Sailors for Life rally with 500,000 others in Washington DC for the 39th annual March for Life. The weather was cold and rainy on January 23, but 169 girls and 26 chaperones persevered to represent the Pro-Life movement against the 1973 Supreme Court Decision that legalized abortion.
“I decided to go because I’d never been before and I heard it was really fun. Being prolife is a big part of my life so I wanted to be a part of the March,” said first-time attendee junior Elizabeth Galka.
At 7:30 a.m., Mount de Sales took 4 buses to Mass at St. William of York Church. After Mass, which was so crowded that people had to stand, there was a breakfast and from there the girls again boarded the buses for the Basilica in Washington D.C. Finally, the sailors left for the National Mall to await the start of the 2012 March for Life.
“Even though we didn’t go to the Verizon Center this year, I had tons of fun singing songs in the bus and going to Mass in Catonsville before travelling to D.C.,” said Senior Brooke Dignan.
Of the 169 students who attended the March for life either with Mount de Sales or with another group, 45 were freshmen, 50 were sophomores, 49 were juniors, and 25 were seniors. The sailors finished the March in front of the United States Supreme Court Building, where women who have had abortions gave their testimonies.
“I thought it was really touching when we listened to the stories of moms who previously had abortions. Standing right by the Supreme Court and listening to what the women had to say really made me see how important our being at the March was,” continued Brooke Dignan.
The March for Life was established as the first “right-to-life organization”and 20,000 people participated at the first March in D.C in 1974, one year after the Roe v. Wade decision. This decision made abortion legal in the United States and has since taken the lives of about 45 million babies.
“It’s important for the girls to see that it is a bigger movement than just here at Mount de Sales. It is a national movement; it is a youth movement,” said Campus Minister Shannon Collyer.
S. Huber '12