Annual March for Life rallies pro-life support downtown

The national March for Life event brought about 100 demonstrators to the Gallatin Valley Courthouse in support of the pro-life movement last Saturday. Participants held signs, joined in group prayers and marched down Main Street to protest the legality of abortion.

“We’re out here for the anniversary of Roe v. Wade,” said community member Molly Wilmington. “It’s a good time every year to stand up for women and children and families to help them understand that God created them for love and for life.”

The Bozeman event was organized by MSU Students for Life (SFL), a club dedicated to protecting preborn lives and supporting pregnant and parenting students at MSU, according to its Instagram profile.

Saturday’s protesters marched down Main Street with signs reading, “Pray to Change Hearts,” and “A Blessing Not a Burden,” among other phrases.

The group met little opposition, with the exception of a handful of individuals driving past and booing. One counter-protester made several passes by the march with a megaphone, shouting, “My body, my rights.”

“We just march peacefully,” said community member and participant Christopher Henderson. “We say some prayers for the unborn — and for the born of course — in all stages of life, in respect for children, the elderly and especially the most in need of help from others.”

The annual March for Life began in 1974 as a protest of Roe v. Wade, with members marching on Washington, D.C. to lobby for the overturning of the landmark case, according to the March’s website. 

In the 1973 case, the Supreme Court ruled to protect the right to have an abortion. Under the pseudonym Jane Roe, Texas resident Norma McCorvey sued her district attorney, Henry Wade, challenging state laws that prohibited abortion except for life-saving purposes. 

The Court ruled in favor of Roe, establishing abortion as a right under the due process clause of the 14th Amendment. 

Before the court’s decision, abortion was only legal in Texas when the mother’s life was at risk.  As a result of the case, an abortion ban was ruled to be unconstitutional, setting a binding precedent against similar laws across the nation.

In 2022, the Jackson Women’s Health Organization sued Thomas Dobbs, the state health officer of the Mississippi Department of Health. The health organization sought to challenge the constitutionality of a law that forbade abortion after 15 weeks except in the case of a medical emergency. 

The Court ruled in favor of Dobbs, overturning the constitutional precedent established in Roe v. Wade and returning the regulation of abortion to state courts.

In Montana, it is legal to receive an abortion if pregnancy has not reached viability, or if the procedure would be necessary to save the pregnant person’s life, according to 50-20-101 of the Montana Code Annotated.

According to BridgerCare’s Executive Director Stephanie McDowell, abortion is basic healthcare.

“Abortion is often lifesaving treatment for people who might be suffering a miscarriage,” she said. “When we saw Roe [overturned], we saw maternal mortality and infant death actually increase across the [U.S.].”

“Everyone has the right to make that decision and the information they need to make that decision on their own terms without other people interfering,” McDowell said.

According to protester Grant Gubser, a pastor at Mountainview Community Church, the rights of the unborn are often left out of the conversation. “People often think that we’re trying to take the choice away from women, but instead we’re trying to fight for the life of the child,” he said.

Some protesters cited their religious beliefs as motivation for attending the march. 

“We’re very devout practicing Catholics, and we believe that life starts at conception,” said community member Brad Colyer. “I don’t understand how you can end a child’s life while it’s still in the mother’s womb.”

“I used to be pro-choice until I found out that when my mom was pregnant with me, her doctor wanted her to abort me because it was a high-risk pregnancy,” said MSU SFL Co-President Erica White. “I was who I was in the womb, and after that, I decided to become pro-life and get more involved.”

McDowell said that the current popularity of the pro-life movement is due in large part to the politicization of the issue. “What we see with these young folks is that they’re being weaponized by a political party to believe this,” she said.

“It’s really easy to get someone caught up in their emotions when you start talking about the things they talk about, when in reality, if you look at the outcomes when people have access to abortion, pregnancies are healthier. People’s lives are healthier,” McDowell said.

Despite abortion often being a polarizing issue, several of the march’s participants encouraged productive discourse between those with differing opinions. 

“I don’t think there’s anybody here that’s not willing to sit down and have an open and frank conversation with someone,” Colyer said. “It’s difficult to have a conversation when people are shouting at each other.”

“Debates are really important between the pro-life and pro-choice conversation because it’s a very heated topic,” White said. “A lot of people tend to fight and assume things from one party versus the other, whereas I think it’s really important to foster an actual discussion.”

White stated during the march that she does not believe that the legality of abortion is a political issue. “Ultimately, it’s a human rights ordeal,” she said.

MSU SFL Co-President Corinne Canen echoed these beliefs. “There is not a shadow of a doubt in my mind that future generations will look at this time period as the civil rights movement at this time,” she said.

White encouraged students to be bold in their beliefs. “Don’t be scared of something you believe in, because ultimately, you are going to help so much more than you think,” she said.

To find out more about MSU SFL, visit its Instagram page @msusfl.

To learn more about BridgerCare and its resources, visit bridgercare.org.