Carrying placards stating “LIFE” and banners, participants marched down Main Street and State Street, concluding at the Statehouse.
Organizers said the crowd numbered about 350, a figure on par with previous years.
The Rally for Life commemorates the anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1973 that legalized abortion, Roe v. Wade. The event is organized by the Vermont Right to Life Committee.
After marching through town, hundreds gathered in the Vermont House Chamber for a program that included Vermonter Amy Cochran and women from Pennsylvania and Colorado talking about their experiences with abortion earlier in life.
Before leading a prayer, Bishop Christopher Coyne, of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington, commented that by “accident of the calendar” the annual rally fell on the same day as the Women’s March in the afternoon.
He advised participants in the Rally for Life to take “a wide berth” when passing the other demonstrators and to avoid conflict.
Aside from their stances on abortion, Coyne said, the two gatherings “have so much in common.”
