Midwest's Largest Pro-Life Gathering Moves to Illinois Capital to Advocate for Laws Protecting Life
SPRINGFIELD, Ill., March 15, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Thousands of pro-life advocates are expected at the Illinois State Capitol Building on Tuesday, March 21, 2023, for the Illinois March for Life. Coming from across Illinois and the Midwest, the large pro-life crowd will rally at the Lincoln Statue, march around the Capitol building, then meet with lawmakers to advocate for the protection of unborn children and their mothers.
Formerly the March for Life Chicago, the annual event is focused on "Saving Midwestern Lives." Illinois' increasingly extreme abortion policies draw women and girls from neighboring states to obtain abortion on demand at any stage of pregnancy. In 2020, the most year for statistic are available, 46,243 abortions were performed in Illinois, more abortions than all of Illinois' neighboring states combined, according to state health department data. Of that number, nearly 10,000 abortions were performed on women from other states. Bottom-line: Illinois is at the epicenter of harms to women and their preborn babies.
WHAT: Illinois March for Life 2023 (rally and march)
WHEN: Tuesday, March 21, 2023, 12 to 2 p.m. (Central)
WHERE: Illinois State Capitol Building, 401 S 2nd St, Springfield, IL 62701
MAP: https://goo.gl/maps/EJyNP4eLVF2NhcwC9
WHO: Thousands of pro-life individuals from across Illinois and the Midwest
SPEAKERS:
- Serena Dyksen, Founder, She Found His Grace Abortion Recovery
- The Most Reverend Thomas J. Paprocki, Bishop, Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Illinois
- Rev. Dr. Matthew Harrison, President, The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
- Reverend Michael Mohr, President, Central Illinois District of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
- Honorable Dr. William E. Hauter, M.D., Illinois State Representative, District 87 (R-Morton)
- Antonio Gonzalez, Student Leader, weDignify, and Senior, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- Anna Kinskey, Executive Director, weDignify
- Faith, client, ThriVe ® Metro East Express Women's Healthcare
Same day events preceding the Illinois March for Life rally and march include:
WHAT: Catholic Mass with Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki, hosted by the Diocese of Springfield
WHEN: Tuesday, March 21, 2023, 10 a.m. (Central)
WHERE: Sangamon Auditorium, University of Illinois Springfield Performing Arts Center, 1 University Plaza, Springfield, IL 62703
MAP: https://goo.gl/maps/z3mhUyeNsZRTydav7
WHAT: Lutheran Matins Service, hosted by the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
WHEN: Tuesday, March 21, 2023, 10:30 a.m. (Central)
WHERE: Trinity Lutheran Church, 220 South 2nd Street Springfield, IL 62701
MAP: https://goo.gl/maps/JaQ8CEUjxbXz2Mxo7
DETAILS: IllinoisMarchforLife.org
"In a post-Roe era, it is crucial to march where state laws are made and in front of the elected lawmakers," explained Anna Kinskey, Executive Director of weDignify, the organization that oversees the Illinois March for Life. "Midwest pro-lifers are advocating for protection for preborn children and their mothers, for authentic healthcare that values human dignity from the moment of conception."
Over the last six years, lawmakers in Springfield have repealed parental notification protections, passed the Reproductive Health Act, which allows abortion through all nine months, removed the requirement of health inspections for abortion facilities, and codified taxpayer funding of abortion.
Most recently, Illinois has passed legislation allowing non-physicians to perform surgical abortions, which is an open invitation to doctors who have been stripped of their medical licenses by other states to come perform abortions in Illinois.
"Illinois lawmakers have repeatedly shown they value the abortion industry over women's healthcare and the lives of preborn children," Kinskey noted. "We are inviting the Midwest pro-life movement to join us in Springfield on March 21, clearly telling Illinois lawmakers that hundreds of thousands of people from America's heartland want to protect life, not end it."
Since Roe v. Wade was overturned this summer, Illinois has become a magnet for new abortion facilities opening along Illinois' border, Kinskey observed, naming Carbondale, Rockford, and most recently, Champaign as communities in which out-of-area abortionists have set up shop.
Illinois State Representative Bill Hauter (R-Morton) made an emphatic plea while debating the newest abortion legislation during the January 2023 lame-duck session.
"For 25 years as a physician, I have had the extreme privilege to take care of patients in their worst conditions, on their worst day," said Hauter. "I ask that you don't make abortion less safe."
Hauter, the first physician to be elected to the Illinois House, will be among those addressing the crowd at the Illinois March for Life.
Keynote speaker at the Illinois March for Life is Serena Dyksen, founder of She Found His Grace Abortion Recovery. Dyksen, having been raped and facing an unplanned pregnancy, had an abortion – the only option offered to her family. Serena's abortion was performed by the notorious Ulrich "George" Klopfer, whose September 2019 death led to the horrifying discovery of the remains of 2,411 aborted infants stashed in his Will County, Illinois, home and garage.
About the Illinois March for Life (Formerly the March for Life Chicago)
The Illinois March for Life is an annual public event composed of people from diverse ethnic, social, and religious backgrounds dedicated to defending and protecting all human life. The event marks with deep sadness the great tragedy of the legalization of abortion in the United States along with the devastating social, moral, and legal consequences that have followed. Marching together in hope, the Illinois March for Life calls upon government, religious, civic, and community leaders to renew every effort to build a nation that affirms the authentic dignity of women, the gift of children, and a culture dedicated to protecting life at every stage of development. Learn more at IllinoisMarchforLife.org.
weDignify, an Illinois-based, pro-life organization that mentors college students into pro-life leaders, runs the Illinois March for Life Chicago in collaboration with many organizations. The 2023 event is sponsored by many organizations including Illinois Right to Life, The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, Wisconsin Right to Life, and the Knights of Columbus Illinois State Council.
Media Contact
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SOURCE March for Life
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