About Sir Thomas More

Thomas More was a lawyer in sixteenth century England. He had been a boyhood friend of Henry VIII and served as Chancellor of England after Cardinal Wolsey fell from favor.

It was a tense time in the history of England and the Church. King Henry respected his friend Thomas More and desperately sought his approval for his divorce and his declaration of himself as head of the Church in England. More could not in conscience give his assent to either of these requests.

He chose to resign his position as Chancellor, assuming that as a private citizen his opinion would not matter. Thomas More had solid faith in the law. He was convinced that if he simply kept his mouth shut and said nothing about the king’s role in the Church or about the divorce and succession to the throne, English law would keep him safe.

What he had not counted on was the deceit of those around the king and the lengths to which others would go to protect themselves and sacrifice More. Thomas More adhered to the principles he believed in. He was jailed, tried in a travesty of a trial, sentenced and beheaded. Hundreds of noblemen and clergy went along with the king and saved their heads, but the man who is remembered and who was canonized is Saint Thomas More.

He is a fitting role model for pro-life activists. It would be easy to walk away from pro-life activism, to let the babies die. After all, it is not the pro-lifers’ fault that abortion is legal and that women choose abortion. But in conscience they cannot do that. They must hold to principle, as did Thomas More, and take the consequences.

Pro-life activists are not likely to be beheaded, but they will be persecuted and they will be prosecuted. With Thomas More, the lawyer saint, as the patron of the Law Center, the activists and their attorneys feel confident in ultimate victory. The Pro-Life Law Center is now officially incorporated as the Thomas More Society.