Archdiocese of Detroit represented by expecting mothers, youth organizers and experienced marchers

WASHINGTON — Hundreds of thousands of people trekked up Capitol Hill on Constitution Avenue during the 2020 March for Life.

Each protester carried with them their own unique reason for being there, as unique as the millions upon millions of children lost to abortion since the United States Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision in 1973.

Alexandria Staniszewski, a parishioner at St. Mary in Royal Oak, knew exactly who she was marching for: the child in her womb, who was making his or her first March for Life months before being born.

“This is my fourth time coming here, but this is my first time carrying a baby,” Staniszewski told Detroit Catholic. “It makes it all the more powerful and meaningful for me to know that I’m carrying life within me and fighting not only for my child but those who do not have a voice.

“It’s incredible special having my baby already here,” Staniszewski continued. “As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become more invested in the goals of the pro-life movement. I certainly could understand and appreciate the goals as a teenager, and as a college student, but now it’s more meaningful to be here as a wife and mother.”  

While it was the first March for Life for Staniszewski's unborn child, Gino Vitale of SS. Cyril and Methodius Parish in Sterling Heights went to the first March for Life in 1974 and has returned almost every year.  

“It says in the Bible, if we are Christians and follow what God says, then when we see evil, and we don’t do anything about it, then we are just as guilty as the evil person,” Vitale said. “If we go to church, follow God and his laws, then why don’t we do what He says?”

In addition to defending the unborn, Vitale said the march is an opportunity to strengthen one’s resolve and speak out for the pro-life movement.

“We just don’t get it, and I don’t know why,” Vitale said. “We need this message from our pastors. We are on a ship, a ship that is sinking because the voices are too quiet. Silence only helps the oppressor; it never helps the victims. We have to speak up or we are helping the oppressors.”

The march serves as an informal pro-life networking event of sorts, with thousands of schools, parishes, dioceses and pro-life organizations converging on Washington, D.C. The march allows people to reconnect and share in the gains the pro-life movement has enjoyed since Roe v. Wade and to boost others in building a genuine culture of life that not only would make abortion illegal, but unthinkable in a society that values and defends the life of well-being of every person.

Katelyn Feldpausch, an organizer for Protect Life Michigan, made her eighth March for Life, this time bringing 167 college students to the march, the next generation of pro-life leaders.

“It’s super encouraging to me,” Feldpausch said. “I love seeing the young enthusiasm with me, and it builds my spirit. I hear a lot of the students crediting the March for Life as something that kick-started them into their pro-life careers.

“Going to march when I was younger left a big impression on me, seeing the mass numbers of people out here to make a difference,” Feldpausch continued. “We are out here to be a pro-life witness not just today, but to be a voice for those who don’t have a voice.”

Some marched for those they know who’ve had an abortion, others marched for those whose mothers have chosen life, and still others marched to show their support for the first time, to be counted as one of the thousands who stand up against the culture of death.

“I’ve been involved in the pro-life movement for at least 10 years, working four years as a volunteer at Birth Choice, a clinic for mothers in need, and the last five years at Mother and Unborn Baby Care in Southfield, as a retired nurse,” said Barbara Lupinski of Our Lady of the Lakes Parish in Waterford. “Many of the women are very troubled, coming for difficult circumstances. So I’m marching to recognize the tremendous strength women who choose life have.

“I felt a tremendous call from God to be here,” Lupinski continued. “It’s an awesome experience that everyone should have once or twice in their life, no matter their age, their religion or life circumstances. It’s a tremendous feeling being here.”