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Walk for Life West Coast draws more than 15,000 pro-lifers

From its very beginning in 2005, the Walk for Life in San Francisco focused on outreach and support for pregnant women and compassion for those who have had an abortion.

San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone addresses participants at the January 22nd Walk for Life West Coast event in San Francisco, in January 2022. (Image: Dennis Callahan)

San Francisco, Jan  22, 2022 / walkforlifewc.com

Focusing on the impending U.S. Supreme Court case which may finally overturn the notorious Roe v. Wade decision, an estimated 15,000-20,000 pro-lifers from as far away as Oregon, Idaho and San Diego gathered in Civic Center Plaza at the 18th annual Walk for Life West Coast.

The Mississippi legislation would outlaw abortion after 15 weeks, and many believe there is a 6-3 majority in favor of upholding the law. The hearing on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization was Dec. 1 and a ruling is expected by June.

“I believe Roe v. Wade has been outlawed, because God remembers you,” Walk speaker Rev. Clenard H. Childress, Jr.  said. “We are the civil rights movement of this day.”

“As you know, even if this happens, our work is not done,” Eva Muntean, Walk co-chair, exhorted the crowd.

California’s pro-abortion legislative supermajority and Gov. Gavin Newsom have vowed to turn California – which already has no restrictions on abortion—into an “abortion sanctuary” for the nation.

Walk co-chair Dolores Meehan urged support for women, children and families, saying, “There is no act so ordinary that it cannot have extraordinary consequences for someone in need.”

From its very beginning in 2005, the Walk for Life focused on outreach and support for pregnant women and compassion for those who have had an abortion. An info-faire with booths offering information and support, particularly for women in crisis pregnancies, dates to 2005.

Silent No More activist Irene Zamorano-Archacki, who had an abortion when she was six months pregnant, appealed directly to President Joe Biden. “I have a message for President Biden. You are a baptized Catholic. He healed me and he can heal you.”

And she stressed the importance of every day activism. “My daughter would be alive today if there was just one sidewalk counselor,” Zamorano-Archacki said.

San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone, who with Rev. Childress, joined the Walk last year for a much smaller walk and rally from the back of a pickup truck, was given the Walk’s St. Gianna Molla Award for Prolife Heroism. “This award is really for all of us. None us can do this alone,” the archbishop said. “We will prevail.”

Also speaking was Christie Hockel Davenport, a recently widowed lady with Down syndrome. She shared the importance of valuing every life.  “What makes people happy is loving and being loved,” she said.

Lila Rose, founder of Live Action, was unable to attend because her husband had tested positive for Covid-19 and she had begun to feel ill.

Earlier in the day, Archbishop Cordileone offered the Walk for Life Mass with Santa Rosa Bishop Robert F. Vasa, San Jose Bishop Oscar Cantu and Sacramento Bishop Jaime Soto. In his homily Archbishop Cordileone said we will always need to live the beatitudes. “The solution to building a culture of life is us living as true Christians.”

Founded in 2005 by a group of San Francisco Bay Area residents, the Walk for Life West Coast’s mission is to change the perceptions of a society that thinks abortion is an answer. For more details, and to view a powerful promo video for the walk that can be shared on social media, please visit: www.walkforlifewc.com


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1 Comment

  1. Newsome continues to proclaim his depravity by using the word “sanctuary” to describe the refuge he will create for the slaughter of innocent human beings. “Sanctuary,” of course, is from the Latin, sanctus, meaning holy, and the sanctuary is the holiest part of a church, so dear to God that even the most vile and violent civil authorities would dare to violate it. Those days are gone I am afraid.

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