Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

National Catholic pro-life speaker Gloria Purvis was the keynote presenter for the 2023 Maryland March for Life rally Feb. 27, 2023, in front of the State House in Annapolis. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

Maryland March for Life is March 11


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Catholic Review Filed Under: Feature, Local News, News, Respect Life

As Marylanders consider an amendment to the state’s Constitution that would enshrine the right to abortion through all nine months of pregnancy, pro-life supporters will gather in Annapolis March 11 to make their voices heard.

The annual Maryland March for Life begins with a 4:30 p.m. youth rally on the campus of St. Mary on Duke of Gloucester Street. Baltimore Auxiliary Bishop Adam J. Parker will celebrate a 5:30 p.m. Mass in the church that will be concelebrated by Washington Auxiliary Bishop Evelio Menjivar-Ayala.

At the same time the Mass is celebrated, an ecumenical, non-denominational service will be offered in the hall.

Following the religious services, participants will prayerfully march from St. Mary to Lawyer’s Mall for a pro-life rally. Among the featured speakers will be Ryan Bomberger, chief creative officer of RadianceFoundation.org, a life-affirming organization whose mission is to create a culture that believes every human life has purpose.

Erin Younkins, director of the Office of Life, Justice and Peace at the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s Institute for Evangelization, said the Maryland March for Life is an opportunity for participants to get legislative updates on bills concerning respect for life and to let lawmakers know what they think on the issues.

“It’s an opportunity for all of us to come together to pray, regardless of our faith,” she said. “We pray all together for life in our state – that this will become a pro-life state.”

Younkins called the proposed constitutional amendment in Maryland, which voters will take up at the ballot box in November, “very, very extreme.” Not only does it make abortion legal through all nine months of pregnancy, she said, it would also allow for minors to have access to abortions without parental consent.

“There are parts of the bill that undermine parental consent for other medical issues,” she said. 

Enshrining the amendment in the Constitution would mean that some safeguards for women receiving abortion would no longer be in place, she said.

“There are very few as it stands in Maryland,” Younkins said, “but there would be even less. You would not be required to even have a physician to be able to do abortions. This is dangerous for everyone. It’s dangerous for the moms. It’s obviously always dangerous for the baby. It’s dangerous for families.”

Younkins said several parishes are offering bus transportation to the Maryland March for Life, which is co-sponsored by the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Again this year, Chick-Fil-A will provide dinner for marchers.

For more information, visit marylandmarchforlife.org

Click below to listen to a radio interview with Erin Younkins, discussing pro-life out reach in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

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