On January 19, 2018, I got the opportunity to march in my first March4Life in Washington D.C. Around 800,000 people of all races, religions and ages marched for the dignity and respect of every human person from conception to natural death. This march not only changed my heart but even my views.

Most of my life I never took a stance for pro-life or pro-choice. Despite being a Catholic, many main figures in my life were pro-choice as well as the friends I spent the bulk of my time with. I did not really understand what pro-choice or pro-life meant. I only seemed to get very one-sided messages filled with hidden agendas and judgment from either side.

I failed to realize how violent abortions are. I thought I could not call myself a feminist or respect my body and freedom unless I was pro-choice. I thought abortion was wrong inherently, but I did not want to tell another woman what to do with her body. I was also held back thinking about forcing a woman who had been raped or who was facing medical emergency having to keep her child to term.

It is easy to say I was very conflicted and very frustrated. I felt people who were pro-life were narrow-minded and judgemental. I felt people who were pro-choice cared more about convenience than a human life. However, as my faith grew there was a deep pulling on my heart, I knew killing an innocent child was wrong, and I knew there had to be more than the limited perception I was getting from both movements.

The March4Life provided me with a perspective that spoke louder than any other messages I have known. People at the march stood for life. They stood for women. They stood for life.

I realized abortion is not empowerment for women, it is murder. I heard testaments from people conceived by rape or mothers whom had been raped that loved their lives and the gift of life despite their circumstances. I felt joy in my heart as people spoke up for those who cannot speak for themselves.

At a conference, one woman said that if you saw a pro-life and a pro-choice protest and did not know what they were protesting, you would still know which you wanted to go to. This held so true, when I saw people with pro-choice signs, their faces were filled with anger and hardness, they were silent. But at the March, I felt love all around, people were cheering and praying and singing for life and dignity. That is beautiful.

I still understand some people in the pro-life movement do not serve it justice. I do not think you can truly be pro-life if you support the death penalty or if you do not respect women. Also, pro-life is so much more than abolishing abortion, it is about respect and dignity for EVERYONE. This means ending euthanasia, human trafficking, supporting refugees, etc.

I am not ignorant. I understand there are not easy answers to these issues, and I understand some women and families are faced with unimaginable circumstances that I cannot imagine pushing through without the strength of God. So, I still respect people who are pro-choice because if I didn't it would go against all pro-life stands for, and they are by no means "bad people." They are simply overwhelmed with the pain of circumstance.

If you're pro-life, I encourage you to push yourself to stand for ALL life and their rights, not simply the unborn or people who are like you. If you're pro-choice I hope you push yourself and remember that every human person deserves life, born and unborn. After all, abortion is not a choice if a woman is so overwhelmed by circumstance that she feels it is her only option. Life is a beautiful gift, everyone deserves to be apart of it.

"It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so you may live as you wish" St. Teresa of Calcutta