For Louisiana Right to Life, this theme pivoted around the 2014 U.S. Senate election. As we have discussed, after the Supreme Court and the Presidency, there is no entity of elected officials more critical than the U.S. Senate for the pro-life cause. The Senate holds in its hand the confirmation of Supreme Court justices and is often the final say about the success or demise of important pro-life legislation.

Since Louisiana does not substantially factor into the presidential election equation, and Supreme Court justices are not elected, it could be said that the most basic role of the Louisiana pro-life movement is to assure that its two sitting U.S. Senators vote pro-life. There are certainly many more responsibilities for our cause, but you can make the argument that this is the most essential.

With that, we knew that come election day the people of our state would hold the future of innocent human lives in their hands as they cast their votes. And from our vantage point, it appears they did.

The election of Bill Cassidy now means that Louisiana is represented by TWO pro-life U.S. Senators, David Vitter and Bill Cassidy. Louisiana is a pro-life state, and it is about time both our U.S. Senators represented that reality.

We cannot underestimate how important this reality is for our cause and for Louisiana. Even though most pundits painted the election as a forgone conclusion in the last two months, it is a significant milestone. The Louisiana pro-life cause has addressed its most basic responsibility.

The outcome on December 6 bolstered the pro-life advantage in the Senate, strengthening hope for progress on life-saving legislation and hopefully a more pro-life Supreme Court in the future. We look forward to a vote in the Senate this year on the legislation to protect unborn babies in the fifth month of pregnancy who can feel pain.

Now, don't get us wrong, we know the election of pro-life Bill Cassidy is not the end-all and be-all of pro-life success. President Obama will likely veto pro-life legislation that arrives on his desk, and babies are still dying from abortion. Not to mention, we could lose a pro-life majority in the Senate in as few as two years.

But the U.S. Senate is a game of 100. Each state has the job of electing two Senators. Louisiana's two are now pro-life. This is worth celebrating!

But the future of unborn children has not only resided in the hands that cast votes in 2014, but also in the hands that offered resources to pregnant women considering abortion, hands that prayed outside abortion facilities, hands that educated young people on the value of life, hands that lobbied our legislators, and so much more. We have seen a strong increase in people getting involved in the pro-life cause in 2014, and our team educated thousands of young people in Louisiana. By our account, 2014 has been a positive pro-life year.

As we look forward to 2015, we are embracing the theme for our Life Marches of "Defend the Defenseless." We are inspired by the powerful scripture of Isaiah 1:17 that tells us the following...

Learn to do right; seek justice.
    Defend the oppressed.
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
    plead the case of the widow.

Without a doubt, there is no one in our society more oppressed and innocent than the unborn child. We are confident that as we move into 2015 we have an opportunity to make real progress in our continued fight for the restoration of the right to life of our poorest and most vulnerable neighbors, unborn children. We can begin to defend life in 2015 by uniting at the Louisiana Life Marches planned for Shreveport (Jan. 17) and Baton Rouge (Jan. 24).

We want to thank you for all did for life in 2014. We are extremely grateful for all the time, talent, and treasure you spent to advance the pro-life movement in Louisiana during 2014! 

Let us never forget that the future of our nation and the human race lies in our hands. Our actions protect human life. We pray that future generations will look back on this day in time as the moment we took individual initiative to bring an end to the horror of abortion.