While the rest of the East Coast stocked up on groceries and
hurried indoors, thousands of pro-lifers headed straight into
the impending storm to represent for the unborn at the annual
March for Life.
“A little snow couldn’t keep you away, could it?” Jeanne
Mancini, president of the March for Life, shouted to the
cheering crowd gathered by the Washington Monument.
“The world may think we’re a little bit crazy to be here on a
day like today, but those of us standing here know there is
no sacrifice too great to fight the human rights abuse of
abortion,” she said.
The march was visibly smaller than most years, though it
still attracted many locals and out-of-towners in spite of
the impending blizzard. “I don’t think the school ever
doubted coming,” said Franciscan University of Steubenville
student Jennifer Sullivan. Hundreds of Franciscan students
were bused from Ohio to the nation’s capital for the march,
she said.
“I’m marching for all my friends who can’t be here,” said
Alice Middleton, who came with a busload of fellow
parishioners from St. John the Beloved Church in McLean.
“Every year I’m more inspired.”
Dominican Brother John Paul hoped that those who were unable
to attend due to work or weather would unite their prayers
and sacrifices on behalf of the pro-life cause, and get
involved locally throughout the year. “This is the biggest
and most visible (pro-life gathering) but it’s a constant
battle we’re fighting,” he said.
The theme of this year’s March for Life, “Pro-Woman and
Pro-Life Go Hand in Hand,” resonated with many of the
marchers. “We don’t want to forget about (women in crisis
pregnancies) and we need to show support for them,” said Amy
Schramm, a young Catholic from Arlington who has come to the
march five times.
Schramm hopes that even in politically charged Northern
Virginia abortion can be seen not through the lens of left
and right, but right and wrong.
“This is a human rights issue. This just needs to be
something that’s not even a question anymore, no matter what
(political) side you’re on,” she said. “It’s ok to identify
with one side or the other and still fight for life. It’s the
right we all deserve.”
Brother John Paul Kern witnessed the anti-women effects of
abortion firsthand while working at a post-abortive healing
ministry center. “Obviously I knew abortion hurt women, but
to spend a lot of time with women who were recovering (made
it more real.) Some of them would try to bury the pain for
years because no one else would acknowledge how much they
suffered,” he said.
“You can see pictures of children in the womb and then
aborted children, and it’s clear the damage that is done. But
(for women), those wounds are relatively invisible,” he said.
The rally before the march was filled with creative signs,
yellow “LIFE” balloons and an overwhelmingly young crowd.
Pro-life performance poet Shawn Welcome, Orthodox Bishop
Metropolitan Evangelos and presidential candidate Carly
Fiorina all addressed the crowd, among other pro-life
activists, doctors and politicians. Freezing temperatures
pervaded the rally, but flakes held off until marchers
started their trek to the Supreme Court.
On the way there, they sang hymns or familiar songs with
improvised pro-life lyrics. “Do you hear the people sing,
singing the songs of the unborn?” a group of teenagers sang,
riffing on the Les Miserables tune. Others clapped and
stomped to the chant, “Go babies, go babies!” Many wore
brightly colored or checkered scarves to mark them as part of
a group; everyone sported warm jackets, beanies or hats and
gloves.
Even with diminished numbers and fast-falling snow, spirits
stayed high at the 43rd March for Life. Michelle Fortunato, a
college student and parishioner of St. Francis of Assisi
Church in Triangle, felt proud to be part of the pro-life
cause. “It feels like we’re just part of a big group, which
we are, but each person makes a huge impact,” she said.
Di Mauro can be reached at [email protected] or on
Twitter @zoeydimauro.
