Secular Pro-Life
  • Home
  • About
    • Meet The Team
    • Mission and Vision
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Stances
      • Abortion
      • Religion
      • Contraception
      • The Rape Exception
    • Privacy
  • Content
    • Index
    • Blog
    • Presentations
      • A Secular Case Against Abortion
      • Building Bridges
      • Deconstructing Three Pro-Choice Myths
      • Overlooked Findings of the Turnaway Study
    • Research
      • Abortion Law and Abortion Rates
      • Abortion Law and Pregnancy Rates
      • Later Abortion
      • Embryonic Hearts
      • Abortion Views and Gender
    • Collections
      • For the biology textbook tells me so
      • They can hear you
      • Parents can hear you
      • Our children’s heartbeats
      • Becoming Pro-Life
      • Ask An Atheist
      • Fixed that meme for you
    • Print Materials
      • 100 Pro-Life Sign Ideas
      • Overview Brochure
      • FAQ
      • Why Secular People Should Care
      • Tell People You’re Pro-Life
      • Bridges
      • Presentation Overview card
    • Store
  • Contact
  • Get Involved
    • Why support SPL?
    • Donor Opportunities
    • Volunteer Opportunities
    • Volunteer Survey
    • More Surveys
      • Why do you support SPL?
      • Best and Worst Abortion Arguments
      • “Ask An Atheist” Interview
      • Non-Traditional Pro-Life Survey
      • LGBT Pro-Life Survey
      • Parents experiences with prenatal screening
  • Donate
  • Menu Menu

Walk for Life West Coast 2012

January 23, 2012/8 Comments/in Uncategorized /by Monica Snyder
Last Saturday (January 21st) was the Walk for Life West Coast in downtown San Francisco.  Secular Pro Life representatives Neil and Ellen Snyder attended, carrying the SPL banner with the slogan: “Call me an extremist, but I think dismemberment is wrong.”  (This is my personal favorite slogan. If you like it too, you can get the bumper sticker at the SPL Zazzle Store.)
After the Walk, Neil and Ellen shared some of their impressions (and photos) with me.

The Walk began at City Hall. Neil and Ellen arranged the SPL banner in front of the Asian Art Museum while listening to some of the speakers.  

Neil noted the speakers talked a great deal about faith and how abortion is against God’s rule.  Ellen found the speeches emphasized sin. It’s completely understandable that a large gathering of people with common beliefs will view abortion through the perspective of their faith.  However each year I can’t help but wonder how many potential pro-lifers feel too alienated by a religious-specific perspective to join us.  

This is not to say the religious marchers are unwelcoming.  On the contrary, during the 2011 Walk I received many compliments and support regarding our SPL signs.  During this year’s Walk several young Catholic marchers helped Neil and Ellen carry the considerably large SPL banner.  With their assistance, our representatives were able to hold the banner high while discussing the secular perspective on abortion with fellow protesters.
The banner could be seen quite well from a distance. 🙂
The Walk was as large as ever, numbering in the tens of thousands.
Of course there was plenty of religious expression:



(Prayer circle.)
 And plenty of reaction to religious expression:


(“Not the Church. Not the State. Women decide our fate!”)
With this ongoing religious/anti-religious conversation, I’m all the more grateful that we were once again able to have an SPL presence at the Walk.  Many thanks to Ellen for getting the photos, and to Neil for getting, as he put it, “quite a workout” as he steadfastly carried the banner for the duration. 🙂
(Photo courtesy of HappyCatholic.org)
(Neil fighting the good fight.)

Related Posts

Tags: M, pro-life protests, religion, Walk for Life West Coast
Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share by Mail
https://i0.wp.com/secularprolife.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/IMG_5196.jpg?fit=400%2C300&ssl=1 300 400 Monica Snyder https://secularprolife.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/SecularProlife2.png Monica Snyder2012-01-23 23:39:002021-11-08 12:45:03Walk for Life West Coast 2012
You might also like
Senator Tim Kaine, the “Personally Pro-Life” Politician
Recap: Let There Be Life Conference 2018 at UC Berkeley
Gonzales v. Carhart: What can you see?
Poll: Who are the pro-lifers?
Walk for Life Recap
Irony at the March for Life counter-protest
“Talking about my abortion.”
“The people want Roe to stay.”
8 replies
  1. Anonymous
    Anonymous says:
    January 23, 2012 at 11:58 pm

    Neil, you look resolute! Well done, both of you.

    Log in to Reply
  2. Dolce
    Dolce says:
    January 24, 2012 at 1:04 am

    This is awesome! I love that you guys were there 🙂

    Log in to Reply
  3. Anonymous
    Anonymous says:
    January 24, 2012 at 1:31 am

    it must take courage to march for life in san francisco of all places. the march looked so peaceful and the choicees truly looked stunned. WE MUST SOMEHOW SHOW THEM OUR LOVE. We know we will keep marching for how ever long it takes. (whoever it was holding that sign, thumbs up)

    Log in to Reply
  4. secularprolife.org
    secularprolife.org says:
    January 24, 2012 at 2:05 am

    Major kudos to the California contingent! Well done!

    Log in to Reply
  5. Anonymous
    Anonymous says:
    January 24, 2012 at 9:46 pm

    I am one of the organizers of the Walk and noticed and liked your banner. There certainly are many arguments against abortion where God or religion are not a necessary part of the argument; just pure reason alone. I'm curious if you ever give talks and what kind of a speaker you consider yourself to be. If you have a video or sound recording of a talk, could you send it to penelope@ignatius.com? Thanks! Penelope

    Log in to Reply
  6. Kelsey
    Kelsey says:
    January 24, 2012 at 11:38 pm

    Thanks, Anonymous! You can view videos of our talks here: http://secularprolife.org/video.php
    We were also recently featured on NPR: http://www.npr.org/2012/01/23/145642200/new-generation-grapples-with-roe-v-wade

    Log in to Reply
  7. LN
    LN says:
    January 31, 2012 at 7:42 am

    Why did my comment on this post get deleted?

    Log in to Reply
  8. secularprolife.org
    secularprolife.org says:
    January 31, 2012 at 2:21 pm

    Pantheroom, I don't see any comments of yours in the spam filter… try again?

    Log in to Reply

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Follow via Email

* indicates required

Categories

  • Ableism
  • Abortion pills
  • Administrative
  • Adoption & Foster Care
  • Biology
  • Bodily Rights
  • en español
  • Later Abortion
  • Legislation, laws, & court cases
  • Miscarriage & Pregnancy Loss
  • Personhood
  • Philosophy
  • Pro-Life Demographics
  • Rape Exception
  • Religion
  • Research
  • Speeches, Discussions, Presentations
  • SPL Emails
  • They Can Hear You
  • Top SPL Articles
  • Top SPL Graphics
  • Uncategorized
  • We Asked You Answered
  • Year In Review
  • Your Stories

Archive

It’s crucial that we demonstrate that anyone can–and everyone should–oppose abortion. Thanks to you, we are working to change minds, transform our culture, and protect our prenatal children. Every donation supports our ability to provide nonsectarian, nonpartisan arguments against abortion. Read more details here. Please donate today.

DONATE
SUBSCRIBE
© Copyright 2025 Secular Pro-Life. All rights reserved. Website Design by TandarichGroup

Related Posts

Update Walk for Life West Coast
Scroll to top
Want to join our mailing list?

We’d be happy to keep in touch. Subscribe for access to our newsletter and other updates.