In lieu of this year’s annual trip to Washington D.C. to participate in the March for Life, EC student government planned a We Stand for Life event for students in 8th-12th grades. After early dismissal, high school students opted in to participate in a pro-life demonstration on Clarkston Road in support of the unborn and the end to abortion. Throughout the week students made posters to hold.
Despite the cold, students stood out on the unplowed sidewalks, praying the rosary and waving to passersby.
Students then proceeded to the high school gym where they had a time of prayer in Eucharistic Adoration. EC student government president, Michael McGrath, and secretary, Anthony Felix, shared their testimonies with their peers. Anthony shared his experience and his value for life through his big family. He shared, “Life is up to God, and His plan. And I totally trust His plan, seeing His plan for me and everything He has done for me.” He challenged his peers, “As humans we’ve tried to play God and take things into our own hands, when really, it would be better to leave things up to His goodness. And that should make us think: have we taken life for granted recently? And more importantly, what CAN we do to appreciate life more?
Michael shared his personal experience of having a brother with Down syndrome. Statistically, the percentage of terminated pregnancies when the child has Down syndrome is 74%. “I wish I could tell those mothers that their child will bring nothing but joy and happiness into their lives. I wish I could introduce them to Marky and let them see his joy. Marky never fails to make me laugh or give me his famous bear hugs. He is the epitome of what it means to live with joy. Seeing how he goes day-by-day just living life with a smile on his face has helped me to not only live my life more with that same joy but also to value what I have been given. I think we should ask ourselves, “How can I live each day with joy? and also “How can I better look beyond the outside of a person and see each person’s unconditional value?”
