While March for Life in Washington D.C. was carried out in blistering cold, March for Life West Coast supporters basked under the surprisingly hot California sun as they stood and rallied on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014. While the weathers starkly contrasted, the resolves of anti-abortion protesters were the same - to advocate for the right of the unborn so that they might live and have life.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the monumental court case that opened the flood gate of abortion legalization. March for Life West Coast organizers have chosen "Walk for Life West Coast. A New Tradition. A New Voice" as this year's theme. They hope to emphasize the importance of women to choose adoption, not abortion.
While millions of people are in the waiting list to adopt, it may not be enough for a woman to carry the unwanted child until giving birth.
"But the fact that one person's inconvenient, unwanted child could easily become another's priceless treasure might be a timely reminder of the infinite value of every human," said Grazie Pozo Christine, a Cuban-American member of The Catholic Association Advisory Board, according to her commentary published on USA Today on Jan. 18.
As speakers rallied the crowd for the event's 10th annual march, the banner that hang above the stage read "Abortion Hurts Women." And pro-lifers and anti-abortion protesters in the very lead carried that same banner as tens of thousands people from the West Coast marched down Market Street beginning from the San Francisco Civic Center towards the Justin Herman Plaza on Embarcadero St.
Throughout the march, pro-lifers carried signs that read:
"I Am the Pro-Life Generation"
"All People Are Equal, All Choices Are Not."
"Remember the Unborn"
"We Will Abolish Abortion"
"Women Deserve Better than Abortion"
"1/3 of Our Generation Has Been Killed by Abortion!"
Responding to some pro-choice activists speech that opposing abortion is the same as "hate-speech," New Jersey Baptist Church pastor Clenard Childress, who spoke this year and the last, turned the table and said it is "love-speech" as it is voicing out for the unborn and the millions aborted, Several speakers from New York have also expressed their dismay towards New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's recent remark that "No pro-lifers are welcomed in New York."
Childress then urged the church to follow the Bible's teaching and lead the way to make a difference on this issue.
The organizers had asked that the participants can post on their Twitter feed "#WalkforLife" and include addresses of national media to create a media blackout.
In transition between speakers, the organizers said that was announced that Twitter had shut down their "#WalkforLife" tags, so protesters should tag "#MFL" as the alternative. Until Saturday evening, this tag continued to be the trend on Twitter.
Police have yet to release the estimated number of participants, but organizers have concluded that the 10th annual Walk for Life West Coast drew the largest crowd ever.
The speakers for this year include October Baby actress Shari Rigby, Grace Dulaney (Agnes Dei Foundation/Lamb of God Ranch), Monica Snyder from Secular Pro Life, and Rev. Clenard Childress, director of LEARN and a baptist pastor from New Jersey.
Here are more photos:
