THE polar vortex couldn’t chill the ardour of thousands of participants who demonstrated their determination to continue speaking out against abortion at the annual March for Life and rally on January 22 in Washington.
Temperatures went briefly close to zero degrees, but hovered around negative 10 degrees Celsius.
At the rally, speakers highlighted the tenacious determination of the crowd – dressed in coats, scarves, hats and gloves – huddled together on the snow-covered National Mall.
They likened the crowd’s bravery to the firm resolve they have shown in their efforts to change abortion laws and promote a culture of life in the United States.
The rally began at noon, prior to the crowd’s march to the US Supreme Court to protest the court’s 1973 Roe v Wade decision legalising abortion, and it had a different feel this year, not simply because of the cold but in the variety of speakers.
Only three members of Congress addressed the crowd, instead of several, although a handful stood on the mall’s stage.
No Catholic leaders addressed the crowd either, but Catholic bishops joined Orthodox leaders for the rally’s opening prayer given by Greek Orthodox Archbishop Demetrios.
Under a blue and sunny sky, Christian singer and songwriter Matt Maher attempted to warm up the crowd while playing a guitar with fingerless gloves.
“We’re all really cold,” he acknowledged, adding that the reason they had gathered was to “demonstrate to the world how much we need God”.
Photo: (CNS/Jonathan Ernst, Reuters. Click to enlarge.
March for Life chairman Patrick Kelly told the crowd filled with young people that they were “freezing for the best cause in the world”.
March for Life president Jeanne Monahan thanked the crowd for “braving the extreme elements today”.
“No sacrifice is too great for this cause,” she said.
A few times during the hour-long rally, she also advised participants suffering in the cold to visit one of the first-aid warming tents.
Mr Kelly and Ms Monahan stressed a new aspect of this year’s march: tweeting about it with the hashtag #marchforlife or #whywemarch.
Marchers cheered as Ms Monahan read a tweet from Pope Francis: “I join the March for Life in Washington with my prayers. May God help us respect all life, especially the most vulnerable.”
She urged the crowd to retweet his message.
The theme of this year’s march was “Adoption: A Noble Decision”.
“When a woman makes a choice to be a birth mother, she embraces motherhood in its most heroic sense,” said Ms Monahan, who also offered support for women who have not chosen life in the past.
“For any woman who has had an abortion, you have to know there is hope and healing.”
