News

By Alex Bush 

WARSAW, Poland, June 2, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Ignoring, and even enjoying, a torrential downpour, approximately 2,000 Poles marched for life and family in Warsaw, Poland this past Sunday. Some participants marched carrying pro-life signage over their heads to protect themselves from the rain, while others simply allowed themselves to get completely soaked during the march. (Click here to see a photo essay of the event)

Slawomir Olejniczak organized the march this year, choosing a route through Warsaw that took two hours to complete. The march culminated with a family picnic, during which time a concert was originally scheduled, but then cancelled due to the inclement weather.

The recent Canadian March for Life saw 12,000 people march through the rain, but it appears that the weather was even worse for the Poles, with water accumulating enough in some places to cover marchers up to their shins.

“It was absolutely amazing,” one participant in the march told LifeSiteNews. “People were staring at us from the windows; they couldn't believe we were actually marching in this weather.”

In recent years the UN and EU have been increasingly pressuring the strongly Catholic Poland to loosen its restrictions on abortion and homosexual “marriage,” despite the fact that the majority of Poles favor the true definition of marriage and are against legalizing abortion. Organizers hope that the march for life will embolden Poland to stand up to the pressure from international abortion promoting organizations.

Related LifeSiteNews.com Coverage:

Poland Embraces Successful March for Life and Family in Face of 'Human Rights' Movement – link

Polish People Support Pro-Life Constitutional Amendment – link

Poland in an Uproar after Coercive Abortion Pressure Put on 14-Year-Old by Planned Parenthood – link

Poland Pressured on Abortion and Sexual Orientation by UN Human Rights Committee – link