WASHINGTON, D.C. — Many youth and adults from Shelby County participated in the annual National March for Life in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 24, joining hundreds of thousands of participants from all over the country.
Local residents were among those to witness the historic speech by President Donald Trump, making this the first March for Life, in its 47 year history, to be attended by a sitting president.
“The purpose of the annual event, which has drawn large crowds yearly for 47 years, is to vie for legal protection, for mothers and children, from abortion,” said to Shelby County Right to Life Program Director Anne Schmiesing.
The official theme of the National March for Life was “Life Empowers: Pro-ife is Pro-Woman.” Many of the local participants attended religious services, rallies and other events before and after they marched from The National Mall to the Supreme Court Building where the Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decisions made abortion legal in 1973. Reporters from EWTN, which broadcast the event live, stated the procession lasted about four hours.
Some local families travel to the March on their own, but many Shelby County residents joined bus trips, including groups departing from Fort Loramie (organized by the Catholic parishes in Fort Loramie and Newport, from Mercer County and Minster, as well as Lehman Catholic High School. Shelby County Right to Life supports these trips by subsidizing expenses.
