Thousands converged on the Colorado State Capitol April 12 to be the voice of the voiceless at the very first Colorado March For Life.
As Colorado continues to pass legislation which only serves to maintain its reputation as the most pro-abortion state in the country, the gathering of nearly 4,000 people acted as a powerful witness to a bustling downtown Denver that the pro-life movement is very much alive and well, and efforts to build a culture of life in Colorado and beyond are far from flatlined — even in a post-Roe v. Wade world.
The march marked the first time that the national March for Life organization has hosted a march in Denver through their state march program. The event was co-sponsored by Pro-Life Colorado, the local pro-life coalition formed in 2022 and headed by Colorado Catholic Conference executive director Brittany Vessely.
Speakers at the rally included Bishop Jorge H. Rodríguez, Bishop James R. Golka of the Diocese of Colorado Springs, National March for Life president Jeanne Mancini, author and Ethics and Public Policy Center fellow Alexandra DeSanctis, Dr. Catherine Wheeler and Dr. Christina Francis of the American Association of Pro-Life OBGYNs, Colorado State Representative Brandi Bradley and local Catholic, Christian and ecumenical leaders.
During the march itself, the thousands gathered spilled into Colfax Avenue in a bold and joyful display of pro-life power. High schoolers from Bishop Machebeuf High School could be heard shouting refrains of “Protect Life!” and chanting the Salve Regina. Even confused passersby couldn’t help but smile and wave.
An air of positivity and resolve permeated this year’s march, somehow even more uplifting than past pro-life rallies in Colorado. In addition to the rally itself, there were tables from several pro-life organizations and initiatives whose presence signaled a commitment to serving women and empowering them to choose life. Among the organizations and initiatives was an ultrasound truck, offering women the opportunity to see the miracle of life growing in their womb.
Bishop Jorge H. Rodríguez opened the rally in a prayer, and offered 30 seconds of silence for those preborn lives lost to abortion. Rep. Bradley then took to the microphones, joined by her fellow pro-life legislators, who stepped out from the legislative session happening just inside to greet the crowd.
“66 babies a day are aborted in our state. We have the most radical and the most extreme abortion laws in the country, including day-of-birth abortions,” Rep. Bradley said. “We are not a pro-choice state. We are a pro-murder state. There’s no choice in Colorado anymore. This state has attacked a woman’s right to receive help from alternative pregnancy centers. This state has attacked and limited a woman from taking life-saving progesterone for her baby after the first chemical abortion pill. This state is not pro-choice, it’s pro-abortion only. The people of Colorado need to hear that.”
Pro-abortion advocates have been gathering signatures for a “Right to Abortion” ballot initiative that would enshrine a so-called right to abortion in the state constitution and therefore allocate tax dollars to pay for them. As of Friday, a pro-abortion group said they had enough signatures to get it on the ballot.
Pro-Life Colorado is currently formulating a plan to fight against this initiative as election season ramps up, and Americans United for Life is interested in helping to support their efforts.
“This so-called right to abortion would enshrine the access to unrestricted, unregulated, elective abortions through all nine months of pregnancy paid for by your tax dollars,” rally emcee Lauren Castillo said. “Colorado already has some of the most heartbreaking pro-abortion laws in the country, and this amendment would permanently strip us of our ability to pass future laws protecting both mom and baby across this great state for generations to come. This is why we need you to join us as we march today with love and compassion and truth, raising our voices for life today and every day.”
Jeanne Mancini, president of the national March for Life organization, acknowledged that while it will be an uphill battle to build a culture of life in Colorado, every single voice makes a difference.
“Every single one of you personally has the capacity to be that little light that can make a shift in the tide and change one person at a time, one person at a time, but ultimately build a culture of life in Colorado,” Mancini said. “And I want to say this, Colorado, I believe that you have some of the best fruits for building a culture of life.”
Dr. Catherine Wheeler and Dr. Christina Francis then addressed the crowd, encouraging those in attendance to never back down in the fight for life, but also making an appeal directly to all pro-life medical professionals.
“To the medical professionals in the crowd, don’t let anyone tell you that you don’t belong in your career,” Dr. Francis said. “You are doing exactly what you were meant to do, fighting for your patients, not only against illness and injury, but also to restore respect for their lives. You are Colorado’s last line of defense. The reason we’re here today is the same reason we spent years training and studying and the same reason we go to work every single day. We do all of this so we can defend every woman and every child.”
Alexandra DeSanctis of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C., delivered the keynote address of the rally.
“We pro-lifers are here today in Colorado because we must offer this hurting world a message of hope,” DeSanctis said. “We’re here to reject the lie that abortion makes us better off as a society. We’re here to reject the lie that some human beings can be discarded simply because others view them as unwanted or inconvenient. We’re here to reject the lie that women need abortion in order to be equal members of society. We’re here to reject the lie that American men and women are served by ending the lives of their children in the womb.”
DeSanctis spoke a word of mercy, truth and compassion for those who have had abortions or have been involved in the grave work of abortion, too.
“We know that mercy is always available for every person who’s ever been involved in an abortion or supported abortion from the mother to the abortionist. No one is ever too far gone to be forgiven and no one is too far gone to experience mercy and healing. Everyone involved in abortion is always welcome in the pro-life movement.”
Quoting from St. John Paul II when he visited Denver for World Youth Day 30 years ago, DeSanctis echoed the speakers who came before her and implored the crowd to resist the temptation to discouragement and faithfully stay the course in building a culture of life in Colorado and beyond.
“Perhaps we feel like small voices in the wilderness fighting against insurmountable odds. It’s easy to fear sometimes that our efforts aren’t worth it or that this cause might never succeed in our lifetime,” DeSanctis said. “But as we go out into the byroads of this city today, witnessing to the beauty of every life, every man and woman, of every child in the womb, remember that powerful message spoken here in Denver by Pope John Paul II 30 years ago, that life is more powerful than the forces of death, that truth is more powerful than darkness, and that love is stronger than death.”