The new year has kicked off with a record number of pro-lifers taking to the streets in a bid to achieve greater protections for the unborn.
On Saturday, thousands attended the “Celebrate Life” march in Denver to campaign against late-term abortion and show their support for a newly proposed measure which aims to ban terminations at 22 weeks through to birth.
The new statute, titled “Initiative 120,” would stipulate that any person attempting to conduct an abortion beyond 22 weeks could have their medical license suspended for a least three years, unless the mother’s life was at immediate risk.
Many demonstrators could be seen holding signs that read, “Civil rights begin in the womb” and “I am the pro-life generation,” according to Right to Life UK.
One of the speakers featured at the event was Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila, who recalled his experience of working in a hospital while at college and seeing aborted babies with his own eyes — something that still has a profound impact on him even today.
“It is tragic and I remember being stunned…I can still remember the horror on the young woman’s face [during the abortion],” he told Colorado Public Radio, noting that the pro-lifers on the streets simply “desire to protect, even in increments, the gift of given life given.”
“We are not voting for abortion, nor are we saying we agree with abortion up to 22 weeks,” he added. “What we are saying, is that we respect life, and we respect it for all the pregnancy.”
Another march took place in Chicago, attracting record-setting crowds. According to “March for Life Chicago,” the group who organized the event, some 9,000 people attended, signifying a clear-cut increase in support for the pro-life cause.
“There’s more people in Illinois and the Midwest who recognize the urgency of this. We recognize that there’s a human being that’s created from the moment of conception,” the organization’s president, Dawn Fitzpatrick, told The Chicago Tribune.
The recent rallies have served as something of a warm-up for the “March for Life” event slated for January 22, which coincides with the anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
Last year, the event attracted an estimated 300,000 people and featured speeches from high-profile names including Ben Shapiro and Vice President Mike Pence.