Participants in last year’s Walk for Life West
Coast make their way along the San Francisco waterfront, Jan. 24. It has
been 37 years since the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision legalized
abortion across the country.
Joseé luis aguirre photo
By Voice staff
More than 30,000 people are expected to converge on
San Francisco Jan. 23 to publicly reaffirm that abortion is not the answer
to unplanned pregnancies. They will come from throughout the state and
beyond for the sixth annual Walk for Life West Coast. It will begin at
11 a.m. with a rally at Justin Herman Plaza, followed by a two-mile walk
along San Francisco’s Embarcadero.
Oakland Bishop Salvatore Cordileone is one of at least seven bishops expected
to take part in the event. Others include San Francisco Archbishop George
Niederauer, Auxiliary Bishop William Justice of San Francisco, and Bishop
Daniel Walsh of Santa Rosa.
Scheduled rally speakers include Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood
employee who has become an abortion opponent; Lila Rose, president of
Live Action, a youth-led pro-life movement; and the Rev. Clenard Childress,
a Baptist pastor and director of LEARN (Life Education and Resource Network),
an African American pro-life organization.
During the rally the St. Gianna Molla Award will be presented to David
Bereit, national campaign director of 40 Days for Life, a pro-life campaign
that focuses on prayer, fasting and peaceful vigil to end abortion in
America.
Following the rally there will be a two-mile walk along San Francisco’s
waterfront to the Marina Green, concluding in a Silent No More gathering,
reaching out to women and men who were involved in abortions and providing
a forum for them to share their pain. An information faire about pro-life
and post-abortion healing resources will also take place at Marina Green.
In conjunction with the rally and walk several other events have been
planned.
On Jan. 22, the third annual Standing Up 4Life Walk will take place at
noon at Oakland City Hall, followed by a Leadership 4Life Conference at
2:30 p.m. at Chosen Vessels Christian Church, 710 Haight Ave. in Alameda.
This year’s conference will focus on the impact of abortion in the
minority community.
Also on Jan. 22, Oakland Bishop Cordileone will host the East Bay Memorial
Prayer Service at 7 p.m. at the Cathedral of Christ the Light, 2121 Harrison
St., in Oakland.
On Jan. 23, there will be an 8 a.m. Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral,
1111 Gough St. in San Francisco. A party for young adult participants
in the Walk for Life will take place after the walk at St. Dominic Parish
Hall, 2390 Bush St. in San Francisco. There will be a $5 cover charge.
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