Uttecht joins effort to rally against abortion

Six locals attend March For Life rally in Washington, D.C.
By: 
Miriam Nelson
News Editor

(Editor’s note: The Wittenberg Enterprise and Birnamwood News recently sat down with Mary Uttecht, of Galloway, who attended the March For Life rally in Washington, D.C., in January.)

Q: Who went and what was your connection to each other?
A: I brought my daughter, Hope. Crystal Bushman brought her son, Aiden, and Suzi Kaminski brought her son, Cody. We’re all from the Galloway/Rosholt area.

Q: Have you attended an event like this before?
A: I have attended the March for Life seven times before this. It was Hope’s, Crystal’s and Suzi’s second time and Aiden and Cody’s first time. This was the largest crowd I think I have ever experienced before. Part of it was because for the first time in 47 years, the president of the United States appeared live at the event.

Q: What was your itinerary for the trip?
A: We departed Stevens Point on Wednesday, Jan. 22, on one of six buses, a total of 273 people, that the Catholic Diocese of LaCrosse had arranged. We were able to tour the Flight 93 Memorial in Stoystown, Pennsylvania, around 9 a.m. on Thursday, went to Mass at the St. John Paul II National Shrine in Washington, D.C., later that day.

Friday, Jan. 24, we attended a youth rally with Mass at the Eagle Bank Arena in Fairfax, Virginia, with thousands of youth and adults before attending the March for Life to the Capitol. It was estimated that 600,000 people attended the march that traveled from the National Mall to the Supreme Court steps, where Roe v. Wade was passed on Jan. 22, 1973.

Q: What did you experience at the event?
A: Before the march, there was a rally on the National Mall with pro-life speakers, senators and the president of the United States. Along the march, we visited with many other marchers. One was a young 12-year-old girl with cerebral palsy being pushed in a wheelchair by her mother holding a sign. Another one was a young man around 6 years old with Down syndrome marching with his family.

Q: What impressed you the most about the event and how it was handled?
A: One of the things that has impressed me, this and every other year I have attended, is the fact that everyone is so loving and cheerful. There aren’t any hateful things being shouted.

The only yelling you hear are some chants the young people have created such as “We love babies. Yes, we do. We love babies. How about you?” or many groups walking and praying as they walk.

As you walk the route, you pass or walk with many groups of people. At one point, you may be praying, and the next you may be chanting a fun chant to see which group can be the loudest. About 70-80% of the marchers are youth ages 13-25 or so, all extremely respectful and peaceful.

Q: Why was it important for you to attend from an individual and/or historical point of view?
A: I actually debated attending this year because of all the political upheaval and the fact that most pro-life people support our president, and that isn’t looked upon kindly at all times. So I had debated that for safety reasons, maybe we should avoid Washington, D.C., this year. With some encouragement from my husband, I decided to go ahead with the trip.

On Wednesday as we were traveling is when we found out the president would appear live, and it was then that I realized how historic this event would be this year. I have been very pro-life for a long time but since adopting Hope 13 years ago, I have a very strong tie to adoption as a real option in lieu of abortion.

While on the march, Hope pointed out a poster that someone was carrying that said, “18 years ago my mom chose adoption instead of abortion.” She looked at me and said, “That could be my sign, too.” I was also touched by one of the speakers that said not only do we want to reverse Roe v. Wade, more importantly we need to help people see that abortion is unthinkable so that legal or not, it won’t be sought out.

Q: Were you able to speak with any Wisconsin senators or representatives while you were there?
A: For the first time in many years, we were not able to speak with any senators or representatives. Sean Duffy, the former U.S. representative for Wisconsin’s Seventh Congressional District, had always invited us to his office for a social and time to talk with him. We did not receive any invites this year to do that, and I personally did not seek out anyone.