About 300 students from the State of Wisconsin traveled to Washington D.C.  to participate in the annual March for Life to protest abortion on the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade ruling.

The students marched down the National Mall to the Supreme Court on January 22, 2015.  Then the marchers headed to Capitol Hill to meet with Wisconsin lawmakers.

Over one-third  of these students were from the Diocese of Green Bay, and some of them were also representatives of Notre Dame Academy.

Senior Abby Bongiorno heard about the trip to participate in the March for Life from Campus Minister Dan Kreigl and was really excited when her parents said that she could participate.

The March for Life began as a small demonstration in 1973 and has grown to be the largest pro-life event in the world.

According to Bongiorno, “Going to Washington, D.C. was an experience all in itself.  With a 19-hour plus bus ride, I learned how to handle functioning with little sleep.  But the actual experience of the walk and praying in front of Planned Parenthood is something that is almost indescribable.”

“We preached love, not judgment or hate.  We prayed for the women entering and leaving Planned Parenthood.  We prayed for the children that will never be able to see life outside of the womb.  I learned that love can conquer all, and all I need is God to be happy.”

This year was senior Mari Vogel’s second time participating in the March.

“Each year I have taken something different from the experience,” she explained.   “I knew going in that I would learn about and stand for the pro-life cause.  What I didn’t realize was that I would also learn about and grow in my own spirituality.”

Vogel recommends taking a trip to D.C. for the March to anyone who gets a chance.

“Being surrounded by hundreds of thousands of people who share your beliefs and are willing to stand up for what they believe is truly an amazing experience,”  said the senior.

Senior Emma Adams, whose life’s calling changed at last year’s March, said she became more pro-life at the recent March.  “Last year,” she explained, “I encountered God and felt the calling to work with either young children or babies.  My career interest changed from becoming a vet to being a physician’s assistant, perhaps a neo-natal caretaker.”

This year, Adams added, “I saw a lot more things.”  She explained how praying outside a Planned Parenthood clinic, the marchers “saw couples coming out who had just had an abortion.  They were laughing and swearing at us.  The thought that while we were praying a baby had just died in there gave meaning to what we were doing, made it more real.”

First-time Marcher Samantha Hennigan shared similar thoughts.  “I learned that human life should be addressed in all stages of life.  Life is sacred and all people of every age, from pre-born to the elderly, should be respected and dignified because we are made in the likeness and image of someone who is all loving and merciful and that’s God.”

Like Vogel, Hennigan encourages others to go on the March for Life because “regardless of your faith you have a duty to your voiceless fellow humans to give them their chance at life. Only those with a voice can help the voiceless.”