Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life’s 44th annual March for Life Jan. 22 drew an estimated 5,000 people to the State Capitol, where state lawmakers expressed optimism that the Senate’s pro-life majority can help advance items in MCCL’s 2017 legislative agenda.
The annual march marks the anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Jan. 22, 1973, Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decisions that legalized abortion. MCCL’s agenda includes banning taxpayer-funded abortions, defunding Planned Parenthood, requiring the licensing and inspection of abortion facilities, and ending abortions at 20 weeks of development, when unborn babies can feel pain.
On Jan. 27, 83 youths and 35 adult volunteers from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis will join the anticipated tens of thousands from around the U.S. for the 44th annual national March for Life in Washington, D.C. While the march normally falls on Jan. 22, it moved to Jan. 27 due to the Jan. 20 presidential inauguration.
Three will depart Jan. 24 following the 5:15 p.m. Mass at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul. Following their Jan. 25 evening arrival in Washington, D.C., the archdiocesan group will visit significant sites Jan. 26 such as the Lincoln Memorial, Holocaust Museum and the St. John Paul II National Shrine.
After a morning of prayer Jan. 27, the group will join the anticipated tens of thousands of young people and adults from around the U.S. at the annual march on the National Mall at noon. The archdiocesan group will also attend the East Coast Students for Life of America Conference Jan. 28 before returning to the Twin Cities Jan. 29.
Since Jan. 22, 1973, when the U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion with Roe vs. Wade, the national March for Life has commenced in the nation’s capital annually.
The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ Office of Marriage, Family and Life organized the local pilgrimage to this year’s march.
