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January 23, 2015
Valerie SchmalzStudents for Life of America – which bills itself as the largest pro-life group in the country – is hosting a major conference in San Francisco the day after the Walk for Life West Coast.
More than 300 members of Students for life of America also plan to attend the Walk for Life Jan. 24 and will be up front, walking down Market Street, Students for Life President Kristan Hawkins said. The organization’s motto is “Abolish abortion in our lifetime.”
“We are bringing the conference to the West Coast so we can mobilize and empower these young people up and down the West Coast,” Hawkins said. An East Coast conference, is held in conjunction with the March for Life in Washington, D.C. For more information about the Students for Life 2015 West Coast National Conference: sflalive.org.
“We are delighted to have these wonderful students who are willing to stand for life with us here in California,” said Walk for Life co-chair Eva Muntean, who noted that in addition to San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone and Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, apostolic nuncio to the United States, 10 bishops were expected at the 9:30 a.m. Walk for Life Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral Jan. 24 and at the subsequent walk.
Last year the Walk for Life drew more than 50,000 participants and this year organizers expect at least the same number. Following a rally at Civic Center at 12:30 p.m., the walk along Market Street begins at 1:30 p.m. This year, the Info Fair at Civic Center will include more than 50 vendors, including one with a portable ultrasound machine, organizers said.
Students for Life of America has 110 pro-life student groups in California alone – most on college campuses, but some at high schools, said Hawkins. Nationally there are about 830 Students for Life groups, Hawkins said.
The Students for Life East and West Coast Conferences are one-day events that provide education, training, and opportunities with pro-life activists from across America and national leaders “who all know just how vital this pro-life generation is to abolishing abortion in our lifetime,” Students for Life states on its website.
Last year was the first year Students for Life held a West Coast conference and it attracted several hundred. This year about 375 were registered and there was room for more, Hawkins said. Among the presenters at the daylong conference, which begins with 7:30 a.m. Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral, will be former Planned Parenthood director Abby Johnson and Catholic prolife apologist Stephanie Gray, Hawkins said. Participants are coming from California, Washington, Oregon and Colorado, Hawkins said.
Visit walkforlifewc.com.