Packed into the city blocks of Lima, Peru, an estimated 750,000 pro-lifers marched to protect the lives of babies in the womb on March 12.
The Catholic news site Aciprensa reports the crowd flooded the streets of the city for the annual March for Life in Peru. The spirit in the crowd was joyful as people marched and sang songs to celebrate life from the moment of conception to natural death, according to the report.
The March for Life in Lima has surpassed all of its records for pro-life marches and is now the largest pro-life march in all of Latin American history. Considering that Peru has a population of about 30 million people, the turnout is even more impressive.
The huge crowd was even larger than last year’s record-breaking March for Life crowd, which news outlets estimated at about half a million people, LifeNews reported.
Es oficial: #Marchaporlavida congregó a 750 MIL personas en Lima, #Perú. Estas fotos son solo una muestra. pic.twitter.com/XkIryJ8sbm
— ACI Prensa (@aciprensa) March 13, 2016
(Translation: Music, joy and courage: We are happy because we are thousands and thousands)
Música, alegría y valentía estamos felices porque somos miles y miles en #MarchaPorLaVida pic.twitter.com/lra71QMwKy — Marcha por la Vida (@MarchaVidaLima) March 12, 2016
Catholic Archbishop of Lima, Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani, spoke to the crowd about extending forgiveness to women who have had abortions, and prayed for God to protect the family.
“But we cannot say that abortion is a right. Abortion is not a right, it is murder!” he emphasized.
Cipriani said he also found courage and hope in seeing large groups of young people at the march; and he encouraged the young pro-lifers to keep working for the cause.
Among the crowd were Catholics and Protestants, young and old, families with young children and people with disabilities, the report states.
(Translation: They cannot walk but they are #MarchaPorLaVida to defend those who have no voice.)
No pueden caminar pero están en #MarchaPorLaVida para defender a los que no tienen voz. Fotos: @MaryaXimena pic.twitter.com/T3cz2B6FJK
— ACI Prensa (@aciprensa) March 12, 2016
Les dejamos algunas fotos de lo que #MarchaPorLaVida, pronto subiremos más. Lo pueden ver completas en Facebook.? pic.twitter.com/uWIeXIh80l
— Marcha por la Vida (@MarchaVidaLima) March 13, 2016
Many politicians and candidates for office also participated in the pro-life event and assured the crowd of their commitment to protecting human life from beginning to end, according to the report. The event was largely a celebration for the already strongly pro-life South American nation. Unborn babies are protected from the moment of conception in Peru, and abortion is illegal. Peruvians have rejected continued pressure from abortion activists to change their life-saving laws. In November, lawmakers in Peru dismissed a bill that would have allowed abortions of babies conceived in rape, LifeNews reported. Click here to sign up for pro-life news alerts from LifeNews.com
La #MarchaPorLaVida 2016 ha sido todo un éxito #provida: 750.000 personas y #TrendingTopic en medio mundo… pic.twitter.com/dvy55RUbQR — Embrión Humano ن (@embrionhumano) March 13, 2016
Les dejamos más y más fotos de los que fue la #MarchaPorLaVida 2016. Gracias a todos! pic.twitter.com/gw19J2PuKj
— Marcha por la Vida (@MarchaVidaLima) March 14, 2016
750000 people participate in the 2016 #MarchForLife in Lima, #Peru https://t.co/McmRJ5H1jg #MarchaPorLaVida pic.twitter.com/9dSJWDCeAo — CitizenGO (@CitizenGO) March 14, 2016