A large crowd gathered on the steps of the Minnesota State Capitol Monday afternoon for the March for Life, an annual pro-life event.
At the center of the crowd was a memorial to the 12,000 babies who were killed by abortion in 2022. At the end of the rally, the pro-life demonstrators moved the memorial to the Capitol Rotunda.
“This is the reality the abortion industry doesn’t want you to see,” Minnesota Rep. Walter Hudson, R-Albertville, said of the memorial, which consisted of 12,000 models designed to mimic the gestational age and race of each aborted baby.
This display in the MN capitol rotunda depicts the 12,000+ children who were killed prior to birth in our state in 2022.
Note the proportional representation of race and gestational age.
This is the reality the abortion industry doesn't want you to see.#MCCL #MarchForLife pic.twitter.com/SzCLcGuzxg
— Walter Hudson (@WalterHudson) January 22, 2024
Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL) co-executive director Cathy Blaeser said that number likely will be much higher in 2023 “because of the laws passed by the DFL leadership in this State Capitol behind me.”
Those laws include the “Protect Reproductive Options Act,” which legalized abortion through all nine months of pregnancy, the repeal of language in state statute providing protections for babies who survive abortions, and an end to state funding for pregnancy resource centers.
“It’s time to say to them, ‘No more,’” Blaeser said. “No more extreme abortion policies that hurt women and threaten the lives of our children.”
“No more!” the crowd yelled back.
One of the organizers who spoke shared that it was the biggest Minnesota March for Life yet, and said he was encouraged by the presence of so many young people.
Participants came from across Minnesota, with buses coming from locations as far as Bemidji.
Don Parker, the legislative director of MCCL, explained that the DFL and Gov. Tim Walz plan to make this next legislative session even more harmful for the unborn. He mentioned a proposal to make abortion a protected right within Minnesota’s constitution, which was met with boos from the crowd. Parker encouraged participants to contact their legislators to oppose any proposed changes to the constitution.
Parker also told the crowd to speak out against a bill to legalize assisted suicide, which is scheduled for a hearing Thursday in the Minnesota House.
“We want to change the culture to be a culture of life in Minnesota,” Parker said.
Hayley Feland
Hayley Feland previously worked as a journalist with The Minnesota Sun, The Wisconsin Daily Star, and The College Fix. She is a Minnesota native with a passion for politics and journalism.
