In January, Grand Rapids Right to Life organized 12 buses to travel from Michigan to Washington, DC, for the 44th annual March for Life. With nearly 700 people on the trip, this was the largest mobilization effort Grand Rapids Right to Life has ever made for this peaceful demonstration against abortion.
The weather was mild as the crowd gathered on the National Mall before the walk down Constitution Avenue began. The opening rally featured a variety of speakers, including Kellyanne Conway, Senior Counselor to President Trump; Cardinal Timothy Dolan; Benjamin Watson, Baltimore Ravens; Abby Johnson, And Then There Were None; Eric Metaxas, author; Bishop Vincent Mathews Jr., COGIC World Missions; Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA); Rep. Mia Love (R-UT); and Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ).
For the first time in March for Life history, a sitting vice president spoke at the rally. Although everyone had to go through security clearance in order to attend this historic event, the crowd of 100,000 greeted Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen enthusiastically. During his speech, Pence proclaimed:
“More than 240 years ago, our founders wrote words that have echoed through the ages. They declared these truths to be self-evident that we are, all of us, endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, and that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. 44 years ago, our Supreme Court turned away from the first of these timeless ideals. But today, three generations hence, because of all of you, and the many thousands that stand with us in marches like this all across the nation, life is winning again in America … President Trump actually asked me to be here with you today. He asked me to thank you for your support, for your stand for life, and for your compassion for the women and children of America.”
This year marked the 44th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decisions Roe vs. Wade and Doe vs. Bolton that legalized abortion-on-demand in all fifty states. The peaceful demonstration on this somber anniversary every year since 1973 is a witness to the truth concerning the greatest human rights violation of our time.
Photos from the March for Life 2017 can be viewed on the Grand Rapids Right to Life Flickr page.