Opinion

March for life from a student’s perspective

Crowd at March for life in Washigntion DC on Jan. 18. Photo by Kathryn Porterfield.

Less than two days before the 46th annual March for Life, my roommate and I decided on a whim to take a road trip and participate in the largest anti-abortion gathering worldwide in Washington D.C.

The trip, which should have taken only nine hours, took us almost 12 due to the Upper Cumberland area’s infamous fog, an exceptional amount of bathroom breaks and roadside photo ops.

By the time we arrived in D.C. and checked into our hotel we had less than an hour until the first speaker went onstage. We got on the first free shuttle we could find and after missing our stop once, we made it to the National Mall just in time to see Ben Shapiro, editor-in-chief of The Daily Wire, give his speech. 

Shapiro said America has left behind its most valuable and prized possession – children. We have abandoned future generations before even giving them the opportunity to live in an effort to achieve convenience and empowerment for women,

“We dehumanize the most human, the most innocent among us,” he said.

Other speakers included Vice President Mike Pence, second lady Karen Pence and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s niece, Alveda King. President Donald Trump also addressed the crowd through video.

State Rep. Katrina Jackson, D-Louisiana talked about being a Democrat who is anti-abortion – an unusual combination.

“I tell people in my state when they ask me, ‘Why are you a black female Democrat fighting for life?’ I say ‘Because I’m a Christian first’,” she said.

As my roommate and I marched up Constitution Avenue with hundreds of thousands of other anti-abortion advocates, we saw signs and banners supporting this year’s theme, “Unique Since Day One”. This theme reflects the belief that science is on the side of life because it begins at conception.

As we gathered in front of the Capitol and the U.S. Supreme Court Building, we heard testimonies from regretful women who had abortions, abortion survivors, and physicians who previously performed abortions.

This gathering was the most emotional and inspiring event I have ever attended. People of all backgrounds, ethnicities and age came together to protest one of the greatest tragedies in American history. 

Whether you are male, female, white, black, Republican, Democrat, atheist, Catholic or anything in between, you have a place at the March for Life.