Syracuse, N.Y. – Hundreds of people braved below-freezing temperatures for the 49th annual March for Life in downtown Syracuse Saturday.
Around noon, around 400 people of all ages, many carrying signs denouncing abortion, marched from Armory Square to the Onondaga County Courthouse. It was about 13 degrees when the march started, according to the National Weather Service.
The march is a demonstration against the “devaluing and intentional taking of human life,” according to the Syracuse Right to Life Association, which organizes the annual rally.
Abortion opponents are especially motivated this year as the nation awaits the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on a potential landmark abortion rights case.
On Dec. 1, the court heard arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The case will decide whether Mississippi’s “Gestational Age Act,” which prohibits all abortions, with few exceptions, after 15 weeks’ gestational age, is constitutional.
This case has the potential to weaken or overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, The Syracuse Right to Life Association said in a news release.
During the march, men, women and children held signs emblazoned with statements such as: “Choose life” and “Face it, abortion kills.” Other marchers held a single rose as a symbol of the abortion opponents movement or images of the Virgin Mary.
As they marched to the courthouse, the crowd recited the “Hail Mary” and other prayers.
The crowd featured members of the local clergy, elected officials and several CNY organizations.
Ann Marie Buerkle, a former Republican congresswoman from Central New York, said in a speech at the event that the opposition to abortion is about more than overturning Roe v. Wade.
“Yes we want the laws to change,” Buerkle said, “but our mission is to change the hearts and minds of people.”
James Salamy, the coordinator of public policy for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse, told the crowd that even if Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturns Roe v. Wade it will not be the end of the abortion opposition movement.
Salamy said they must continue to work to provide women and families support through local organizations and offer them options other than abortion in order to further the movement.
The Supreme Court’s decision on the potential landmark case is expected to be announced in the coming weeks or months.
During the December arguments, several justices questioned the constitutional foundation of Roe v. Wade decision others stressed the importance of the precedents that have upheld the decision over the past 49 years. In 1973, the Supreme Court in Rove vs. Wade ruled the U.S. Constitution protects a pregnant woman’s liberty to choose to have an abortion, striking down many federal and state abortion laws.
Staff writer Anne Hayes covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? You can reach her at ahayes@syracuse.com.
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