More than 200 marchers take to the streets of rural southern Michigan community to show commitment to the sanctity of life

MONROE — Nearly 200 Christians came together Oct. 26 in downtown Monroe to provide witness to the dignity of human life and the tragedy of abortion.

The first-ever “Monroe March for Life” saw local Catholics, Protestants, teens, seniors and families demonstrate their public support of the unborn and proposed legislation to protect them.

“I enjoyed talking to other pro-lifers along the way and with all types of people who marched: the old, young, those of different faiths, different political parties,” said Melissa Larner, 46, a mother of five and parishioner of St. Mary, Our Lady of the Annunciation in Rockwood.

Larner brought along her children, hoping to demonstrate the importance of taking a stand against abortion. 

“You are never too young to have a voice,” Larner said.

The pro-life march began inside St. Mary Parish in Monroe, where Fr. Kevin Roelant, associate pastor of St. Mary and nearby St. John the Baptist parishes, provided scriptural reflections on the sanctity of human life and encouraged marchers to stand up for life, even when it's difficult.

Toledo native Brittany LaCourse shared the heartbreaking story of her daughter, Ayra. After becoming pregnant with Ayra with her boyfriend two years ago, LaCourse, who worked in a pregnancy center as a sonographer and identified herself as pro-life, knew aborting her child was out of the question.

After her 12-week check-up, however, LaCourse received awful news. 

“The doctor came in the room after my ultrasound and confirmed ... my precious little girl had a rare abnormality called anencephaly,” LaCourse told those gathered.

Despite the doctor's declaration that the unborn child was “incompatible with life” and recommendation of an abortion at 13 weeks, LaCourse made her pro-life feelings known and insisted that she would do everything in her power to carry Ayra to term. While her doctor, boyfriend, and others kept pressing her to terminate the pregnancy, LaCourse said her close friends and family rallied behind her and supported her through several difficult months. 

Twenty-seven weeks into her pregnancy, however, LaCourse delivered Ayra stillborn. Despite how difficult that moment was, LaCourse shared with the audience just how special it was, too. 

“All of my close friends and family gathered in my room to just love my daughter and pray over her,” LaCourse said. “My room was filled with so much peace and love ... Despite my daughter’s diagnosis, all anyone could see was her beauty and her tiny life.”

The Monroe March for Life then proceeded out of the church into the streets of downtown Monroe. McKenzie Lamour, 20, a college student and parishioner at St. Mary’s, said despite her fears of ridicule by the public, “the support from our community was great. People driving by would wave or honk at us with smiles, and it was really nice to see.”

Lamour said the event, which was organized by the Monroe Vicariate Evangelization Committee, was a meaningful opportunity to raise awareness about abortion in a grassroots way. 

“I thought the march was wonderful because so many people from my hometown who are not always able to participate in the March for Life in Washington, D.C., could finally be a part of this movement,” Lamour said. “[We were] able to shed a light on the harshness of abortion and allow those in my community to see that. This march was so important for me personally because I could be a voice for those who cannot speak.”

As the marchers stopped in Loranger Square across from the Monroe County Courthouse, Monroe County Right to Life president Robert Burke addressed the crowd.

From the beginning of his talk, Burke, a parishioner at St. Anthony in Temperance, held up a sign reading “Real Men Support Life Born and Unborn,” with an image of an adult man holding an infant in his hands. Burke shared how during his young adult years, he had little concern for life at its earliest stages, which played a part in his then girlfriend aborting their child. He ended his speech with a motivational message about repentance and healing through Christ for those suffering from the spiritual and emotional scars of abortion.

Andy Griffith, founder and executive director of Pro-Life Man, spoke after Burke. A member of Monroe’s Redeemer Fellowship Church, Griffith organized the nonprofit, pro-life organization to encourage men to speak out against abortion.Griffith said the organization also seeks to provide support to men grieving and struggling from the loss of their own unborn children. 

The March then moved to Trinity Lutheran Church, where pastor Jeff Heimsoth, a father of seven and pastor for more than 30 years, emphasized the importance of being a pro-life Christian in today’s society, using natural law to demonstrate the immorality of abortion. 

The final leg of the march crossed Monroe’s downtown district, ending at St. Michael the Archangel Parish. Along the way, Monroe police blocked off traffic on Monroe Street, the city’s main thoroughfare, for more than five minutes. 

At St. Michael, the final speeches were provided by Amy Terrasi Diehl and Margaret Horvath. Diehl, 31, honored her late mother, Mary Sue Terrasi, who was a fervent defender of the unborn. The lifelong St. Michael parishioner recalled praying with her mother outside of local abortion clinics. 

“We often received shouts of vulgar profanities toward us, or even garbage being thrown at us out car windows that drove by. My mom knew to expect this, but explained that we pray for those who ridicule us as well,” Diehl said. “She also emphasized that if at least one woman changed her mind that day, whether it be someone walking in who later turned back, or even someone driving by who might have had a change of heart to refuse abortion, then we were successful.”

Horvath, executive director of Heartbeat of Monroe, spoke briefly about Heartbeat’s mission of supporting pregnant mothers who choose life. The organization provides parenting classes to first-time mothers and supplies them with baby care items free of charge. 

Many marchers brought with them packs of diapers, formula and other supplies to donate to Heartbeat of Monroe and New Beginnings Mercy House, another pro-life organization in Ida.

At various stops along the march, participants signed a petition to end dismemberment abortion in Michigan, a citizen-led effort that hopes to collect 400,000 signatures by January.