Manhattan’s Broadway will be the site of a celebration of life this March 25, with the fourth annual International Gift of Life Walk set for that Wednesday.
Participants will gather in Foley Square at 9 a.m. to hear from pro-life advocates, before parading down Broadway through New York City’s “Canyon of Heroes.”
The rally and parade through the heart of the city began in 2017 after its pro-life founders were denied the opportunity to have a float in New York City’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
Speakers include Kristi Kollar, a young mother whose daughter was conceived in rape. In spite of hearing advice that abortion was the easier option, she saw her unplanned pregnancy differently.
“No matter how terrifying my situation was, and just because her dad was a rapist — none of this was my baby’s fault,” Kollar says. “There was this life inside of me, and it’s not my right to take it away.”
Kristi’s daughter Adeline is now 18 months and today accompanies her mother to speak on behalf of life around the country.
International pro-life advocate Shawn Carney, President of 40 Days for Life, will be joined by former abortionist Dr. Haywood Robinson, filmmaker Robert Kollar, and Brooklyn Church@The Rock’s Rev. Kenneth Griepp to share the stories behind their compelling support of life. The event will also feature operatic tenor James Scott Berry performing the National Anthem.
Organizer Dawn Eskew says each of the men speaking promote the best interests of women at heart. “While many label abortion a ‘women’s issue’ and invalidate male discourse on the matter, these gentlemen illustrate how that categorization is far removed from reality,” she explained.
“Take Robert Kollar … he’s a filmmaker and actor, but he will tell you that his greatest role is that of father and grandfather – of a child conceived in rape. He stood by his daughter, Kristi, through the trauma of assault, pregnancy, and single motherhood,” shared Eskew. “Together as a family, they speak out for voiceless children of violence – offering life-affirming help and compassion to sexually abused women and their loved ones.”
“They all have stories to tell,” Eskew added. “From Shawn Carney’s role in the conversion of Abby Johnson from Planned Parenthood director to pro-life advocate, Dr. Haywood’s journey from abortionist to defender of life, and Pastor Griepp’s tale of persecution by the state of New York for sharing life-affirming alternatives to abortion-bound women. None of this is academic. It’s personal.”
Eskew noted that the parade route begins at Foley Square, also known as Thomas Paine Park, home of the African Burial Ground National Monument, commemorating an 18th-century burial ground for an estimated 15,000 Africans enslaved in New York City. Participants will also glimpse a view of Freedom Tower, where among the memorialized victims of 9/11 are 11 unborn babies listed as children.
“These two historical points of reference highlight the tragedy of American abortion,” Eskew pointed out. “Less than 200 years ago slavery was legal. It was never morally right. Today, the same is true of abortion. Our mourning of the pre-born children murdered in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center underscores our innate recognition of their humanity.”
A few days before The International Gift of Life Walk, Eskew will receive the Sanctity of Human Life Award from the Queens Village Republican Club, the oldest GOP club in America.
Click here to register for the walk.
And today we celebrate...