‘Yoopers’ descend on Washington to march for ‘life’

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - A group of Upper Peninsula, Mich. students is in Washington this week for an annual anti-abortion rally. The group from St. Joseph’s Parish made the 20-hour journey for the annual National March for Life.

“A lot of times, abortion is touted as the only option that women have, but we want to say that there’s a lot of other people that think differently,” said Fr. Ryan Ford from Yoopers for Life.

Ford brought more than a dozen Yoopers for Life to the march as thousands descended on the National Mall to walk to the Supreme Court, protesting the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that made abortion a constitutional right.

“The greatest fruit of the March for Life is that other young people see they’re not alone, and there’s an energizing atmosphere,” said Ford.

Bella Wedig is an art history teacher making her sixth trip to the national march.

“It’s community. I mean, you think about the message of life, you know this is it, like, it’s coming together for a noble and worthy cause,” said Wedig.

Ford noted, this year’s march carries more weight as the Supreme Court considers a case surrounding a Mississippi state law that bans abortion after 15 weeks. If the law is upheld, it could lead to the dismantling of Roe v. Wade. Pro-choice advocates say, if the conservative leaning court decides in favor of the Mississippi law, it would lead to restrictive abortion laws being enacted in dozens of states and cause serious harm to women across America.

A decision in that consequential Supreme Court cases is expected to come early in the summer.

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