Continue the fight for life

Vivian Veillion
Hannan High

The 2023 March of Life trip to Washington, D.C., was an eye-opening experience for me, not because I wasn’t fully on board with the pro-life cause but because it opened my eyes to more ways of seeing it.

Hearing speakers discuss why they’re pro-life and why we should be, too, illuminated a whole new way of seeing everything. Especially hearing Amber Sims say abortion hurts not one, but two people. She revealed that she was almost aborted and not wanted, but she also focused on her mom not aborting her.

A real-life decision
She had a rough time when she found out she was almost aborted, but she said her mother had a hard time making the decision to save her. In the end, her mother said having Amber was the best decision she had ever made. Her mother was brave enough to stand for herself and now has an amazing daughter whom she loves.

Our ministry nights were so powerful; you could just feel the love and support and feel that everyone was there for a reason – the March for Life. Ministry night featured eucharistic adoration. It was amazing being at adoration and witnessing everyone’s willingness to lay everything they had out for God. Everyone was singing praise and worship songs with the Vigil Project, whether or not they could sing.

The march was the best part of the whole trip. It was crazy to see the amount of people there. You could feel the power of everyone around you supporting life. We chanted, sang and prayed. At the end, I looked around and thought, “This is why I’m here, this is why I’m pro-life.”

Everyone was cheering and so happy that this was the first year Roe vs. Wade was overturned. We were marching not to overturn it, but to keep it overturned. This trip also showed me the work that remains to keep life sacred. We still have to take a stand for life, just as we did in Washington, D.C., even if that means going against the grain of others who don’t agree.

Vivian Veillion is a sophomore at Archbishop Hannan High School in Covington.