As Winter Storm Jonas pressed on toward Washington, D.C., Friday morning threatening upwards of two feet of snow, wind gusts over 40 mph, and dangerous or impossible travel conditions, the 2016 March for Life stepped off as scheduled.

The Rally began at noon and shortly before its conclusion at 1 pm, the first flakes had begun to fall. The crowd, which the Eternal Word Television Network had estimated at about one-third of previous years, hurriedly formed into line of March and headed into the the streets, determined complete the march at the Supreme Court before the weather got too bad.

Although numbers were lower, the spirit of the marchers was as high as ever as they carried aloft their signs proclaiming “Defend Life,” “We Are the Prolife Generation” and “Life Counts!” among others. Presidential candidate Carly Fiorina was enthusiastically applauded as she told the audience at the rally, “Ours is a fight for the character of our nation. For the value of life itself. It is a fight we must win to take our country back.”

The Rockland Right to Life Committee made the decision to cancel its bus trip to the March for Life on Wednesday. The concern was the hazardous traveling conditions the bus could likely encounter as it headed north back to Rockland Friday night. Several area trips were cancelled as was the Rally for Life scheduled to be held in White Plains.

Nevertheless, several Rocklanders made it down to Washington on their own. Richard Bruno and Peter Partridge sent back these photos from the March:

The crowds broke up quickly at the end of the March for Life at the Supreme Court as the snows of the predicted blizzard began to fall. Photo by Katie Grahn

Here’s a posting from marchers from the Hudson Valley Coalition for Life who drove to D.C. when their bus was cancelled. They had no problem getting home and arrived without incident, unlike these students who were stranded on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Eyewitness account of how this mass happened and what it was like being stranded on a bus for 24 hours in a snowstorm on the Pennsylvania Turnpike on the way back from the March for Life. (National Right to Life News Day) Another story about stranded Marchers and more photos.

UPDATES IN RED 

TODAY — FRIDAY  ROSE MASS for LIFE — 10 a.m. at St. Anthony’s in Nanuet. All are invited. (36 W. Nyack Road, Nanuet).

(1/20/16 @ noon) THE TRIP IS CANCELLED. 

While it was unlikely the bus would encounter any problems on the way to the March, or maybe even coming home on the northern NJ to Rockland leg of the trip, our concern was the situation in the Washington, D.C., area. The National Weather Service has issued a blizzard watch for the capital beginning at noon, Friday. If the storm does, in fact, set in then, it could lead to a very dangerous situation on the roads getting home.  Our contract with the bus company required us to make a decision today.  Please check back later for more details. Continue reading →

Here’s the official March for Life 2016 promo video. In the words of one young woman, her involvement with the March for Life “opened our eyes to how amazing life really is, and how many people support the pro-life movement, and all the babies, and the mothers and the fathers.”

It’s only a minute long. Please give it a look.

What brings them?  Those hundreds of thousands who travel to the March for Life in Washington, D.C., each January.

It’s what you do when you believe in something that’s just so important that your commitment reaches  down to the very roots of your soul. When you know that what you hold most dear is being threatened, and even if nobody stands up but you, you have to do it. When your faith, your belief in what our country is supposed to stand for, and your concern for those who are suffering won’t let you turn away.

When you know you have to do your part to defend the Right for Life, come to the March.

There you’ll see your single effort multiplied many thousand times over, your strength will reinforced by the passion of marchers of every age, religion, race, and ethnic background from every state of the union. And your heart will be uplifted and renewed by what you’ll be a part of there.

The March for Life is held each on January 22, the day commemorating the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision which legalized abortion on demand in 1973. Continue reading →

Very soon we’ll be posting all the information you’ll need about our annual trip to the  2016 March for Life against abortion, which will take place on Friday, Jan. 22, this year. We’ve already reserved three charter buses.

But right now we want to give you a heads up that there will be a new policy in place:

EVERYONE MUST RESERVE A SEAT AND PAY BEFORE THE TRIP. WE MUST RECEIVE YOUR CHECK BY JAN. 13.

The seats are $30 for adult; $15 for child. Clergy ride free, but you still must make a reservation so we know you’re coming.

Here are some Q&As that will explain more about this new policy. Please click here.

An estimated 200,000 defenders of life traveled to Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Jan. 22., to mark the 42nd anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion in America in 1973.

Among the thousands of men, women, teenagers, and children who marched together down Constitution Avenue, past the Capitol to the Supreme Court, were many from the Rockland prolife community, including those who came on two buses chartered by the Rockland Right to Life Committee.

For those, the day began before dawn. Msgr. Joseph Giandurco, pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Suffern, greeted the marchers as they boarded the bus at the church parking lot at 5 a.m.

Continue reading →

Throughout the day, On the March  will post texts, tweets, and photos from the marchers in Washington, and messages from YOU!  If you would like to be part of today’s event and send a shout out to our friends, the Rockland Marchers, please text it to 201-739-4413 or email it to RocklandRT@optonline.com, and it will appear HERE.

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6:39 a.m.  Today is ‘THE DAY.’  And They’re Off !!!!!!  Heroes For Life.  Silently, fluffy snow flakes falling now in Rockland. Soon, many voices resounding in Washington in support of the sanctity of Life. God bless them all. — Jeanmarie Grahn

10:30 a.m. from Joanne Clemente — Lilly and Eileen singing

Continue reading →

EVERY LIFE IS A GIFT: MARCH for LIFE 2015

!!!!!!  UPDATE !!!!!!

THE BUSES HAVE LEFT FROM SACRED HEART, ST. ANTHONY’S and ALBERTUS MAGNUS HIGH SCHOOL and ARE ON THEIR WAY

FOR UPDATED INFORMATION ABOUT OUR TRIP TO THE MARCH — CLICK HERE

WEATHER FOR THE MARCH IS GOOD — FORECAST IS 47 DEGREES, MOSTLY SUNNY, IN D.C. 

The location of the Rally has been changed this year. It is still the National Mall, but will be between 12th and 14th Streets — closer to the Washington Monument.

CLICK HERE FOR LINE-UP OF SPEAKERS FOR THE RALLY FOR LIFE

THE MARCH FOR LIFE WILL BE BROADCAST LIVE ON THE ETERNAL WORD TELEVISION NETWORK. CHECK OUT THESE EVENTS ON CABLE CHANNELS 135 (OPTIMUM CABLEVISION) AND 285 (FIOS).