Poland: Thousands join National March for Life in Warsaw

By Karol Darmoros – Warsaw

The Polish Bishops’ Conference promoted the National March for Life in Warsaw on Sunday, 14 April, which was held under the motto “Long Live Poland”.

The event offered an expression of affirmation for life but also opposition to draft laws aimed at expanding access to abortion and thereby reducing protection for unborn children.

Ahead of the event, the President of the Polish Bishop’s Conference, Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda, urged Polish Catholics to dedicate the day to prayer in defense of life.

Affirming life

The meaning of the motto for this year's National March for Life was discussed by its spokesperson, Lidia Sankowska-Grabczuk.

"Our march is an affirmation of life, an affirmation of the family, an affirmation of all the basic rights of every human being,” she told Vatican News. “But at the same time, in the face of this revolution that is moving like a battering ram, which wants to limit the rights of parents and the rights of people to life, we are also marching in a strong sign of defiance to contain the demographic collapse and this wild rush for Europe (...) This is an important day for our country. At our march, everyone has the right to speak."

Protecting unborn children

At the start of the demonstration in Warsaw, the heartbeat of an unborn baby whose mother came to the march could be heard from the loudspeakers.

"We will not surrender, no matter what happens in the Polish Parliament. We will stand firm until the rights of unborn children are guaranteed," declared Boguslaw Kiernicki, President of the St. Benedict Foundation, which organized the march.

The march in defense of life brought together thousands of people from all over Poland who came to Warsaw.

"We're here to show that life matters, that every child is a gift, and that even though this means giving up some things, we see what treasure kids are. We know that they are potential future scientists and doctors. We don't know how many diseases could have been cured and how many medicines could have been created if the children who were not born had been born," according to Ewa Liszkowska, who came with her husband Tomasz and their five children from Poznań, speaking to Vatican News.

Caring for women after childbirth

Teresa Janowska from the Gaudium Vitae Association in Gdynia emphasized the importance of caring for pregnant women and providing care for them after delivery.

"We also assist women after childbirth, even before the state steps in with assistance,” said Ms. Janowska. “The Church circles are often falsely accused of not being interested in and supporting women who decide to give birth. We contradict this.”

The National March for Life was preceded by Masses celebrated at two Warsaw cathedrals – St. John the Baptist Archcathedral and the Warsaw-Praga Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel and St. Florian.

A similar march for life was also held on the same day in the northwestern Polish city of Szczecin.