Across the nation, local pro-life advocates young and old are making plans to attend the 2011 March for Life, where hundreds of thousands will gather to mark opposition to abortion.
The March for Life is a somber reminder of the 38 years of the destruction of human life before birth following the 1973 Supreme Court decisions Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton that allowed virtually unlimited abortion for any reason at any point during pregnancy. The decisions have culminated in more than 53 million abortions that have claimed the lives of little boys and girls.
In Pittsburgh, several buses will be making their way towards the nation’s capital filled with pro-life advocates participating in the noon rally at the National Mall and the march towards the Supreme Court. There, they will hear from women who have had abortions and regret their decision calling for changes.
Tim Babyak of St. John the Baptist Parish in Perryopolis is heading up one group of people from western Pennsylvania, making its eighth consecutive trip.
Barb Skinner, developmental director of Indian Creek Valley Christian Family & Children’s Center is heading another group that she says is excited to “to take a stand for life,” as she has done for 25 years.
“Being in D.C. is really an amazing thing,” she told the Pittsburgh newspaper. “While we’re there that day we do go and meet with our legislators and it’s just such a great experience.”
The March for Life is slated for Monday, January 24th instead of the Roe and Doe anniversary date of January 22. That allows participants a chance to go to Capitol Hill and meet with lawmakers and urge them to vote pro-life.
Four busloads of pro-lifers are headed to the March for Life from northern New York, including 94 high school students and their chaperones.
Colleen Miner, co-director of the Respect Life Office for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ogdensburg talked with the Watertown Daily Times about the trip.
“We always have a waiting list of people who want to go,” Mrs. Miner said. “It’s a wonderful experience. Some of these kids have never been out of the north country.”
“We stress that this is a pilgrimage,” she said. “They’re not just there to get out of school and go sightseeing. It’s a spiritual journey. We’re standing up for the babies and making our voices known that this is wrong.”
Despite the recent shooting in Arizona of a Democratic congresswoman, Gabrielle Giffords, Miner told the newspaper she is not worried about her safety.
“We have police escorts and there is a lot of security. A lot of parents want to know that,” Miner said. “It’s definitely very secure and very safe. We’ve never felt threatened or worried.”
Students for Life of America and 40 Days for Life are making available to March for Life participants a DVD that would encourage and train pro-lifers as they ride the buses on the way to Washington.
A pro-life group that monitors corporate donations to Planned Parenthood is urging pro-life people attending the March for Life to not make reservations with a group of hotels that has made corporate donations to the Planned Parenthood abortion business.
And Christendom College, a faithful Catholic institution, plans to close again to allow students and staff to attend the March for Life.
