Pro-Life Americans Prepare to March for Life, Oppose 35 Years of Abortion 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
January 10, 2008
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — Hundreds of thousands of pro-life Americans are preparing to head to the nation’s capitol to once again express their opposition to abortion in the national March for Life. This month, the nation will mark 35 years of unlimited abortion and tens of millions of unborn children and women killed and injured by them.
The march will be held on Tuesday, January 22, the anniversary date of the Supreme Court decisions in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton.
Each year participants marvel at the turnout with marchers stretching down long Washington streets in an endless parade and teenagers and young adults filling the ranks.
The event features Protestants and Catholics, Democrats and Republicans all joining together to make it clear to the nation that abortion is a tragedy and a stain on its history.
Christina Heddell, director of the Respect Life office for the St. Louis archdiocese, says she and others in Missouri are excited about the next march.
"I think the March for Life is attractive to young people because it is a tangible, public witness, as well as an opportunity for each one of them to march alongside his peers on a local and national level," she told the St. Louis Review.
March for Life founder Nellie Gray talked with the Catholic News Service about the event in an interview this week.
"The reason we are coming on Jan. 22 to Washington officialdom in the middle of winter is to make certain that all three branches of the government — legislative, executive and judicial — know that Jan. 22 is an infamous day," she said.
"We have to overturn Roe v. Wade and we have to educate them about the humanity of the preborn child," Gray added.
Michael Cross, a third-year seminarian at Cardinal Glennon College, told the Review newspaper that "the March for Life gives us an opportunity to meditate on the splendor of human life."
"It reinvigorates us to continue the fight not only against abortion but euthanasia, embryonic stem-cell research and other abuses" against life, he added.
Meanwhile, students at Pacelli Jr. High in Minnesota plan to attend the event and they will first rally at a local church that will inspire them to protect life.
"The amazing architecture and beautiful statues, carvings, and stained glass create an inspiring atmosphere for songs and prayers of healing,” Theresa Jacobs, a religion teacher.
President Bush is again expected to deliver an address to the March for Life participants at a pre-march rally. He talks with the marcher by phone because of security concerns and his address is heard over a loudspeaker.
