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Thousands of pro-life Indians gathered in Chennai on August 8-9 for the National March for Life, held to protest the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act which legalised abortion in India on August 10, 1971.

More than 50 years later, this law now permits the slaughter of babies up to 24 weeks for any reason whatsoever. An estimated 15.6 million abortions took place in India in the year 2015 alone according to a Lancet Global Health report. A decade later this number has surely increased.

It was in response to this horrific genocide that pro-lifers from across the nation converged on Chennai to march for the unborn.

A Life Exhibition for the Next Generation 

Each year the March for Life opens with a Life Exhibition, and this year’s was extended to a day prior to the March.

The exhibition inaugurated on August 8 drew about 3,000 school and college students. The exhibition extended well beyond the issue of abortion: through interactive displays, students learned about the realities of IVF, the harms of contraception, the dangers of gender ideology, and the destructive effects of the pornography industry.

Pregnancy resource centers were also on hand, sharing their work and inviting students to help spread awareness of their services nationwide.

Jericho March & Eucharistic Procession

Following the exhibition, accompanied by bugles, drums, and trumpets, a powerful Jericho March was held where hundreds of pro-lifers walked amidst torrential rains in a Eucharistic Procession led by bishops, priests, nuns and lay leaders praying for the culture of death to be destroyed in India and a culture of life to prevail.

One of the priests shared with us that as they were drenched in the rains it was their ardent prayer that each drop of rain be a symbol of God’s mercy being unleashed for the nation.

Youth Conference Opens the Day of the March

The day of the March, August 9, began with a Youth Conference attended by a thousand youth from Chennai which featured talks by pro-life doctors, a musical, and an energetic pro-life dance performance.

It concluded with a prayer led by Bishop Gerald Mathias for all the babies lost to abortion, with youth placing white flags in memory of the unborn afterward.  

Testimonies, Heartbeat, and a New Memorial

The public gathering of all pro-lifers featured religious and political dignitaries, including the CBCI President Cardinal Poola, the host Archbishop Antonysamy, India’s pro-life in-charge Archbishop Kalist, and the Speaker of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly JCD Prabhakar.

Cardinal Poola proclaimed to the crowds gathered, “Let us continue to March for Life - tirelessly, faithfully, and boldly - until the abortion laws in India are repealed.”

The participants were moved to tears at the testimony of Mrs. Pranali, who shared her heartbreaking experience of three abortions. Afterward, the sound of a baby's heartbeat, played live for the assembly, silenced the crowd.

A beautiful memorial of the unborn depicting an unborn baby within a large cross was unveiled, serving as a lasting testament to the land’s commitment to protecting the preborn. 

Aftermath of the March

For the first time, the March for Life has made it to national news amidst external hate and criticism.

This has renewed the spirits of Indian pro-lifers who have now taken it on as an opportunity to proclaim the Gospel of Life 24/7. The next March for Life will be held in Hyderabad.