By Human Rights Graduate Student, Francisco Socrates 

A little over a month before the annual March for Life, the human rights cohort had the great privilege of meeting its president, Jeanne Mancini. Jeanne became part of this organization in 2012, but prior to that she has already been working on pro-life causes, guided by her strong foundation in Catholic Social Teachings.

Our conversations with her of course began with their preparations for the upcoming “March.” She tells of the great amount of work needed to execute such an event, of how it takes almost a year just to do all the planning and preparation for this. It is quite surprising to know that the whole event is primarily organized by a group of only ten (10) people. The annual March is the largest gathering of pro-lifers in the country, attended by hundreds of thousands of people in defense of life. The passion, dedication, and excitement with which spoke about the event is very telling of what makes that possible.

She also ran through the history of the organization, the accomplishments and the unforgettable moments they have had since its inception. Although the statistics on abortion appears to be downward in its direction, which gives us much hope, Jeanne thinks that a lot of work is yet to be done. For one, the legal case is still ongoing. But also because ultimately they are aiming for the time when abortion is no longer thinkable. This is what keeps them marching.

She ends with commending the great work being done in this M.A. in Human Rights program and encouraged us to get involved in the fight against this human rights abuse called abortion. As a whole, the conversation has been truly inspiring.