CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- When hundreds of thousands of people descend upon the nation\u2019s capital for the March for Life this year, they will be met with exciting changes aimed at young people and cultural renewal, said the event\u2019s leader.<\/p>\n\t\u201cI think it\u2019s really a spiritual battle,\u201d March for Life president Jeanne Monahan told CNA on Jan. 15. \u201cThis march does have a huge impact on actually saving lives.\u201d
\n\t\u00a0
\n\tForty years after the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision legalized abortion throughout America, the March for Life is looking forward to continuing this impact with Monahan, who took over as head of the organization last year.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThe rally will have a really different spirit this year,\u201d said Monahan, explaining that it will be much shorter, only about an hour, compared to several hours in the past.<\/p>\n
\tIn addition, she said, the rally will have a very different feel than in previous years, which have featured upwards of 50 legislators and other speakers. Instead, Monahan noted, the rally this year will spotlight a handful of speakers, \u201cwho are actually steeped in the issue,\u201d and the speeches will \u201ctap into all the cutting-edge pro-life issues,\u201d both legal and cultural.<\/p>\n
\tThe March for Life will also incorporate new technology into this year\u2019s event and those of the future, she continued. During the Jan. 25 rally on the National Mall, there will be \u201chuge jumbotrons so that participants will be able to see what\u2019s happening,\u201d regardless of their proximity to the speakers.<\/p>\n
\tThe jumbotrons will also be utilized before the rally to play \u201cinteresting and engaging videos related to pro-life,\u201d as well as to entertain those waiting for the march to begin.<\/p>\n
\tThe March for Life\u2019s digital presence has also been updated, with a new website that was launched just two weeks before the event. Monahan described the site as having \u201cgone from a relic to a very engaging and fun website.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe\u2019re trying to do a good job of commemorating the unique 55 million lives that we\u2019ve lost in the last four decades, but at the same time, capturing the enthusiasm of the march and young people.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tLooking towards the future, Monahan also anticipates some long-term changes for the organization.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe\u2019re the March for Life Education and Defense Fund,\u201d she said, explaining that the organization has focused on the defense aspect of holding the largest pro-life event in the country each year.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cSo now what I see happening in the future is that we\u2019ll grow our education piece\u2026 in the larger context of trying to build a culture of life,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\tWhile the organization is making changes and embracing the age of digital communications and social networking, Monahan stressed that \u201cit\u2019s really only by now standing on the wonderful foundation that Nellie (Gray) has built that we can move forward and bring some new things to the march.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tGray, the founder and former president of the March for Life, passed away in August 2012.<\/p>\n
\tIn particular, \u201cone thing that I really admire and take from Nellie,\u201d Monahan explained, \u201c is how she would pray for people and had a merciful heart towards people involved in the abortion industry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tRecounting stories of Gray praying for the conversion of abortionists, she added that her predecessor \u201chad a very merciful heart and very much knew that it was a spiritual battle.\u201d
\n\t\u00a0
\n\tMonahan also responded to speculations of record crowds attending the march this year.<\/p>\n
\tEarlier media reports have speculated that the attendance at the March for Life may outnumber that of the presidential inauguration on Jan. 21. However, while a greater percentage of the hotel rooms reserved for the march have sold out, Monahan confirmed, the inauguration committee had reserved more rooms overall than the March for Life and affiliated organizations had.<\/p>\n
\tStill, March for Life organizers are expecting large crowds. Monahan said that the group\u2019s hotels sold out about a month earlier than they normally do.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe\u2019re seeing all sorts of signs of increased enthusiasm and excitement,\u201d she said, adding that there are \u201call sorts of indicators pointing towards a large crowd.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tMonahan estimates that about 80 percent of the crowd will be young people, and that this young presence is a hopeful marker of the future of the pro-life movement and the effect it has on the culture.
\n\t\u00a0
\n\t\u201cI think that it just has a huge impact,\u201d Monahan stated, \u201cone that we can\u2019t even begin to measure.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThis impact will not only be seen in Congress, she explained, \u201cbut also just the larger message that this says to the world and to Washington: that we are a pro-life people and that we respect life and want to protect life.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Washington D.C., Jan 16, 2013 \/ 02:15 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- When hundreds of thousands of people descend upon the nation’s capital for the March for Life this year, they will be met with exciting changes aimed at young people and cultural renewal,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-us"],"yoast_head":"\n
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