Thousands gathered in Chicago this past Sunday for the city’s ‘March for Life.’
The March for Life Chicago wasn’t simply a rally or a march but a series of events broken up over the weekend. Rose Dinner Chicago was hosted by the group SpeakOut Illinois, and took place on Saturday night at Petterino’s Restaurant. Sunday morning brought a Youth Rally and Mass at the Frances Xavier Warde Catholic School and the Aid for Women Mass and Brunch at the Union League Club of Chicago.
However, the march was certainly the main event. Thousands met at the Federal Plaza Sunday afternoon at two o’clock. “Our goal is to serve as a visual and vocal reminder that the people of Chicago and the Midwest stand for LIFE,” wrote march organizers. “We come together to change perceptions in a society that thinks abortion is the answer.”
One of the headlining speakers of the pre-march rally was Illinois State Representative Jeanne Ives (R). Ives is preparing to challenge incumbent Governor Bruce Rauner in the state’s Republican primary this March. Rauner has felt the heat from many Illinois Republicans after taking a very public pro-abortion stance.
“We can change this for once and all,” Ives stated. “We can put the right people in power, the right people in elected office to finally end abortion in our time.”
One attendee of the march, Peggy Feinendegen, is 74 and has joined in the annual march for the past 10 years. “I will never stop coming out and witnessing and honoring my grandchildren,” she commented.
Kai Newell, a student at Chicago’s Moody Bible Institute and another attendee, says that he joined the march to give a voice to the voiceless.
“If life isn’t valued from the very beginning, how can we ever expect it to be valued?” asked Newell. “The March for Life showed me that despite all the insanity in our political discourse, there are still good men and women out there.”
Supporters of life were not the only ones who showed up to the march, however. Hundreds of pro-abortion counterprotesters also filled the streets around Federal Plaza. One such attendee was Renee Wsol, who identified herself to The Chicago Tribune as a reproductive rights activist.
“I’m here to say, hands off our bodies. If you choose to never have an abortion, that’s your right. I respect that,” stated Wsol. “But you don’t get to tell me what I get to do with my body or any other person that chooses abortion.”
Chicago’s abortion supporters will be taking to the streets less than a week after the supporters of life with the annual Women’s March being held on Saturday, January 20th.
Photo credit: American Life League via Flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0
