When the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Roe v. Wade decision that made abortion legal throughout the country, Gloria Purvis was troubled by how some framed the ruling’s impact on poor Black women.

In places where abortion is restricted, the narrative went, Black women would not have access. Wealthy white women, on the other hand, could pay to travel elsewhere to obtain abortions. Black women were essentially told they need abortion as a matter of equality and empowerment, said Purvis, a nationally-known Catholic, African-American pro-life activist.

“I say, if you want to make us equal to these wealthy white women, why don’t you look at the things they have that we don’t – access to clean water, access to good schools, access for our husbands to have good jobs – for us to have good jobs – for us to live in communities that actually have grocery stores,” said Purvis, the keynote speaker at the Feb. 27 Maryland March for Life in Annapolis.

“The answer to equality is not to remove the pre-born child from the difficult situation,” Purvis said to cheers and applause. “It’s to remove the difficult situation.”

More than 1,000 people braved a cold, steady rain at the Maryland March for Life, which began at St. Mary in Annapolis and ended with a rally on Lawyer’s Mall in front of the State House. The Archdiocese of Baltimore and The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington were among the sponsors of the 44th annual event, which featured several participants carrying signs with messages such as “Love Life – Choose Life” and “Equal Rights for Every Body.”

As the Maryland General Assembly considers a host of bills including a constitutional amendment that would enshrine a right to abortion through all nine months of pregnancy and a measure that would legalize physician-assisted suicide, marchers called on lawmakers to respect life from the moment of conception to natural death.

Erin Younkins, director of the Office of Life, Justice and Peace in the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s Institute for Evangelization, said more than 25 parishes from the Archdiocese of Baltimore participated in the march this year. Several schools were also represented, including Mount de Sales Academy in Catonsville, whose “Guardians for Life” student group was honored by Students for Life of America with its group of the year award.

“We need to make sure people understand the legislation being considered this year in Annapolis,” Younkins said. “Enshrining abortion in the constitution for all nine months – for any reason – is beyond extreme.”

Sponsored by House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones and Senate President Bill Ferguson, both Democrats, the proposed constitutional amendment is supported by Gov. Wes Moore, also a Democrat. It would set up a 2024 referendum for Maryland voters to decide whether to codify abortion into the constitution. 

Scott Oesterle, a parishioner of the pastorate of St. Agnes in Catonsville and St. William of York in Baltimore, participated in the march with his 12-year-old daughter, Kateri, who carried a sign saying “No Assisted Suicide.”

“We need to witness not just to the people, not just to our legislators and to the community,” Oesterle said. “We need to witness to our children what we stand for and what we believe.”

Father Michael Triplett, pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Ellicott City, attended the march with more than 50 of his parishioners. While pro-life supporters often struggle in a state that already has some of the most permissive abortion laws in the country, he sees signs for optimism.

“I see momentum shifting,” Father Triplett said. “Even in this state where we’re sometimes faced with frustrating laws, I think overall we are making headway in the culture.”

The priest said the message of personal conversion is critical in building a culture of life.

“We’ve got to be honest about the fact that we are weak, we are sinful and we shouldn’t rely on our own self,” he said. “We have to look to Christ in prayer and be honest and challenge ourselves. It all begins with facing our own need for conversion.”

Jonathan M. Alexandre, an attorney for the Maryland Family Institute, told marchers that Maryland is proud of Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman, historic figures who fought against slavery in the 19th century. The time has come to “free Maryland’s babies from the shackles and the chains of abortion,” he said.

Holding up a painting of a Black baby in the womb, Alexandre called the image “beautiful.”

“Keep your hands off Maryland’s Black baby,” Alexandre said, speaking to the state’s abortion providers. “We invite everyone to see these babies just the same way that we see them. See them as being beautiful, see them as being loved.”

At the conclusion of her keynote address, Purvis urged pro-life supporters not to “get down on these women who are single, who are poor, who have chosen life.”

“They are the ones heeding the pro-life message because they are choosing life even in difficult circumstances,” she said, asserting that women need to be accompanied and supported throughout their pregnancies. “They are heroes.”

She noted how her personal life was impacted by abortion. When Purvis became pregnant as an older mother, her doctor urged her to consider an abortion since there was a concern her child would be deformed. Purvis and her husband insisted on bringing the child to term.

“Even after all that, it was like running the gauntlet to get to delivery,” Purvis remembered. “When I went to have my ultrasounds, it was always about termination.”

Pausing, Purvis added that there was “one other thing” she wanted to say.

“Maybe I do it better by showing,” she said, calling forward her daughter, Lourdes. “I want you to see what this doctor tried to deprive me of. She’s healthy. She’s beautiful. And she’s a child of God. And, Maryland, this is why we march.”

(George P. Matysek Jr. is managing editor for Catholic Review Media and producer/host of Catholic Review Radio of the Archdiocese of Washington.)