus was once an embryo, too. She explained that Jesus wasn't just recognized upon his birth, but that Scripture shows that he was recognized immediately, as a baby in Mary's womb. Examples such as these only cause Stanek to be more devoted to the fight for life.

As a pro-life supporter, Stanek is now involved in a new area of action. "We have an abortion clinic in Sioux City at Planned Parenthood," she explained. "During the past four or five years, we go there to pray and be a prayer witness."

On Tuesdays, Stanek and other pro-life supporters go to Planned Parenthood to pray and defend the unborn. They also pray for the mothers and workers at the clinic to convert.

"We need to ask for mercy on a nation that has lost so many children since 1973," she said. "Whatever I can do on my part, I believe that is where I want my life to go, to be a very active defender of the Gospel of life."

Stanek, who attends Mass daily at either Cathedral or Nativity parishes in Sioux City, shared a sense of happiness with the love of her family and her love of the pro-life movement to guide her through life. "Life has been a joy to live and I could not be more grateful for everything," she said.