Reflections on the March for Life

Jackie Phillips

Eternal World Television Network estimated the numbers at 600,000-700,000. We think that they were correct. My daughter noted that it is always crowded as we move from the national mall onto Constitution Avenue, but then it opens up. “This year it was squishy the whole march!” However, that made it easier to talk to other marchers, which is part of the fun and what draws us back year after year.Our family has been attending the March for Life since 2003. We are amateurs compared to many marchers. We talked with a wonderful lady with a sign over her wheel chair which read:  ”91 years old, Still Marching, Still Pro-Life.” Then there was the woman who said that this was her 20th march. She said that she had brought many youth groups over the years. However, this year it was just her husband and family including their newest member who was still in utero!  I spent much of the march walking and talking with a priest. It felt like we had known each other for years.

This year we had the opportunity to introduce three of our daughter’s friends to the March for Life and the Youth Rally and Mass. It was a blessing watching them experience it all for the first time. I am always amazed when the hundreds of priests, dozens of bishops and then the Cardinal, who is the main celebrant, process in at the beginning of the Mass. The three friends were also duly impressed. Once on the National Mall, they kept noticing all the signs and banners and noting how far many of the marchers had traveled! They came from Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Michigan, Ohio, Louisiana, North Carolina, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland and even Miami, Florida.

Once the March began, I watched as they were amazed by the woman carrying a sign that read “I was conceived in rape,” and then their horror at the photographs showing the reality of abortion. (There are warning signs so people can turn their heads or redirect the eyes of their young children.)We made sure that they turned around at the top of the hill near the Capitol and experienced the mass of humanity filling Constitution Avenue and realized that they all agree with you that life is precious.  As we walked past the Supreme Court building, we paused to listen to the stories of the women and men who have suffered after an abortion. They all listened respectfully as we talked with one of them and thanked her for sharing her story. She told how hard it was and how long it took,but she hopes that her story can prevent others from suffering as she has…..

This year we did not have to brave rain, snow or bitter cold. However, we have and we will again. We will until we have to no more. Until then, we gather each January to pray, to march, to be re-energized and reaffirmed that Every Life Is Precious.

For additional writing from members and associates of the St. Gabriel Respect Life group, see below:

https://stgabrielcarlisle.squarespace.com/our-pro-life-views-1/