Tens of Thousands Join the 15th Annual Walk for Life in San Francisco

Ilene Eng
By Ilene Eng
January 29, 2019US News
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SAN FRANCISCO—Tens of thousands gathered in front of San Francisco City Hall for the 15th annual Walk for Life rally on Jan. 26.

People who support the pro-life movement and the end of abortion attended the rally and walk.

Eva Muntean, co-chair and coordinator of Walk for Life, said she felt very moved after attending the March for Life in Washington with a friend back in 2000. They felt the West Coast needed something like that, so they started the first event in San Francisco in 2005.

“This is a very liberal city. Abortion laws are very liberal. And there are so many women hurting from abortion,” said Muntean. “We thought, why not do it where we live? And that’s why we’re doing it.”

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Eva Muntean speaks at the rally for Walk for Life in front of San Francisco City Hall, on Jan. 26, 2019. (Ted Lin/NTD)

Since then, the crowd continued to grow as more and more people from out of state participated as well. This includes Oregon, Wyoming, Arizona, Washington, and Nevada.

The rally stems from the debate of pro-life versus pro-choice, which has long been a part of our society.

“Our contention is, life starts at conception, the very first second. So we got to protect the unborn and right now we are doing this year after year,” said Frank Lee, the president of the Organization for Justice and Equality. “[The] major objective is to educate people. Let them know the truth that even the unborn do have their rights. And abortion [does] hurt women.”

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Tens of thousands prepare to march for the Walk for Life in San Francisco, on Jan. 26, 2019. (Ted Lin/NTD)

Every year, Walk for Life hosts a variety of speakers who tell their stories relating to abortion. This year, Abby Johnson, a former director at Planned Parenthood, talked about an experience that changed her views on abortion.

“While I was participating in an ultrasound guided procedure, and I saw a 13-week-old baby fighting strong and struggle for its life against the abortion instruments. And I knew then that the humanity inside the womb was worth fighting for,” said Johnson.

Johnson also told the audience of her book “Unplanned,” which is set to be released as a feature film in March. The book and film tell about her experiences of working in an abortion clinic and the journey she has been through that led her to becoming a pro-life activist.

Many other speakers, including representatives from 40 Days for Life, religious leaders, and community leaders, provided their stories and reasons for becoming pro-life supporters.

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Tens of thousands participate in the Walk for Life in San Francisco on Jan. 26, 2019. (Ted Lin/NTD)

“We need to remind our individuals that we all have our natural relationship with our Creator. And our relationship is based on love. And destroying life is one of those things [that] will diminish our dignity and our evaluation of our self,” said Evelyn Li, an internal medicine doctor at an Asian medical clinic.

She also talked about the issue from a financial perspective. “It is not just one angle. We are mixing a social problem, an ethics problem, with a financial problem. It is difficult to analyze,” said Li.

Li said the issue brings up the question of who should fund abortion programs, such as Planned Parenthood, and whether the public should fund programs that involve personal decisions.

Given the recent resurgence of the debate on pro-life versus pro-choice, some attendees also expressed the possibility of change within the Supreme Court in regards to abortion cases in the future.

“At the present moment, it doesn’t seem very likely, but it’s possible down the road,” said Lee.

After the rally, attendees gathered to march along Market Street to show their support. Many people held banners that read, “I am the pro-life generation” and “Defund Planned Parenthood,” among others.

Walk for Life is described as a peaceful protest held every year around Jan. 22, the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court decision that restricted Federal anti-abortion laws.

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