February 6, 2020
It was cold and it was early, but neither deterred a group of 20 students in St. John’s Students for Life organization and three administrators from boarding a bus on the Queens, NY, campus at 4 a.m. on January 24 heading to Washington, DC, for the 47th annual March for Life.
The annual March for Life is held to protest the 1973 court ruling of Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion at the federal level. Since that day, more than 61 million unborn lives have been lost due to abortion.
The group prayed the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary, rested, and prepared for the long day ahead during their bus ride. Upon arrival, the group eagerly awaited the March for Life concert and rally at the Washington Monument. The concert featured We Are Messengers, a Christian band originally from Ireland.
The rally included various speakers representing the pro-life movement, including Jim Daly, President, Focus on the Family; Marjorie Dannenfelser, President, Susan B. Anthony List; Louisiana State Senator Katrina R. Jackson (D-LA); Elisa Martinez, Founder, New Mexico Alliance for Life; Melissa Ohden, survivor of a failed saline infusion abortion; David Platt, Pastor, McLean Bible Church; US Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ); and US Congresswoman Ann Wagner (R-MO).
The 45th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, delivered an encouraging speech in which he spoke of the dignity of human life. The President said he was impressed that young people were the majority of March for Life attendees.
In his speech, the President also celebrated the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which grants women the right to vote. “Today, millions of extraordinary women across America are using the power of their votes to fight for the right and all of their rights as given in the Declaration of Independence—it’s the right to life. To all the women here today, your devotion and your leadership uplift your entire nation and we thank you for that.”
The final point in the President’s speech resonated deeply with the St. John’s group as it reflected the University’s Vincentian charism. “Above all, we know that every human soul is divine and every human life, born and unborn, is made in the holy image of Almighty God.”
After the rally, the two-mile journey to the Supreme Court of the United States commenced. Proudly holding the St. John’s Students for Life banner, the group marched for three hours in solidarity with more than 500,000 fellow marchers.
St. John’s Students for Life is a student organization on campus that works to promote the dignity of human life from the moment of conception to natural death. They are an official chapter of the national organization Students for Life of America.