Tens of thousands of pro-lifers marched with joy and enthusiasm Saturday in San Francisco amid hopes that Roe v. Wade could be overturned this year.
The 2022 Walk for Life drew approximately 20,000 pro-lifers to downtown San Francisco, including many young people, organizer Eva Muntean told the National Catholic Register.
Thomas Aquinas College junior Sophia Ferri, of Nashville, Tennessee, was one of them. She said she hopes the joy and love shared by the marchers will help people recognize the value of unborn babies.
“We live in a democratic republic, and I believe a public demonstration of our beliefs is important to change minds and hearts,” Ferri told the Register. “We want to say that life begins at conception, and no matter who you are, your life matters, and you are a beloved child of God.”
Although a few pro-abortion protesters showed up to counter-protest, the Walk for Life was peaceful, and city police were present to keep pro-lifers safe, according to the report.
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As they marched, pro-lifers chanted together, “Pro-choice? That’s a lie, babies don’t deserve to die!” and “We are the pro-life generation!”, The Mercury News reports.
“It was a joyous day and a wonderful experience,” said Stephen Morris, director of youth ministry for the Diocese of Santa Rosa. “It was beautiful to hear the singing and see the camaraderie.”
During the rally before the walk, many pro-life leaders spoke with hope about the possibility that the U.S. Supreme Court may overturn Roe v. Wade this year and allow states to protect unborn babies from abortion again. The high court heard a major abortion case out of Mississippi in December, and a ruling is expected in June.
“I believe Roe v. Wade has been outlawed, because God remembers you,” the Rev. Clenard H. Childress, Jr. told the marchers. “We are the civil rights movement of this day.”
Some also shared personal stories about how their lives have been affected by abortion, including Irene Zamorano-Archacki of the Silent No More Awareness campaign. The pro-life campaign encourages post-abortive mothers and fathers to share their stories to help people understand the pain and regret of aborting an unborn baby.
Zamorano-Archacki said she had a late-term abortion at six months of pregnancy, and she immediately regretted ending her unborn child’s life, according to the Register. She emphasized how much pro-life sidewalk counselors make a difference when they encourage women seeking abortions to choose life.
“My daughter would be alive today if there was just one sidewalk counselor,” Zamorano-Archacki said.
Another speaker, Christi Hockel Davenport, told the crowd about how frequently unborn babies with disabilities are targeted for abortions, according to Mercury News.
Davenport, who has Down syndrome, told the crowd, “I am still glad my mother did not hesitate to choose life. … [People with Down syndrome] are truly exceptional — we are badly needed in this world.”
The Walk for Life occurred on the 49th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruling that forces state to legalize abortion on demand. Since 1973, nearly 63.5 million unborn babies and hundreds, perhaps thousands, of mothers have died in supposedly “safe, legal” abortions.
Even if Roe v. Wade is overturned, California pro-life advocates still have a difficult struggle ahead to restore the rights of unborn babies in their state.
“As you know, even if this happens, our work is not done,” Muntean told the crowd.
While more than half of the U.S. likely will ban abortions if Roe is overturned, California would not. Gov. Gavin Newsom and his allies in the abortion industry are making plans to expand abortions in California. One of his proposals would force taxpayers to pay for pregnant mothers to travel to California to abort their unborn babies.
On Saturday, Newsom joined abortion activists at a virtual pro-abortion rally held around the same time as the Walk for Life, according to Mercury News. During the event, the governor promised that he will keep working to expand abortions in the state.
“CA will remain a beacon of hope—EXPANDING access so people can get the care they need,” Newsom said.
But abortions do not help women. They are elective and unnecessary and their purpose is to kill an unborn baby. That is not health care or compassion. Polls consistently show that a strong majority of Americans want greater legal protections for the unborn.
