More than 50 students from Saint Louis University will take on Washington, D.C. this January when they participate in March for Life, an annual anti-abortion march held in D.C. to protest the Roe v. Wade decision.
The group from SLU is organized through Students for Life, a club “dedicated to protecting each and every human life from the moment of conception,” according to its website.
SFL has participated annually in the March for Life events for more than a decade, though students are not required to be members of SFL to go.
SFL Vice President Kevin Grillot said that participation in the march events had a lot to do with overturning the Supreme Court’s ruling of Roe v. Wade.
“The right to privacy was just kind of pulled out from the Fifth and Fourteenth amendments,” he said. “[The march is held] to show the continual importance of this decision and how many people are still against it.”
Grillot said that the march always had its share of “fire and brimstone preachers” but that he was hopeful that this march would have “a more proactive and loving aspect, rather than just ‘Abortion is horrible,'” he said. “I hope it will lead to more . opportunities to provide support once you decide to have a child.”
SFL marchers will begin the trek from St. Louis to D.C. on Jan. 19.
The first full day in D.C. will be spent at a Students for Life of America conference, which consists of anti-abortion organizations from across the United States, while Jan. 21 will be dedicated to sightseeing in Washington D.C.
The actual march to the Supreme Court building takes place on Jan. 22.
Director of Campus Ministry Lisa Reiter praised the educational value that comes along with trips like these.
Given the opportunity to interact with other students on this anti-abortion issue, she said that she “hoped students would come back with a really great sense of solidarity . and an understanding of what it means to work for human rights and dignity.”
Sophomore Sarah Pingel, who will attend the march for the second time, considered the bus ride to Washington and the resulting camaraderie that follows to be the most enjoyable aspect of the event.
“It’s a really great experience for a really great cause,” she said. “[And] it was great getting to know other people who have the same viewpoints as you.”
Registration for the event ends on Dec. 7. Interested students are advised to check SFL’s web site at http://pages.slu.edu/org/sfl/.
