KOŠICE, Slovakia – Slovakia has seen its fourth National March for Life.
The march, which called for protection of every human life, was held in the central European country on Sunday, September 22. Organizers estimate that 40,000 people took part.
According to the event’s spokeswoman, Rebecca Lukáčová, the protection of life is first and foremost a question of love. Participants gathered “to publicly express that they want the good of every human being, including unborn children.” The march’s motto, “Love is pro-life,” is meant to express that.
Patrik Daniška said that the marchers were demanding the protection of the life of every human being, especially unborn children. He described the law legalizing abortion as unjust because it “deprives unborn children of the protection that is rightfully theirs.” Abolition of the abortion is therefore the main goal of the march. “If we love someone, we want them to be protected,” Daniška explained.
The March for Life was attended by 17 Slovak Catholic bishops, who celebrated Sunday Mass in 17 churches that morning, and most of them appeared together on the podium shortly before the start of the march.
Pope Francis sent a greeting to the marchers through his Apostolic Nuncio to Slovakia, Archbishop Nicola Girasoli.
“Pope Francis marches with you today,” Girasoli said. “Let it be a march of joy and enthusiasm, let it be a real march for life. Let it be a march of hope. Be always supporters of life. Life is a gift of God. Be always proud and ready to protect life. Receive from Pope Francis an embrace full of peace and hope.”
The Commissioner for Children, Jozef Miklosko, also spoke in defence of the rights of unborn children, saying that he considers himself a commissioner for all children, including the unborn. In his speech, Miklosko cited the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This states that the child, by reason of his or her physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, both after birth and before birth.
Susan Lashkay, a Ukrainian living in Slovakia who runs a helpline for pregnant mothers in Ukrainian and Russian, also spoke at the March for Life. “It is barbaric, cruel and unfair to lie to a pregnant woman in a difficult life situation that abortion is the solution. How is it that in our free countries, under the guise of so-called women’s rights, abortion practices that totalitarian regimes excelled at are not only maintained but expanded?”
Post-abortion healing was also a recurring theme in the speeches. Daniela Obšajsníková from the Rachel’s Vineyard is dedicated to helping women after either induced abortion or spontaneous miscarriage. She said that the bereft mother is the second victim of an abortion. On Sunday, she addressed the marchers saying, “Friends, post-abortion syndrome is real.” During her eleven years in this ministry, she has seen personally that abortion causes suffering for mothers and fathers, distorting their lives and their family relationships. But where others see a hopeless end, “we see infinite hope,” she concluded.
Participants were greeted by guests from the UK, Emmet Dooley from the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) and Robert Colquhoun from 40 Days for Life, as well as by organizer of the marches for life and family in Poland, Mr. Marcin Perłowski from the Centre for Life and Family.
Abortion was legalized in then Czechoslovakia in 1958 after instructions from the Soviet Union. A sharp increase in abortions came in 1987 when more permissive legislation was passed and abortion for any reason was permitted up to twelve weeks of pregnancy. The highest number of abortions were committed in 1988: almost 50 thousand.
The number of abortions in Slovakia continuously declined from 1989, when the communist regime collapsed, to 2022. That year more abortions were performed in Slovakia than in the previous year. According to the National Centre for Health Information, an increased abortion rate was also recorded in 2023, when 5,420 abortions were performed; this corresponds to 4.2 abortions per 1,000 women of reproductive age. At the same time, the birth rate in Slovakia has declined significantly in the past two years.
Slovak National Marches for Life were held in 2013 in Košice and in 2015 and 2019 in the capital city Bratislava. They are among the largest mass events in the country since the fall of communism in 1989. The manifesto of the first National March for Life was to demand that the definition of marriage as a union of a man and a woman by added to the constitution. This became a reality in 2014.