Why Should We March for Life?

June 9, 2026: The greatest human rights crisis of our time is not unfolding on distant battlefields or in the halls of power. It is taking place where every human life begins—in the womb and remains largely unseen because its victims cannot speak. The March for Life is more than an event—it is a public declaration that every human life, born and unborn, possesses an inviolable dignity that must be protected.

In August 1971, the Indian Parliament passed the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, a law that directly violated the Church’s teaching on the dignity of every human life by legalising abortion in our nation. While many today consider abortion only a “Western” evil, it is worth knowing that the landmark U.S. decision in Roe v. Wade was passed only in January 1973, nearly two years after India had already legalised abortion.

According to the Guttmacher Institute, in 2015, after the passing of the MTP Act that allows abortions up to 24 weeks (6-month-old babies), around 1 crore 56 lakh children have become victims of abortion annually in India. Considering that these figures are over a decade old and are much higher today, we are confronted with the sobering reality that we are truly standing in the blood of our innocent children. 

It was only in 2021, on the 50th anniversary of the promulgation of the MTP Act, 1971, that a few pro-life organisational leaders came together to appeal to the then CBCI President, Cardinal Oswald Gracious, to observe a “Black Day". Heeding this appeal, the Cardinal called for the observance of 10th August 2021 as a Black Day to remember millions of babies lost to abortion. 

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With the lifting of the COVID lockdown, CHARIS India then took the initiative to organise India’s first National March for Life on 10th Aug 2022 from Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, to the Sacred Heart Cathedral, New Delhi. The second March for Life then took place in Pune on 10th August 2023, the third March on 10th August 2024 at Trichur and the fourth March on 9th August 2025 at Bangalore. Thereby, the March for Life, under the banner of CHARIS India, with Indian Catholics United for Life (ICU4Life) as its executing body, is organised every year. 

The purpose of the March is to create a “pro-life consciousness in India" and to send out the message that, as a nation, we will no longer tolerate the bloodshed of innocent children in their mothers' wombs. As the Book of Ezekiel reminds us, when the sentinel sees the sword coming upon the land, he must sound the trumpet and warn the people of the evil; and if he does not, the blood of the innocent is on his hands (Ezekiel 33:4). 

Every march is a platform for pro-lifers from across the country to come together and warn others about the atrocity of abortion, while proclaiming that we are ready to provide for and care for both mother and child, and that we are prepared to stand firmly for both Life and Love.

This year, the March for Life, in association with the Archdiocese of Madras-Mylapore, will be held in Chennai at Loyola College as a two-day event. The Pro-Life Exhibition will take place on 8th August, followed by the March for Life on 9th August, along with Holy Mass and Public Gathering. 

This is a call to action. We must sound the trumpet and become labourers in the plentiful harvest of life and love (Matthew 9:37). We hope that pro-lifers from across the country will come together for this March and to be a voice for the voiceless, the unborn babies whose lives are in danger of abortion. 

Let us pray three Hail Marys for babies in danger of abortion, seeking the intercession of Our Lady, the Mother of Life, that she may protect these children from death.

Viva Cristo Rey!

By Indian Catholics United for Life (ICU4Life)