Students march against abortion in Washington demonstration

Forty-seven University students, faculty, and local community leaders took to their feet to make their presence known and their voices heard during the 19th annual Right to Life March in Washington D.C. on Friday. According to College sophomore and trip organizer Kevin Welch, the nation's capital was swarmed with thousands of supporters shouting, "Hey, Hey, Ho, Ho, Roe v. Wade has got to go!" and "What do we want? Life! When do we want it? Now!" Although the University group arrived too late for most of the rallying speeches, Welch said they were present for the main event -- the two-hour march down Constitution Avenue from the White House to the Capitol and the Supreme Court. Welch said the actual headcount was far greater than the 75,000 people estimated by The New York Times -- which was quoting Park Police estimates -- and certainly much larger than in previous years. Welch also said that because the number of participants has been growing each year, he hopes people will begin to see that life is not a lost cause but rather "one worth fighting for." The increasing numbers of active supporters in itself "will change public opinion drastically," Welch said. Friday marked the 20th anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision which legalized abortion, and was also the day President Clinton ended several federal bans on abortion. College junior and trip organizer Maura Mimnagh said there were so many people marching that it took an hour and a half from the time the march started until she began walking. "I could see a sea of people in front of us," Mimnagh said. "And when we reached the top of Capitol Hill, I turned around, and there was another sea of people behind me." 1992 College graduate Susan West said she was glad to see that the most vocal participants at the march were high school women. West said she felt an obligation to march to protest the media's portrayal of the abortion issue as, "Don't worry, it's not a child, it's OK to kill it." For College junior Stacia Troester, the march was "a very moving experience" because "hundreds and thousands of people moving up Constitution Avenue sends a strong message to President Clinton that we aren't willing to let his liberal abortion stance go unnnoticed." Troester added that she was particularly impressed with the diverse range of groups who were vocal in the march. "There were Catholics for Life, Protestants for Life, Jews for Life . . . Feminists for Life," Troester said. She added that a significant number of children, high school students and senior citizens also marched. Newman Center Director Father James McGuire said people must think twice before labeling the march as a "religous" statement. "It looks like a Christian or Catholic sponsored march, but there a lot of pro-life supporters in many religions," McGuire said. "It's a human rights issue, [even though] people of religious backgrounds seem to be the spokespersons for it." "The problem is when the political part dominates, since many pro-life groups are very political," McGuire said.