March was filled with an outpouring of support for protection of unborn children from the violence of abortion. These included a number of pro-life marches that took place on the solemnity of the Annunciation and the Incarnation of Christ in the womb of the Virgin Mary celebrated as the Day of the Unborn Child. Large pro-life marches were held in Argentina, Ecuador, and Peru. In Buenos Aires 20,000 people joined together to march while other cities held their own marches including Salta, Tucumán, Bahía Blanca, Corrientes, Mar de Plata, Córdoba, and Santiago del Estero.
Ana Belén Marmora, an Argentine pro-life leader, explained to ACI Prensa that “the march is one day of the year in which all of us who defend life from conception take to the streets to demonstrate for it.” She stressed, “It’s important because if we really want to repeal the disastrous law on abortion, now more than ever we have to make it clearly seen that this is not over and that no one here is giving up.”
Thousands took to the streets in Ecuador to defend the right to life of the unborn child in the cities of Quito, Guayaquil, and Cuenca while in Peru thousands attended a march in Lima.
Australia celebrated the Day of the Unborn Child with a procession of thousands to NSW Parliament House led by Archbishop Anthony Fisher. Population Research Institute President Steve Mosher delivered an address in which he reminded attendees that “one soul…one baby is worth the entire material universe, because the material universe will one day pass away, but that baby, that soul will be with us forever.”
Thousands turned out for a Yes to Life march in Madrid, Spain expressing opposition to “all laws and practices that threaten life and human nature at any moment of its existence, as well as the businesses and ideologies that sustain them.” The event included the testimonies of two women who found help from pro-lifers when they were about to have an abortion.
A manifesto for the march was read proclaiming that “human beings have the right to life and to be treated as their dignity deserves, from their conception to natural death and at all times and in all circumstances” and rejecting “all laws and practices that threaten life and human nature at any moment of its existence, as well as the businesses and ideologies that sustain them.”
It also demanded “that health care be provided to everyone without exception” from the unborn to the sick of all kinds. The march ended with participants releasing balloons into the air following a minute of silence during which only the heartbeat of a baby obtained from a live ultrasound was heard.
Pro-life organizations in Portugal held 8 Walks for Life in the cities of Aveiro, Braga, Coimbra, Évora, Guarda, Lisbon, Porto and Viseu according to Walk For Life.
Belfast, Northern Ireland, held its first pro-life rally since abortion was imposed by the UK and the rally also marked the 25th anniversary year of the Good Friday Agreement. Precious Life spokesperson Bernadette Smyth told the crowds, “This is the first major pro-life event here since Westminster forced abortion on Northern Ireland in 2020. We’re here today to show that we still demand our unborn babies be protected.”
“This year is also the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Peace Agreement. We are sending out the clear message that there can never be true peace in Northern Ireland unless there is PEACE IN THE WOMB.
“One of Good Friday Agreement’s main commitments to Human Rights was respect for the civil and religious rights of everyone in the community. So shame on the SDLP, Sinn Fein and the other pro-abortion parties who brought in a law to criminalise members of our communities who pray outside abortion centres in Northern Ireland.”
“We are calling on the Stormont Assembly and the Westminster Government to uphold the Good Friday Agreement and respect the civil rights and religious liberties of everyone, by repealing the draconian “Abortion Buffer Zones” law in Northern Ireland.”
Romania and Moldova held pro-life activities in over 1,100 localities where March is celebrated as the Month for Life. The 2023 theme was “The future is pro-life” designed “to raise awareness and engage participants and society in building a pro-life future – a future in which every pregnant woman in need will be supported to give birth to her children and in which the life of every born and unborn child will be valued fully, regardless of age or health status, whether boy or girl.”