Matthew Kaplan Photography

March for Life Chicago & Counterprotest - July 9th, 2022

Anti-abortion advocacy groups held their March for Life rally and march in Federal Plaza on Saturday afternoon, celebrating the recent Dobbs decision, by which five Republican appointees to the Supreme Court revoked a woman's constitutional right to an abortion.

Apparently not content with that signal triumph, speakers pledged to continue their fight against abortion rights in Illinois, where it remains legal due to state laws and popular sentiment. "We know our work is just beginning, especially here in Illinois. Here in Illinois where abortion clinics are no longer regulated." vowed Anna Kaminskey, flanked on stage by seven young people holding yellow umbrellas. "Roe is gone, and we won!" exalted another speaker.

Meanwhile Chicago police officers more or less successfully kept several hundred angry pro-abortion protestors separted from the pro-life event just across Dearborn Street. "Pro-life your name’s a lie! You don't care if people die!" came a steady chant from the counter demonstrators, accompanied by heavy drumbeats and loud invective.

With the speeches over, March for Life processed through the Loop streets, outnumbered (to my eye at least) by the sign waiving pro-choice protesters, who were constrained by police to hectoring the parade from the crowded sidewalks.