My Experience at the 2023 March For Life and National Pro-Life Summit
My Experience at the 2023 March For Life and National Pro-Life Summit
Shania Fernandes - Washington D.C March for Life CLC Youth Delegate
June 24th, 2022, was a day to remember. After almost 50 years, the Supreme Court of the United States of America overturned Roe v Wade. Every pro-lifer remembers very clearly where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news. I was writing a midterm exam for an online class when my sister rushed into the room and joyfully exclaimed, "Roe is gone." She then realized that I was writing an exam, apologized and left the room. As you can imagine, there wasn't time to celebrate the overturning of an unjust judgement in the middle of an exam, but the joy and hope I felt were indescribable.
That same feeling was present at this year's March for Life and Prolife Summit. At the March there was a sense of joy, accomplishment, and victory. Every speaker spoke about how the overturning of Roe was the culmination of 50 years of hard work, lobbying, and lots of prayer. We were reminded that even though Roe was over, our work is not yet done. Our goal is to make abortion unthinkable - as well as demand protection for all human beings from conception. It was amazing to cheer on the marchers from in front of the Canadian Embassy and see the excitement and joy of the thousands that participated in the march. There were a few counter-protesters, but their chants were quickly drowned out by pro-life chants, cheers, and the occasional prayer.
On Saturday, we attended the National Pro-Life Summit, where we heard inspiring and informative talks from prolife activists like Kristen Hawkins and Abby Johnson as well as conservative commentators like Allie Beth Stuckey and Seth Dillon (CEO of The Babylon Bee). Throughout the day, several breakout sessions were held to educate us on chemical abortion pills and their effects on women, children and the environment, as well as sessions on pro-life apologetics and how to navigate social media and the workforce as pro-lifers. My favourite keynote speaker was Seth Dillon who gave the final keynote. He spoke about the influx of "woke" culture and censorship of conservative and pro-life voices and ideas. His speech was both funny and inspiring, as he told us that one doesn't need a big conversion story to be pro-life, but, rather just believes that killing an innocent human is morally wrong. When faced with the question, "why do you care so much" make them defend their cowardice and complacency. The National Summit was a day of much-needed encouragement, training, fellowship, and meeting other pro-life young people. It was a great day to get to know the Canadian delegation better, as well as other pro-lifers my age from around the US. I am very grateful to Campaign Life Coalition and all the generous donors who made this trip possible. It was a historic trip and I was privileged to be present at the first Post-Roe March For Life.