At the end of January, a few Spartans marched to defend the rights of the unborn.
The March for Life has been occurring every year since 1974. It is a day when pro-life advocates gather and march from the Washington Monument to the Supreme Court. They come together to express their belief that Roe v Wade, the 1973 court case that legalized abortion, should be overturned.
“Everyone [was] united for one cause,” said senior Sean Rondeau. Sean has attended the March for Life for the past four years with Holy Spirit Catholic Church.
Many of the marchers also attended a rally the night before the march at the EagleBank Arena sponsored by the Catholic Diocese of Arlington. There, people gathered from across the country to show their solidarity and support for the pro-life movement.
“I remember there was the Diocese of Fargo, the Diocese of New Orleans,” said sophomore Julia Rondeau. “There [were] people from everywhere.”
The night was programmed with speakers and musicians who spoke about their belief in the value of life from conception to natural death. They encouraged the marchers to be witnesses of the pro-life movement.
“[The rally] got me excited for [the march],” said Julia. “I was [like], ‘Oh, wow! This is really great; I’m ready to do this. Look at all these people who are doing this with me!’”
This year’s march was recognized by many media outlets because of the appearances of Vice President Mike Pence and Presidential Advisor Kellyanne Conway. Pence spoke at the march and declared that “life is winning in America.” He encouraged the marchers to show compassion and love toward all people.
“I thought it was pretty cool,” said senior Jonathan Andres. “The March for Life itself is not necessarily really, really big, but with the Vice President there and Kellyanne Conway, it’s just like, ‘Whoa!’ It makes it more of a big deal.”
The March for Life is supported by many faith organizations including the Catholic Church, the Anglican Church, the Lutheran Church, and Evangelical groups. Even though many Christians were present at the march, there were also other faith groups and secular groups represented.
Protesters advocating the pro-choice point-of-view also made a showing, but had no large impact on the schedule of the march or path the march took.
“This year was probably one of the best years I went,” said Julia. “I think everyone was excited and happy to be there. No one was angry, everyone was more peaceful.”