SAN FRANCISCO (OSV News) — Tens of thousands of pro-life supporters turned out for the 22nd annual Walk for Life West Coast Jan. 24 in San Francisco.
Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone took the stage at Civic Center Plaza to welcome the crowd.
"Praise God for a beautiful day!" said Archbishop Cordileone. "It is always a joy for us to be together and bear witness to the goodness of life."
San Francisco's archbishop introduced Bishop Vasily of the Orthodox Church in America who offered words of encouragement to the attendees and an opening prayer.
"I am truly honored to be with you today as one of the Orthodox Christians showing solidarity with all Christians who stand for the truth and affirm the sanctity of all life," said Bishop Vasily.
Eva Muntean, co-chair and one of the founders of the Walk for Life West Coast, shared her thoughts on how much the event has grown over the years.
"As one of the organizers of the walk, I get the inside scoop on where people are coming from," she said. "It is amazing to see how many people are coming from Washington, Colorado, Nevada, Texas and Arizona."
Muntean introduced Glendie Loranger, executive director of Life Services, a pregnancy medical center in Spokane, Washington. She shared her story of healing and redemption from multiple abortions and sexual abuse.
"What most people don't understand about abortion is that it is the perfect hiding place for abusers and traffickers," she said. "Abortion is not the unforgivable sin. … It is Jesus who transforms our brokenness and gives us courage to stand for the vulnerable. It is Jesus who healed me."
Walk for Life West Coast co-chair Dolores Meehan introduced Jason Jones, American film producer, author, human rights activist and founder of the Human-Rights Education and Relief Organization and the Vulnerable People Project. Jones, who produced films including "Bella" and "The Stoning of Soraya M.", has spent decades defending the dignity of every human person from children in the womb to families in crises across the globe.
"We march for life; we march for truth; we march for the dignity of the human person," said Jones. "Next year is the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. We live in the only country in the history of the world that is founded on anthropology. We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights. The only principle that can unite this country is our declaration principle. We order the life of our families, our neighborhoods, and our political communities around the truth of the human person."
Muntean shared the tragic statistic that 68% of all abortions in 2023 were via the abortion pill, and speaker Elizabeth Barrett shared her success story with the abortion reversal pill.
"People around me were greatly concerned that I was pregnant and asked me what I was going to do," Barrett said. "Every argument between me and my partner would lead back to abortion."
After deciding to take the first of two abortion pills, Barrett later regretted it and Googled ways to stop what she put in motion. Finding an "800" number that promised "abortion pill reversal," she called it.
"A lady answered and never asked for my credit card number," Barrett said. "She just asked me how I was doing and connected me with a doctor in my area. Within a half an hour, the doctor wrote me a prescription for progesterone to override the pill I took at Planned Parenthood."
Progesterone is a hormone that has been used for more than 50 years to stop miscarriages, she said.
After visiting the doctor and seeing my baby girl for the first time via a sonogram, "I realized that she had survived the ordeal. On Jan. 18, 2024, I gave birth to a beautiful, healthy, red-headed testament of pro-life!"
Barrett then brought her family and miracle baby on stage to a cheering crowd
A longtime friend of the Walk for Life West Coast, the Rev. Clenard Childress, prominent pastor, author and nationally recognized leader in the pro-life movement, closed out the speakers with his usual intensity and passion for the most vulnerable.
"You have Gavin Newsom in the West, and you have Mikie Sherrill in the East, and those states must be addressed properly because of their heinous, genocidal laws that are targeting children in the womb," he said, referring respectively to the California and New Jersey governors.
Calling out the audience, he continued, "You've got friends who are calling themselves Christians. You have Christians who are calling themselves 'pro-choice.' You have Christians who are leading little children to death when they should be leading them to life."
Rev. Childress closed his remarks with a powerful message.
"Keep marching. You are not only marching against the unbeliever. You are marching for Christians who are asleep, Christians who have been consumed, Christians who do not have the heart of God."
The day began with more than 3,000 faithful packing the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption to attend Mass celebrated by Archbishop Cordileone along with bishops from Oakland, Sacramento, Stockton, Santa Rosa, Sacramento and San Jose. Priests heard confessions before and during the Mass at stations located around the cathedral.
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Catholic San Francisco is the news outlet of the Archdiocese of San Francisco. This story was originally published by Catholic San Francisco and distributed through a partnership with OSV News.
