ARTICLES

The Streets of San Francisco

Local Youth Marches in the West Coast Walk for Life

BY TERESA GISLA

On the morning of January 21, 2005, over 15,000 men and women marched through San Francisco to protest the threat to women and the unborn posed by abortion. Despite denunciations from mayor Gavin Newsom, and the hostility exhibited by anti-life protesters last year, the city sometimes referred to as Sodom by the Bay reluctantly hosted the second annual West Coast Walk For Life. Star Parker, the president and founder of the Coalition of Urban Renewal & Education told the pro-lifers gathering for the march, "The San Francisco Walk for Life is not only an expression of protection for the unborn internationally, but [an attempt] to reach into one of America's darkest cities and express our love for the women in despair to help them protect and nurture the innocence growing in their womb."

After an eight-hour road trip from San Diego, a friend and I joined 123 of our classmates from Thomas Aquinas College and five of my family members in Justin Herman Plaza, only a few blocks from Fisherman's Wharf and Ghirardelli Square. Starting at 9:00 a.m. volunteers, mostly college-aged students, walked through the gathering crowd handing out signs reading "Abortion Hurts Women" in preparation for the three-mile march to Marina Greens, just below the Golden Gate.

We began the rally with prayers, and listened to speeches from many pro-life advocates including Serrin Foster, Carol Crossed, Alfredo Abarca, Parker, and Reverend Clenard Childress.

Organizers instructed us to remain silent and to ignore the aggressive provocations of the anti-life protesters. They feared that the hostility exhibited last year in San Francisco would be repeated. Even before the march began, one woman, apparently intoxicated, approached the plaza shouting, "Abortion does not hurt women. I've had tons of abortions, and I'm just fine."

I couldn't help but shudder at the sad irony of scene. This foretaste of what was to be expected along the marching route only reinforced the advice given to us by our leaders: "Just pray. Nothing you say to them will be effective right now."

But the hundreds of protesters many predicted never showed. I counted about 250 protesters, stationed primarily along the Embarcadero, who harassed us along the way. The hostility and ugliness exhibited by just one of these, however, brought me close to tears. This cloud of darkness quickly dissipated as soon as I heard the faint murmur of the rosary, which rose above and settled over our heads.

A quarter of a mile into the walk, we were confronted by women waving coat hangers, lesbians, communists, anarchists, and transvestites, one of whom exposed himself on the side of the road. I was overwhelmed with sorrow and compassion for these men and women, and offered my prayers for their conversion.

Nevertheless, I was comforted not only by the estimated 300 police officers who were stationed along the line, but also by the thousands of young people, families, and religious who attended the march. Unfortunately, it was definitely not a scene for the eyes of the young. The hecklers yelled things such as, "It's too bad more Christians weren't aborted," and "Get your hands off our ovaries!" One woman yelled out to a priest who was walking nearby, "Don't you want to have sex with me, Father?" The priest, without looking up or hesitating, simply made the sign of the cross in her direction and continued walking.

The "Abortion Hurts Women" signs we carried stood in sharp contrast to the arguments made by our opposers. As I listened to them screaming their feminist mantras, I thought of what Serrin Foster, president of Feminists for Life of America, had told the crowd gathered in the plaza before the march. "We represent a new wave of feminism.... It is degrading to women," she proclaimed, "that we treat children as property to be disposed of as we see fit. [Our predecessors] celebrated the fact that women could give life to their children...."

Along with pro-abortion protesters, others took advantage of the publicity surrounding the march. Anti-war and anti-President Bush protesters infiltrated both sides, although their attacks were primarily directed at us. They accused us of hypocrisy for condemning abortion and supporting a president whom, they accused, lead the country into an unjust war that has resulted in the death of so many.

Our purpose, however, transcended politics. In the words of Reverend Childress, who inspired us with his words that morning, "[this is the] movement that God has ordained to bring about the laws that are righteous and just." Right judgment must be exercised with regards to this issue first and foremost before any other discussion can begin.

Although San Francisco presented so much resistance to our message, that same hostile city rewarded our perseverance with its warm sun and a crisp, memorable bay breeze at the end of the march. I felt renewed hope in the power of goodness. The sight of so many smiling faces after the walk, especially on the faces of the youth, uplifted me.

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