Over 35,000 Pro-Life People Join West Coast Walk for Life in San Francisco
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
January 25, 2010
San Francisco, CA (LifeNews.com) — More than 35,000 pro-life advocates joined the West Coast Walk for Life on Saturday and they appeared in a jubilant mood given the indefinite stalling of the pro-abortion health care bill in Congress. People from across the state and Pacific Coast walked from Justin Herman Plaza to the Marina district.
The annual event has become an alternative to the national March for Life in Washington for Americans living in western states who can get to San Francisco ore easily.
The walkers filled this city’s waterfront with toddlers holding hands with grandparents and college students waving banners in what organizers tell LifeNews.com is the largest crowd in its six-year history.
They came despite rainy weather that would have kept people in other causes home.
Walk for Life co-founder Dolores Meehan said "The tenacity of pro-lifers, showing up in their tens of thousands, despite a downpour, is a testimony to their commitment."
The San Francisco Chronicle indicated that abortion advocates in this left-wing city didn’t show up in big numbers to counter protest. The Bay Area Coalition for Our Reproductive Rights could only get a few dozen pro-abortion people to turn up in opposition.
The paper indicated one abortion activist was distraught by the lack of pro-abortion people.
"This is a sign that women think that Roe vs. Wade is safe. And that is a mistake," said organizer and Berkeley resident Laura Nelson. "Abortion rights are under attack from all sides."
Frank Lee, coordinator of Asian Americans Pro-Life, led the rally in a prayer at the start, saying: "Every life is precious and should be cherished. We have a tough battle in front of us, but we shall overcome when we combine our efforts to make it a perfect whole."
Students from San Francisco high schools and from Stanford, UC-Berkeley, St. Mary’s of Moraga, St. Thomas Aquinas College, and Wyoming Catholic College marched alongside eight Catholic Bishops.
One hundred and twenty Catholic seminarians carried banners and Tom Martin, who worked for former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown before entering the seminary, said: "It’s a great opportunity for the people of God to see that the seminarians are joining with them not only in praying for life, but also taking a stand."
Speakers included Abby Johnson, who worked for Planned Parenthood for eight years and walked away from her job as a Planned Parenthood clinic director in October after assisting in an abortion.
Johnson said: "If you are here, you are an activist. We can no longer just say the words but must put our words into action."
The Walk presented the St. Gianna Molla Award to David Bereit, national campaign director of 40 Days for Life.
Lila Rose of Live Action, the group that has used undercover videos to expose the problems at Planned Parenthood abortion enters, also spoke.
"The fact that we have allowed abortion in this great nation, the killing of the most defenseless and weak among us has resulted in the greatest human rights abuse I believe our nation has ever seen. It is up to us to stand, raise our voices, and protect the smallest," she said.
Evangelical preacher, author and theologian, Pastor Jim Garlow of San Diego, told the rally: "If ever there was a time to ‘seize the moment’ in the interest of unborn babies, it is now."
The Reverend Clenard Childress, one of the leading African-American pro-life advocates, rejoiced and said "There is an obvious shifting in our culture and it stems from advances in the pro-life movement."
Related web sites:
Walk for Life West Coast – https://www.walkforlifewc.com
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