By Patrick Downes | Hawaii Catholic Herald

Small children are always plentiful at the annual March for Life at the state capitol and this year was no exception. Their presence, with young mothers and fathers in tow, offered a cheerful visual sermon on the event’s serious message in support of life.

The rally, Jan. 22, brought together about 400 people of all ages on the capitol’s makai steps to listen to religious and political leaders give their perspectives on abortion. The audience included Catholic priests and religious sisters and students from at least two Catholic schools.

Lt. Gov. James “Duke” Aiona, one of the first speakers, praised his audience for being “brave souls” willing to demonstrate their support for unborn life.

Introduced by Hawaii Catholic Conference director Kelly Rosati as a “champion for life” and “the real deal,” Aiona cited recent news reports that abortion rates in the United States were dropping.

That means “the nation is coming to grips with abortion,” he said.

He called it an important “cultural shift.”

The lieutenant governor urged his audience to remain committed to the cause.

“We have to persevere and we have to keep to our principles,” he said.

He then read a proclamation by President George W. Bush.

A string of “pro-life” politicians took the stage after Aiona, promoting legislative efforts to protect life in the womb and underscoring the importance of fighting for an unpopular cause.

Bishop Larry Silva took the stage commended the legislators who were pro-life, calling it a difficult public stand to take.

“I thank God for them,” he said.

The bishop went on to challenge the logic of those who argue that a free society should leave up to the individual to choose an abortion. He said the reasoning fails when “slavery,” “murder” and “abuse” are substituted as “free choices” in place of abortion.

While speakers took to the podium, students from Our Lady of Good Counsel lined Beretania Street on the other side of the capitol building displaying signs and posters defending life and rejecting abortion while waving to the stream of pau-hana traffic.

The school’s fifth through eighth graders had been discussing and writing on the topic of abortion for about two weeks prior to the march. That morning, they had held signs along the road by their school in Pearl City.

After school a group of them hopped on two buses with the Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish youth ministry to join the downtown rally. Later, one of the students commented, “I felt proud of myself that I was able to represent my school and prove to others that abortion needs to be stopped. It’s a great, great feeling when people are honking their horns.”

The March for Life, together with events in Washington, D.C., and other cities, marked the 35th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion.

It was sponsored by Hawaii Right to Life, Hawaii Family Forum and Hawaii Catholic Conference. The rally ended with a march.