State-level marches for life bring message of hope to state capitals

CNA Staff, Jan 29, 2024 / 18:30 pm

In the aftermath of the annual March for Life held in Washington, D.C., earlier this month, major state-level march events have gotten underway, bringing pro-life advocates to state capital cities where the preservation of a culture of life continues to hang in the balance this year.

Marchers in Kentucky, Kansas, and Indiana kicked off 2024’s state-level march for life demonstrations last week, bringing thousands to the streets of their respective capital cities to show their support for the unborn and for mothers. 

Advocates will hold state-level marches throughout 2024, most of them in the first half of the year. These first three demonstrations followed the national March for Life on Jan. 19.

Indiana

Thousands of marchers flooded the streets of Indianapolis on Jan. 22, with reported record numbers of participants coming from all over the state to take part in the demonstration. 

The Criterion, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, reported that “a record crowd estimated at 2,000” showed up for the event, marking the first time in the Indiana march’s history that “groups from all five Indiana dioceses” took part in the march.

Photos of the event flooded social media, including those of a Mass that took place beforehand and in which nearly 2,000 Catholics reportedly participated. 

Sister Mary Grace of the Sisters of Life described the event as “a hope to this nation.”

Indiana is among the states that have enacted legislation to restrict abortion in the wake of Roe v. Wade’s repeal by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022. 

Indiana law, which now limits abortion up to 10 weeks’ gestation in instances of rape or incest, up to 20 weeks’ gestation in cases of lethal fetal anomalies, or when the mother’s life is in danger from specific medical issues, went into effect in August of last year. Recent state data show that abortion numbers dropped sharply in the state after the law went into effect.

Marc Tuttle, the president of the march, told the Criterion that “the number of women seeking help at the pregnancy resource centers in this state went up by 33%” in the wake of the new law.

“So, we are saving lives,” he said. “We are leading the way with the rest of the country. But we know there are still women out there who will seek abortions, and we have to be there for them.”

Kentucky

Organizers in Kentucky hosted that state’s march on Tuesday, Jan. 23, in the state capital city of Frankfort. The event’s website advertised a pre-march Mass, a rally, and a post-march prayer service in Frankfort Cemetery. 

Photos posted to Facebook by Right to Life of Louisville showed marchers flooding the state capitol building during the rainy event. “We will always stand up for life!” the group said.

Other participants shared photos and video of the event on X. 

Addia Wuchner, the executive director of Kentucky Right to Life, told the crowd that they were “celebrating” the success of pro-life efforts in the state. 

“We’re celebrating the laws and the lives that have been saved in the commonwealth since the overturning of Roe,” she said, according to the Northern Kentucky Tribune.

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As with other states, Kentucky’s pro-life “trigger law” went into effect with the repeal of Roe v. Wade. The law, which permits abortion only in cases to save the life of the patient or to prevent disabling injury, was the subject of debate during the state’s gubernatorial race last year. 

Republican lawmakers are working to advance pro-life legislation there, meanwhile, including a bill that would allow child support for unborn children and another requiring schools to include ultrasound footage of “early fetal development in their health curriculums. 

Kansas

Kansas pro-life activists hosted the state’s annual March and Rally for Life on Wednesday, Jan. 24. Kansans for Life said on Facebook that the event in Topeka was “a fantastic day!” 

“Over 1,000 came to show their unwavering support for unified pro-life action behind policies that offer care, compassion, and will actually save lives,” the group said. 

At the state capitol, House Speaker Dan Hawkins told marchers that Kansas is “truly blessed” to “have so many pro-life legislators.”

State pro-life activists were chastened in 2022 with the failure of the state’s “Value Them Both” amendment. The amendment, if approved, would have reversed the Kansas Supreme Court’s 2019 ruling that the state’s constitution protects a woman’s right to abortion.

Hawkins said after that amendment’s failure, leaders of both legislatures decided they were “going to really focus on life.” Legislators subsequently passed the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, extending protections to infants who survive abortions. 

Both the state House and Senate voted to override Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of the bill.   

“What a glorious veto override it was!” Hawkins said at the rally to applause. 

The state last year, meanwhile, launched its innovative Alternatives to Abortion program; that initiative serves as “a statewide program to enhance and increase resources that promote childbirth instead of abortion to women facing unplanned pregnancies.”