Individuals and groups from all parts of the state converged on Columbus to participate in the Ohio March for Life on Wednesday, Oct. 5 at the Ohio Statehouse.
Children, high school and college students, seminarians, priests and religious made up a crowd of approximately 2,000 people who came to give public witness that every life matters, from the vulnerable unborn child to the aged and dying.
The largest groups of young people traveled from Cincinnati Elder High School and Sidney Lehman High School for the march and to attend a Mass for Life at St. Joseph Cathedral. Eighth-graders from Worthington St. Michael School also were present as were numerous right-to-life groups.
Colleges represented included Walsh University in North Canton for both the Mass and march and Franciscan University of Steubenville, whose students carried the banner at the beginning of the march, which began in front of the Statehouse on South High Street and went north before turning on Gay Street and then onto Wall Street before returning to the capitol building on East Broad Street.
The contingent from Walsh included about 35 from the Cavs for Life group. Diocese of Youngstown Bishop David Bonnar, who celebrated the Mass in Columbus in Bishop Earl Fernandes’ absence, mentioned the students from his diocese during the Mass.
Walsh director of campus ministry Ben Walther said, “We’re very proud to be pro-life at Walsh, and we wouldn’t want to miss this opportunity for the first-ever Ohio March for Life. We also wanted to rally behind our bishop.
“We know there’s a lot of work to do still at the state level, and we’ll continue to go to the National March for Life as well. But we want to use this as an opportunity to educate our students how important it is to be in touch with our senators, our legislators, our representatives for all pro-life causes.”
The U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June that overturned Roe v. Wade and returned decisions on abortion back to the states has given the pro-life movement a long-awaited shot in the arm, but almost everyone agreed Wednesday that one major victory is not enough in the battle to protect the unborn.
“We wanted to make our presence known and that defending life is a really important part of being Catholic and is especially part of our mission at Walsh University,” said Haili Kendall, a senior who is the president of Cavs for Life. “Defending life is a really important part of being Catholic, and so it’s important to show up and to prayerfully protest.”
There has always been a palpable energy surrounding those involved in the pro-life movement, particularly at rallies, but speakers at the Statehouse encouraged the crowd to continue their vigilance, not only with prayerful demonstrations at the local level but also in voting, supporting mothers in need, responding with love for those who disagree on abortion, praying and using media to spread the message.
“I think it’s very vital to come out and show that the younger generation are also the ones protesting because it starts to show other people who are in our generation and who are members of our society that it’s not just the older people, it’s not just the women, it’s men and women,” Kendall said. “It’s everybody, it’s children who are defending life.
“It’s not cool to be pro-choice. It’s awesome to be pro-life.”
Walsh students also are participating in the national 40 Days for Life movement that’s taking place through early November throughout the world. They are peacefully praying and providing witness outside the Planned Parenthood location in Canton to mothers considering abortion.
While the Supreme Court decision has led to attacks on some pregnancy help centers throughout the country, pro-life Catholics believe there’s a positive shift in the U.S. toward respect for all life.
“I definitely think so,” Kendall said, “especially when you consider the hostility that you’re facing whenever you walk outside Planned Parenthood and pray and when you come out here and you defend life, you can definitely see that it’s changing, and it’s for the better.
“That’s where their hostility comes from because (abortion supporters) know they’re losing.”
The largest group at the Mass and march came from Elder. The all-boys school brought a busload of 50 participants, and there was a waiting list of students who wanted to attend but couldn’t because of space limitations.
The next largest group, from Lehman, included 35 students. Bishop Fernandes taught religion at Lehman for two years from 2002 to 2004 after his ordination to the priesthood in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.
Some of the other high schools represented at the march were Benedictine in Cleveland and Mount Notre Dame in Cincinnati.
“We were caught off guard with the dates just because of everything that happened over the summer with the overturn (of Roe),” said Colleen Daubenmerkl, a religion teacher at Elder and moderator of the pro-life club, which has about 75 members. “So, I was so pleasantly surprised that I had this many guys. We’re super excited about that.”
Elder’s pro-life group participates in various events such as praying outside Planned Parenthood during 40 Days for Life and a baby bottle campaign to raise money for a local pregnancy center.
“I think some of them were a little disappointed that we couldn’t go back to D.C. (in January, when a trip to the National March for Life was canceled), but obviously being able to come to Columbus is important, and so we rallied together, and maybe next year we’ll have even more kids join us.
“These guys are all busy. They’ve got all of these extracurriculars going on. So, when they found out that we were going to be doing a day trip, they were even more excited. And with Seton (High School) being next door, I’m hoping maybe next year we can collaborate together.”
