Hundreds turn out for anti-abortion march in downtown Spokane

Love – for life, for babies – was the most common motto for the hundreds of anti-abortion marchers who descended upon downtown Spokane on Saturday morning for the annual Walk for Life Northwest.

Dressed to battle the biting cold, their signs hoisted high, about 500 anti-abortion activists gathered around 11 a.m. Saturday at the Red Wagon in Riverfront Park, where they heard rousing speeches before taking to the streets. Some came with church groups, others with family and friends, all to protest abortion and, they said, fight for babies’ rights.

“We’re here because we’re committed to showing life is a gift to be cherished and protected,” said event organizer Charlotte Oliva. “So we always show up no matter the weather.”

It was a chilly 36 degrees when speakers took the stage. Many in the crowd hoisted signs saying “I Am the Pro-life Generation,” which were distributed by march organizers. People from religious organizations had their own signs, including several from Spokane chapters of the Knights of Columbus.

First to speak was Oliva, who adapted a local version of the national March for Life – which hit cities nationwide Friday – three years ago. The Spokane march falls on the Saturday closest to the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, a landmark Supreme Court decision that extended the 14th Amendment to include women’s rights to an abortion.

Since its inception, it’s grown little by little, though last year’s numbers of about 1,000 dwarfed this year’s – likely prompted by the size of the the 2017 Women’s March the weekend before.

Oliva said each year, the goal of the march is to encourage people to gather in solidarity, and to show the world there are more people who lean anti-abortion than is generally believed. Overall, she said she wants the message to be about embracing life and encouraging inclusivity, unlike some anti-abortionists who peddle graphic signs of aborted fetuses and shout at people.

Last year, a small group of radicals distracted the crowd, Oliva said, but this year they were nowhere to be found. In fact, there were no counterprotests, save for a man who hoisted a Lisa Brown sign for a few minutes before the march.

Second to the stage was Oliva’s daughter, Laura Oliva, who spoke about the Hierarchy of Rights Principal, which she likened to the Declaration of Independence’s promise of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

“Abortion overturns the natural order of rights and says one person’s right to freedom is more important than another’s right to life,” she said. “And that her freedom can be used to violently snuff out another’s life and that life’s potential for liberty or happiness.”

In the crowd were several churches, including the parish of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes, and several students from anti-abortion clubs at Gonzaga University and Whitworth University.

At the end of the speeches – which also included Courtney Snailum from I-Choice, a pregnancy care center that helps women choose birth over abortion, and local pastors – the crowd took to the downtown streets.

They marched on Stevens Street, walked south for a few blocks, then turned west on Riverside Avenue. From there, they headed north on Post Street, and east on Main Avenue toward the park. Altogether, traffic was stopped for about 30 minutes by police barricades as the group made their way through streets in about 15 minutes.

Jeanne Adolfson, 61, was walking with a sign that read “Babies Lives Matter.” A lifelong Catholic and anti-abortion activist for close to 40 years, she said she was compelled to march in Spokane for the first time.

“Part of me coming was just the Holy Spirit saying ‘You’ve got to get involved,’ ” she said.

Walking with several of his siblings was 10-year-old Joshua Fridemaker. He was holding a sign he made the night before that said “Babies don’t grow on trees,” next to a bright green tree drawn with color pencil.

“We just really wanted to help try to stop abortion,” the All Saints Catholic School student said.

And to those who don’t agree with the anti-abortion message?

“I don’t really care if you don’t agree,” he said. “But I still do.”