On January 20, 2024, Walk for Life West Coast will mark the 20th iteration of their annual pro-life demonstration. For two decades this peaceful protest has drawn thousands to stand against the atrocities of abortion, bringing attention to the harm abortion does to women through testimonials from women about their own abortion experiences and marching through the streets of San Francisco.
A recently released promotional video tracks the Walk for Life West Coast’s activities over the last 20 years. The movement has grown steadily from a somewhat small gathering of 8,000 marchers in the first Walk for Life West Coast to a whopping 55,000 in 2017.
In a press release, Eva Muntean, co-chair of the Walk for Life West Coast, expressed her excitement to have Lila Rose back as a guest speaker in 2024. She praised the efforts of Live Action, a human rights nonprofit with the largest digital footprint for the global pro-life movement, calling Lila Rose an “inspiration”:
“We are excited to welcome Lila Rose as our featured speaker for our 20th anniversary of the Walk for Life West Coast,” said Muntean. “She is a brave woman who has tirelessly exposed the abortion industry for preying on women and ending the lives of their babies. Lila has been an inspiration to millions of young people in the pro-life movement.”
The Supreme Court’s June 2022 decision to overturn Dobbs has made the pro-life movement even more important than in the past. Whereas the anti-abortion demonstrations were once focused at the federal level, now pro-lifers have to fight for the rights of the unborn in individual states. Muntean called the overturning of Dobbs – and by extension Roe v Wade – just the “beginning,” she said:
“As we’ve seen since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the fight to make abortion unthinkable is just beginning. Women and their families suffer immensely because of the atrocity of abortion. It divides and destroys families and we look forward to being a witness to the beautiful choice of life that is desperately needed in today’s society.”
While organizers are not sure just how many people will turn out for the Walk for Life West Coast, they are expecting tens of thousands to march along the 1.8 mile route from the Civic Center Plaza down Market Street to Embarcadero Plaza. The walk will be preceded by an awareness campaign called “Silent No More,” in which participants can learn about various pro-life groups.
Just before the walk, there will be a rally at the Civic Center Plaza, with guest speakers including the aforementioned Lila Rose and Rev. Childress; as well as Kaya Jones, a post-abortive Canadian-born singer/songwriter and producer, formerly of the Pussycat Dolls; and Dr. Kimberly Henkel, the founder and executive director of Springs of Love, a ministry that encourages, educates, and equips Catholics to discern and live out the call to foster and adopt.
The entire schedule of events for the 2024 Walk for Life West Coast is available on the movement’s official website. While there, interested parties can find a map of the route for the walk, and registration information. Participants can also sign up for a newsletter that will keep them up to date with all the current info on the upcoming Walk for Life West Coast on January 20, 2024.
