March For Life Touches Young and Old

As is usually the case, the 225,000 people at the March for Life in Washington DC got only minimal coverage in the mainstream media. One blogger who was there has an interesting story about her interview with a Japanese TV crew. The Washington Post surprisingly printed a nice article.

In many ways, the march resembled a gigantic pep rally, with smiling teenagers in matching scarves or sweat shirts holding school banners high as they moved along Constitution Avenue NW toward the Supreme Court. But the individual signs they clutched told of their commitment to a cause: "Give Life, Don't Take It" and "Your Mother Was Pro-Life."

"It's illegal to kill someone walking down the street, so it should be illegal to kill someone in the womb," said Topher Boehm, 17, a member of the Pro-Life Club at the Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas. "This is the social justice issue of our era, and I want to do something about it."

Kelsey Wilson, 16, and Michelle Caulder, 17, along with their group from a Catholic church in Indianapolis, waved "Defend Life" signs as they maneuvered through the crush of people. This was their third Washington march, and they plan to keep coming, they said, until abortions are outlawed.

Things like this are the true value of such events. The Supreme Court does not (and arguably should not) base its decisions on the number of protesters outside its doors. Yet the March For Life is still worthwhile because of the impact it has on young people. The kids quoted above will grow up, marry, have families, and move on with their lives. Like most of us, they may not be able to leave their other responsibilities to go to these things. But they will always remember the experience - and they'll tell others about it.

Young people aren't the only ones marching, of course.

"We make the journey every year -- this is a very important part of our commitment to saving lives," said Mike Conroy, 67, a retired pilot from Wexford, Pa., who was attending his ninth March for Life with a Knights of Columbus group. Attached to his baseball cap was a tiny pair of gold feet, three-eighths of an inch long, that he said was the size of an unborn child's feet at 10 weeks.

Thomas Peters has some great photos and videos of the march on his blog. Chelsea has a great reflection on why so many young people were attracted: they survived. If you are reading this and were born in the U.S. after 1973, count yourself fortunate: 50 million of your peers never had a chance to live.