As tens of thousands of people from the country were gathering on the National Mall for the annual March For Life, a couple hundred from all along the Gulf Coast were gathering in Cathedral Square in downtown Mobile for the second annual Mobile March For Life.

Before marchers trekked key downtown thoroughfares like Dauphin and Government Streets, they gathered to hear from march organizers and other guests who have first-hand knowledge of abortion and end-of-life issues.

“We have made this into a Democrat and Republican movement. It’s a human rights movement,” said Emily Montague, president of Mobile March For Life, at the pre-march rally.

Montague and two others organized the first Mobile march last January.

“We did it last year kind of as a response to the Women’s March,” Montague told Yellowhammer in an interview. “I consider myself a feminist and I wanted to be a part of that march but when I found out that pro-life people weren’t really welcome, I was like, well, I want to march, and this is a cause I can get behind and it’s one that everyone can be a part of because we’re all human.”

A prevailing reason that some women say they choose abortion is that they fear having a child will disrupt their lives, particularly their career aspirations. Montague said the pro-life cause can bring hope to women by changing those assumptions.

“I think that the pro-life movement means that women will now hopefully have the support that they need, that a child won’t be a career-killer. It won’t be a reason she has to give up all aspects of her life to only care for that child.”

“For so long, we’ve been told that it’s either one or the other, but we’re trying to tell people that it can be both. You can have both and you can do both, and be successful at both.”