WASHINGTON (BP)—Southern Baptists joined tens of thousands of other Americans in demonstrating pro-life convictions during the annual March for Life Jan. 18 in Washington, D.C.
A contingent of those who participated in the Evangelicals for Life conference Jan. 16-17 took part in the march and the rally that preceded it on the national mall.
Many attendees and staff of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, which sponsored the Evangelicals for Life conference at McLean Bible Church in suburban Washington, carried signs that said, “All people are created in the image of God.”
ERLC President Russell Moore, who was among the marchers, said in written comments: “Year after year, we march with thousands of other pro-life Americans. And every year I long for the day when we won’t have to do so. I pray for the day when the most vulnerable are protected and women and children, born and unborn, are valued such that marching for life will seem as unnecessary as marching for gravity.”
The March for Life has been held every year since 1974, one year after the Supreme Court legalized abortion throughout the country in the Roe v. Wade decision Jan. 22, 1973.
Coleman Philley, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Katy, said the march “provides an opportunity to support a holistic biblical view from birth all the way to the last seasons of life.”
While local churches may wonder how they can contribute to the pro-life cause, “coming out here gives a tangible sense” so Christians can return to their local churches and “be re-motivated to stay true” and support the sanctity of human life, Philley said.
Evan Lenow, associate professor of ethics at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, participated in the march for the first time.
“I think it’s important to me to be able to go back to my students and say: ‘This is what is happening in our world around us. This is how people are trying to influence their elected officials.’ And hopefully in the future, maybe we can have some more students come up here and participate—or maybe even as they go and lead their churches after they graduate from Southwestern, they bring people from their congregations up here.”
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After the rally, the crowd marched on Constitution Avenue from a site on the national mall to the Supreme Court building on Capitol Hill.
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