by WorldTribune Staff, February 2, 2017
Proclaiming “we are the pro-life generation” and “we don’t need Planned Parenthood,” hundreds of thousands of millennials gathered in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 27 to participate in the 44th annual March for Life.
Of the 600,000 people on hand, nearly 75 percent were millennials, according to a report by The College Fix.
“At least 100 colleges from across the country were represented at the event, each school adding a new color to the sea of activists,” the College Fix report said.
While major media may have paid more attention to the event than in the past, the widespread participation of millennials was downplayed or ignored, observers said.
“The energy of the March for Life was joyful, uplifting and almost celebratory,” Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life, told The Washington Times. “I see it every day among collegiates across the country. We know that this is our time to make great strides toward abolishing abortion, defunding Planned Parenthood and creating a culture welcoming of all life.”
According to a Gallup Poll, 53 percent of millennials believe abortion should be illegal in all or most cases, and only 17 percent believe abortions should have no restrictions.
Vice President Mike Pence spoke at the rally, the first vice president ever to do so.
“Life is winning again in America,” Pence said. The College Fix reported that the crowd roared with enthusiasm “so loudly it could be heard from the steps of the Supreme Court.”
As thousands of marchers set off to the Supreme Court chanting “we are the pro-life generation,” they were met by pro-choice activists with signs that read, “Keep abortion safe and legal,” “We won’t go back,” and “Abortion on demand without apology.”
“As police blocked the protesters from the march, 20 students got on their knees and bowed their heads, silently praying for nearly an hour,” the College Fix report said. “Through the chants of the pro-abortion activists, the kneeling students sang Amazing Grace, their voices lifting above the fray.”
Conservative author Rebecca Hagelin wrote in an analysis for The Washington Times: “Though also somber and reflective, these young participants are joyful because they know that it is their generation that will finish the work to lift the darkness that hangs over America from abortion’s awful crime against humanity.
“With the combination of bold pro-life leadership now in the White House and a new generation’s undying commitment to the helpless preborn, these young people sense that very soon our entire nation will finally be able to joyously proclaim, ‘Life has won.’ ”