As the clock inched closer to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, volunteers hurriedly tossed rock salt into rows of seats between home plate and the home team dugout at Parkview Field, trying to get the stadium seating ready for the crowd of abortion opponents set to occupy it.
The large crowd, though smaller than in previous years, gathered at the ballpark Saturday for the 51st Annual March for Life, hosted by Right to Life of Northeast Indiana. The typically indoor rally was held outside this year because of ongoing renovations to the University of Saint Francis Performing Arts Center, which typically hosts the event.
Heavy winds blew through the stadium at various points throughout Saturday°®¶¹apps 30-minute rally °®¶¹app a shortened version of a typically hour-long event that usually features numerous speakers and testimonials °®¶¹app briefly toppling the American and Indiana state flags.
It was important for those assembled to brave the cold to honor the legacies of pro-life activists who have worked for decades to overturn Roe v. Wade, said State Sen. Tyler Johnson, a physician and Saturday°®¶¹apps keynote speaker.
°®¶¹appThis event is such a great way to kick off the new year and reenergize us for another year standing up for life,°®¶¹app he said.
Johnson°®¶¹apps pro-life bonafides include testimony in support of Indiana°®¶¹apps abortion ban, passed shortly after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe in 2022. Johnson was also a plaintiff in a recent lawsuit challenging access to the abortion medication mifepristone. The Supreme Court ruled in June that the doctors and activists who filed that lawsuit did not have standing to sue.
In his remarks Saturday, Johnson noted that a federal judge in Texas cleared the way for the suit°®¶¹apps revival earlier this month, and added that he looks forward to once again helping walk that case up to the U.S. Supreme Court.
°®¶¹appI°®¶¹appll tell you, medical school°®¶¹apps not a great place to be pro-life,°®¶¹app Johnson said to the crowd. °®¶¹appOne of my biggest opponents in the state of Indiana is the Indiana University School of Medicine.°®¶¹app
Saturday was Fort Wayne resident Tim Becker°®¶¹apps first time attending a rally hosted by Right to Life of Northeast Indiana. Becker °®¶¹app who grew up in Allen County °®¶¹app and his wife moved back to Fort Wayne last year from Crown Point.
°®¶¹app(We°®¶¹appre here) because we support life. My wife and I adopted five boys, and we support life from conception to death,°®¶¹app Becker said, adding that rallies like Saturday°®¶¹apps °®¶¹apparen°®¶¹appt just about telling people that they can°®¶¹appt do something.°®¶¹app
°®¶¹appIt°®¶¹apps more that you support life and that they are not alone,°®¶¹app he said.
When asked what he thought about the number of people who attended Saturday°®¶¹apps rally, despite a cold and windy outdoor venue, Becker simply said, °®¶¹appIt matters.°®¶¹app
Following Johnson°®¶¹apps remarks and a brief closing prayer, the crowd °®¶¹app as well as a lone masked counter-protester °®¶¹app moved from the stadium to the street outside, ready for the march to Fort Wayne°®¶¹apps E. Ross Adair Federal Building and Courthouse. The protester criticized those assembled for focusing on abortion instead of addressing what he said are more pressing issues.
°®¶¹app12.3% of people live in poverty, but we°®¶¹appre not passing laws to help them,°®¶¹app shouted the man as event organizers attempted to get him to leave. °®¶¹appThere are homeless people here in Fort Wayne that we°®¶¹appre not helping.°®¶¹app
A few moments later, the march began. The crowd of demonstrators moved north on Ewing Street toward West Jefferson Boulevard, and began to sing a hymn.
