Walk for Life West Coast participants

San Francisco, Calif., Jan 12, 2009 / 08:27 pm (CNA).- The Fifth Annual Walk for Life West Coast pro-life event is expected to draw more than 25,000 people to protest the legalization of abortion in a march along San Francisco’s waterfront on Saturday, January 24.

The Walk began in 2005 when a small group of San Francisco residents decided to organize a march with an outreach to women, especially those who have undergone an abortion or who are struggling with an unwanted pregnancy, a press release from Walk for Life West Coast reports.

“My grandmother was left on a doorstep as an infant at the beginning of the 20th century,” said Walk co-chair Dolores Meehan. “In the 21st century, we want to make having a baby a choice that all of us support. And, we want to make sure that women who have had abortions know we are there for them in sympathy and support.”

Speakers at the event will include Karen Shablin of Feminists for Life, Black Genocide founder Rev. Clenard Childress and Frank Lee, community leader and coordinator of Asian Americans Against Abortion. Singer Diana Nagy, whose crisis pregnancy at the age of 15 ended in adoption, will also speak.

“Women deserve better than abortion,” said Shablin, a former member of the National Abortion Rights Action League and a former acting Medicaid agency director.

Explaining that she had an abortion in her twenties, Shablin said, “I can't undo my mistakes over the years - having an abortion, advocating abortion, but I can help others to learn from my mistakes. Every life counts.”

“Abortion hurts women and families,” Frank Lee added. “We have allowed abortion to decimate our future for too long by killing our children before they are born. Americans, regardless of ethnic background, need to stand up and ensure that every life is cherished.”

The 2.5-mile walk is scheduled to begin with a rally at 11:00 am on the lawn of the Justin Herman Plaza lawn on Market Street. It will end at the Marina Green, where an Information Fair will be held.

The Walk for Life West Coast web site is located at http://walkforlifewc.com

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