On January 20, 2024, the 20th Annual Walk for Life West Coast will be held. And this year, there will be additional activities added to the event, which 30,000 people are expected to attend.
The massive pro-life gathering will take place at 12:30 pm in front of Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco with Live Action founder and president Lila Rose scheduled to speak. Additional speakers include Kimberly Henkel (the founder and executive director of Springs of Love, a ministry to encourage, educate, and equip Catholics to discern fostering and adopting), and Rev. Clenard Childress.
Also speaking is Kaya Jones — a singer, songwriter, and producer who was a member of the Pussycat Dolls. Jones will share her experiences of undergoing three abortions and her journey to healing. Jones was coerced into an abortion at age 19 under the threat of job loss. Jones was on stage performing when she began hemorrhaging from her second abortion. That’s when she decided to change her life’s direction.
“The only way you get through it is to give it to God,” Jones said.
READ: March for Life unveils theme ahead of January event
This year, for the 20th anniversary, the extra activities will include pro-life face painting for kids, free books for children and adults while supplies last, and the Civic Center playground will be open for children to play.
The night before the event, a Walk for Life Prayer Vigil will be held at St. Dominic’s Church at 5:00 pm along with an all-night Adoration for Life at Saints Peter and Paul Church from 8:00 pm to 7:00 am the following day. The Walk kicks off with the Silent No More Awareness Campaign at 10:45 am, during which Georgette Forney and Frank Pavone from Priests for Life will share testimonies. At 11:00 am, the Info Faire begins, featuring vendors showcasing ways to help the pro-life cause. And then the speakers begin at 12:30 pm, followed by the walk at 1:30 pm.
“While we are challenged and called to greater efforts by the post-Dobbs defeat of pro-life efforts around the country, at the same time we are transcendently encouraged and elated by the fact that at least 32,000 lives have been saved,” the Walk for Life states on its website. “While we are mindful of the challenges ahead, and motivated by the need to make abortion unthinkable, our fundamental orientation is, and always will be, towards joy: the joy of love, of life, and of hope.”
On the other side of the U.S. on January 19, the 51st Annual March for Life will be held in Washington, D.C. The rally begins at noon on the National Mall and can be watched live on Facebook, and YouTube. Featured guests will include Benjamin Watson, Pastor Greg Laurie and Cathe Laurie, Jean Marie Davis, Bishop John, Aisha Taylor, Jim Daly, Jeanne Mancini, Danny Gokey, and Antonio de Mello.
