Five students received a scholarship to help pay for their bus trip from Michigan to Washington, DC, for the 52nd annual March for Life. The theme for this year’s march is Life: Why We March.
To receive a scholarship, students had to complete an application form and write a short essay on how they will use the March for Life experience in their daily life.
Ella Gruppen, a senior at Unity Christian High School, was inspired by a lesson on abortion given by her Bible teacher. After reading about the March for Life bus trip in her church bulletin, she felt compelled to act. “By going to the March for Life and seeing the nationwide impact there is, I will be better equipped to handle the situations I will face when talking about choosing life and helping people who are wrestling with abortion.”
Emma Holwerda, also a senior at Unity Christian High School, has been inspired by her cousin, who was born with Down Syndrome. “Millions of babies have been subject to abortion just because of an extra copy of the 21st chromosome. I cannot imagine a life without the pure joy that my cousin radiates every time that I see her.”
Grace Koster, a senior at West Catholic High School, is deeply convicted that prolife people must stand for their beliefs and help prolife organizations and pregnancy care centers. “As I head off to college next year, I could easily find myself in conversation with a person considering abortion. I can use my experience from the march as a guiding light to discuss my pro-life stance with the individual.”
Christopher Schaub, also a senior at West Catholic High School, was raised by parents who taught him that all people deserve love and respect because they are children of God. “With my understanding of human dignity came a deep frustration when first discovering abortion. Through continued discovery of the horrors of abortion and other forms of taking life, I developed a passion for defending life, and I have wanted to help put an end to it ever since.”
Katie Kelly Schwartz, another senior at West Catholic High School, has been to the March for Life previously and has been motivated by seeing the tens of thousands of people who participate in the largest pro-life event in the nation. “Living the march in our everyday lives is getting increasingly difficult. Society now rejects truth, and speaking up for the innocent is frowned upon but is so vital in today’s anti-life culture.”
Despite the overturning of the egregious U.S. Supreme Court case that legalized abortion-on-demand in this country, prolife people continue to march in the nation’s capital to ensure that federal laws protect human life and to reach the ultimate goal of making abortion unthinkable.