More than 40,000 people streamed Ireland’s Rally for Life last week, according to organisers of the event, who are now aiming to grow that audience tenfold in the coming weeks.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, this year’s Rally for Life took place online, with 34 local and socially-distanced rallies taking place across the country before the livestream began.
Across the country hundreds of people took part in socially-distanced pro-life displays, carrying signs reading “united for life” and “abortion is a pandemic”.
The Rally for Life Committee, who are hoping to keep up that momentum despite the move online, told Gript: “Having 40,000 people tune in live to the Rally Fest shows just how alive and vibrant the pro-life community is, and how powerful the message for Life can be.
“We had lots of families watching in groups so the numbers watching are likely even bigger, but we’re thrilled to have had a minimum of 40,000 people joining in the live events.
“Now, the plan is to grow that tenfold, reaching 300,000 or 400,000 people watching the live events online. It would mean the Rally effect could continue throughout the whole summer, cutting right through lockdown with a clear compelling pro-life message.”
Before COVID-19 caused many parts of the world to go into ‘lockdown’, pro-life demonstrations were seeing record attendance numbers, including in Ireland.
In 2018, up to 100,000 people took part in Ireland’s largest pro-life rally urging people to defend the right to life ahead of a major referendum on whether or not the country should introduce abortion legislation.
Sadly, months after that rally, 66% of people voted in favour of repealing the Eighth Amendment. As a result, abortion ‘services’ commenced on 1 January 2019.
Last month, it was revealed a total of 6,666 abortions were carried out in Ireland in 2019.
Earlier this year, hundreds of thousands of people attended the US March for Life, a record-breaking 9,000 people attended the March for Life in Chicago, Illinois, and over 8,000 people gathered for the Celebrate Life rally in Denver, Colorado carrying signs that read, “Civil rights begin in the womb” and “I am the pro-life generation.”
In 2019, over 50,000 Slovakians called on the country’s leaders to protect unborn babies. Pro-life demonstrations in Northern Ireland have reached over 20,000 people, while over 11,000 marched for life in the Netherlands, and over 2,000 people attended New Zealand’s March for Life.
