TS: 3000 people marched in Bratislava, Slovakia before the elections; they appealed to politicians to protect the lives of unborn children and their mothers
On Sunday, 24 September 2023, a local march “Bratislava for Life” took place in Bratislava, Slovakia. Despite the poor weather conditions 3,000 people took part in the march just a week before parliamentary elections. The aim of the march was to celebrate life and at the same time to call for an end to discrimination against unborn children and an end to the endangerment of pregnant mothers by abortion, which carries risks to health and psyche.
The main motto of the event was “I VOTE FOR LIFE”, referring to the upcoming parliamentary elections. The main organizers are the Ladislav Hanus Institute, the Institute for Human Rights and Family Policy and the Association for Life and Family. The event took place under the auspices of the Archdiocese of Bratislava.
The event started at 15:00 on the Main Square in Bratislava with speeches by representatives of health professionals, lawyers, academia, the Church, public institutions and civic life, representatives of the media and pro-life organizations from Slovakia and from abroad.
“We have told the whole of Slovakia, including politicians and candidates in the elections, that the life of unborn children must be protected in the same way as we protect the life of people already born. We are making this just demand to society at a time when we are deciding the character of our country. We are asking citizens to vote according to their values as well,” said one of the organizers of the event, Juraj Šúst from the Ladislav Hanus Institute.
“We are very pleased that 3,000 citizens of Slovakia came to the event to express their pro-life stance, for the protection of unborn children and their mothers from the risks of abortion. There is always a better solution to any situation, which we must actively offer. In the 21st century, it is completely unnecessary to even think about abortion, which hurts, as a solution to a situation, because there are always better solutions. We appeal to politicians to be a courageous voice for the unborn and their mothers,” said another organizer of the event, Tomáš Kováčik from the Association for Life and Family.
“We don’t want to just watch anymore, we want to actively act in favour of life. We marched today peacefully but determinedly for the smallest amoung us and we are saying clearly that we will not be afraid, that we will not stop defending them. We are aware that the protection of unborn children must stand on two pillars that go hand in hand – the first pillar is based on improving the current legal situation – we are demanding a remedy for the abnormal situation introduced by the communist regime, where this group of people is denied the most basic human right to life. The second pillar is to help pregnant mothers and families in need, as economic reasons are among the common reasons why mothers consider killing their child,” added another organizer of the march, Patrik Daniška of the Institute for Human Rights and Family Policy.
Also speaking at the event were Calum and Lois Miller from the UK, Rod Dreher from the USA, Archbishop Stanislav Zvolenský, Bishop Jozef Haľko, a representative of the Greek Catholic Church Stanislav Diheneščík, and representatives of the cultural community Štefan Bučko, Anežka Sňahničanová, Monika Ližbetin and Sára Dobrovodská, health professionals Iryna Borys from Ukraine, Andrej Mikolášik, Magdaléna Gérová, and midwifery student Mária Hudáková, and the mother of a child with disabilities Lucia Zimenová also spoke. Lawyers and academics were represented by Lenka Kmet’ová, Martin Luterán, Weronika Przebierala from Poland and Katarína Šmigová. Personalities of cultural and civic life were represented by mathematician and dissident Kamila Bendová from the Czech Republic and Commissioner for Children Jozef Mikloško Jr. The speeches were concluded by media representatives Jaroslav Daniška, Martin Hanus and Martin Šajgalík and activists Radim and Kateřina Ucháč from the Czech Republic, Matúš Hagara, Anton Chromík, Marek Nikolov, Katarína Kapinajová and organisers Patrik Daniška, Tomáš Kováčik and Juraj Šúst.
After the speeches, the crowd set off on a march through the city, passing under the Michael’s Gate, through Obchodná Street to Square of Freedom, where the magician Ivan delighted the children with the final punch.
