Nearly 10,000 pro-life supporters marched to the Capitol building in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on September 27 to greet state representatives on their first day back in legislative session. The march, organized by the national March for Life organization, is part of a multi-state strategy to expand the pro-life message to reach more people and more legislators beyond what the yearly national event in Washington, D.C. accomplishes.

The Pennsylvania march is actually the third state march this year, following successful events in Virginia and California.

Jeanne Mancini, President of March for Life Defense and Education Fund, spoke at the Pennsylvania event.

“We are proud to host this first-ever Pennsylvania March for Life and to be joined by so many remarkable pro-life leaders who, in their own ways, work daily to build a culture of life,” Mancini said. “We hope this event will energize the people of Pennsylvania to help shape local policies that respect the rights of the unborn.” 

Michael Geer is the president of the Pennsylvania Family Institute, an ally of Focus on the Family and part of a state network of family policy councils. He also addressed the crowd at a rally on the steps of the Capitol.

“Since the 1973 Roe v. Wade U.S. Supreme Court abortion decision, well over two million unborn babies have lost their lives to abortion in Pennsylvania alone,” Geer said. “Every day in our Commonwealth, the lives of over 80 unborn babies are taken through abortion. And that’s why we march. It’s time for this to end.”

Another pro-life stalwart who spoke is Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood clinic director who understands the ugly inner workings of the abortion industry. Johnson has also appeared on the Focus on the Family daily broadcast and has spoken several times with The Daily Citizen about her pro-life work.

“When you’re a pro-abortion person, you have to believe the lie,” Johnson told the Pennsylvania marchers. “Because if you actually allow yourself to know the truth, to see the truth, to believe the truth…then you can’t support abortion anymore.”

Pennsylvania legislators passed three pro-life bills earlier in 2021:

  • The Unborn Child Dignity Act, which requires health care facilities to provide parents the option of burial or cremation after the death of a pre-born child;
  • The Down Syndrome Protection Act, which prohibits an abortion due to a diagnosis of Down Syndrome; and
  • The Heartbeat Bill, which prohibits any abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected.

All three were vetoed by Gov. Tom Wolf. The governor issued a statement following the March for Life rally, in which he said:

“As I have said before, so-called ‘pro-life’ policies are actually anti-choice. Instead of rallying for policies that have detrimental impacts on Commonwealth residents, we should all be focused on policies to support women, children, and families.”

Wolf also said he plans to veto any bill that is, in his words, “anti-choice.”

Hopefully, the impact of seeing and hearing 10,000 marchers outside their windows will encourage the legislators to continue passing pro-life legislation. Pray for the governor to have a change of heart concerning the need to protect pre-born lives.

Photo from Shutterstock.