More than 10,000 pro-life advocates are expected to march for life in Chicago January 8 to urge protection for unborn children and their mothers from abortion.
Converging in what organizers are calling the “Abortion Capital of the Midwest,” the 2022 March for Life Chicago has the theme of, “Saving Midwestern Lives,” because of Illinois’ increasingly extreme abortion policies. Those policies, they say, are drawing women and girls from throughout Illinois and neighboring states to get abortion on demand at any stage of pregnancy. They point to statistics from data from state health departments to illustrate this, specifically, the fact that in 2019, there were 46,517 abortions committed in Illinois, which is more abortions than each of its neighboring states combined.
“While most of the Midwest works to respect the humanity of the unborn, Illinois tragically pushes abortion at any cost,” said Kevin Grillot, director of the March for Life Chicago. “The Illinois legislature’s repeal of the Parental Notice of Abortion Act shows that they would rather appease the abortion industry than respect parents’ rights to be involved in their children’s lives.”
On October 28 of this year the Illinois legislature passed a bill to repeal the 1995 Parental Notification of Abortion Act, making Illinois the only Midwest state to not require at least parental notification before performing an abortion on a minor. If signed, the Illinois legislature’s repeal of the state’s parental notification of abortion law would remove the last remaining abortion restriction law in the state.
March organizers provided additional stats in a statement to demonstrate Illinois' “Abortion Capital of the Midwest” status.
Illinois abortion facilities performed 7,534 abortions on non-residents in 2019 – a nearly 10% increase from the previous year. This is primarily due to the state’s lack of restrictions on the procedure and those performing them. Today in Illinois, a female of any age can obtain an abortion for any reason at any time up until the moment a baby is fully delivered.
“The people of Illinois and across the Midwest will not sit back while radical Illinois legislators remove the rights of parents and unborn children. This is why a record-breaking number of people are responding to our call to save Midwestern lives and march in Chicago.” Grillot said. “On January 8 we will peacefully march to mourn the tragic loss of lives to abortion, call for the respect of every life, and inspire ongoing support of mothers who choose life!”
Last year, the March for Life Chicago took the form of a multicity tour with stops in several Midwestern cities and drawing thousands. The March for Life Chicago has been expanding in recent years to battle the radical abortion legislation in Illinois.
Speakers for this year's March include Illinois State Representative Avery Bourne, Pastor Chris Butler, Senior Pastor of Chicago Embassy Church, Executive Leader of the AND Campaign, Cardinal Blase Cupich, archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, Kelly Dore, executive director of the National Human Trafficking Survivor Coalition, Rev. Dr. Matthew Harrison, president of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, a client from Aid for Women (a Chicago based pregnancy resource network), Sr. Alicia Torres, a 2015 winner of the cooking show “Chopped” and member of the Franciscans of the Eucharist in Chicago, Dante Bucci, weDignify leader and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign senior, and Kevin Grillot, weDignify Executive Director.
Additional March for Life Chicago events include the March for Life Chicago convention, a diaper drive, youth rally, educational sessions, including Illinois’s Repeal of Parental Notification of Abortion, Illinois's Sex Ed Law - What Parents Need to Know, How Abortion Enables Sex Trafficking & What to Do, How Illinois's Abortion Laws Impact the Entire Midwest, and Abortion Pill Reversal.
There will also be a Catholic Mass for Life, a Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod gathering, and a banquet.
For more information visit the March for Life Chicago website HERE.
Editor's note: Heartbeat International manages the Abortion Pill Rescue® Network (APRN) and Pregnancy Help News.
