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Winter Storm Jonas stopped many pro-lifers from the Albany Diocese from making the trek down to Washington, D.C., for the Jan. 22 March for Life.

The annual march has taken place since the year after the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion throughout the United States. The Albany Diocese has consistently sent buses of pro-life advocates down to the event - until this year.

"Because of the storm, we made a decision" to cancel the buses from Albany, said coordinator Barbara Fraterrigo. "We knew we could get [the advocates] down there OK, but getting them back was the concern."

Winter Storm Jonas swept across the east coast last weekend, creating a state of emergency for many areas, including Washington. With an estimated two feet of snow predicted for the D.C. area, thousands of pro-lifers dropped out of the event beforehand. Although the march went on, it was significantly smaller than usual due to the storm.

Still made it
Paul Wenner of Sacred Heart parish in Stamford, who's been going to the march for more than 25 years, was part of a group of 41 Catholics from the Diocese who did make it to Washington.

"We always stay overnight in a Knights of Columbus hall in Maryland," he said, so his group wasn't worried about the weather. The Maryland knights gave them a nice dinner the night before the march, plus a hot breakfast and a bagged lunch "to go" the next morning.

Ironically, "it was one of the more comfortable days we've been down there," said Mr. Wenner. "It started snowing when the march started, but it was fine. It was snowing a while, but I didn't see an inch of snow on the ground." Mr. Wenner said he attends the march every year to "send a message to Congress that this is an important issue and we aren't going away." He also enjoys watching young people get involved in the pro-life movement.

Usually, he noted, "you can't even move through the crowds, they are so thick. This year we had no problem jumping in the march."

Snowbound
Debbie Morris of St. Ann's parish in Fort Ann decided to risk the blizzard. Having wanted to go to the march for several years, she and her husband went down to Washington, but "by the time we parked our rental car and took the metro [downtown], the march was just disbanding."

Instead, the couple walked to the Supreme Court building and talked to seminarians, youths and other activists there.

"We met people everywhere we went," Mrs. Morris said. "We didn't get to go to any of the events, but in our journey we were really encouraged and hopeful."

The couple had made arrangements to fly to Oklahoma City afterward to visit family, but the airport was closed. They took a train back home.

One thing Mrs. Morris took away from the trip was the large number of young people in attendance. She estimated that about 75 percent of the pro-lifers she encountered were youths.

Groups of students from Catholic Central High School in Troy, Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons School in Schenectady and Saratoga Central Catholic High had tickets to the annual youth rally. Deb McHale, a theology teacher at Spa Catholic, noted that abortion "really is a topic in the high school level. We talk about love and commitment, and the science to it, too. The moment of conception is life."

Students stopped
Ms. McHale had planned on taking seven students to the youth rally and the march -- the first time a group from Spa Catholic would be attending -- but the inclement weather forced all the Catholic schools in the Diocese to cancel. Disappointed, the teacher hopes her students will find other ways to support the right to life.

Michelle Innacone of St. Joseph's/St. Michael's/Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish in Amsterdam was planning on taking her four children to the march and youth rally. The family headed toward Washington, but had to turn back.

Though they missed the march, Mrs. Innacone noted that her children are educated on life issues: "My kids know that they are praying for babies, praying for moms."

Mrs. Innacone's daughter, Genevieve, had been excited about the march, saying that "there's so much to look forward to down there." In the past, she had only been able to watch the rally on television.

The nation's capitol received two feet of snow during the weekend, after the March for Life. Catholic News Service reported that nearly 50,000 people attended the rally at the Washington Monument. In past years, 10 times that many have been in attendance.[[In-content Ad]]

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