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TRANSCRIPT
With voters across the country beginning to roll back hard-won abortion restrictions, some pro-life organizations are regrouping and rethinking their next moves.
In tonight's In-Depth Report, Church Militant's Kristine Christlieb is catching up with pro-lifers who are already back on the streets.
On Saturday, humor and enthusiasm, mixed with a strong dose of reality, infused the crowd of mostly young people who gathered in front of the state Capitol.
Devin Jenkins, parishioner, Holy Family Parish, Caledonia, Mich.: "We recently just went to the march in D.C., and as soon as we got back we heard this was happening here, and we thought it was awesome. So we're here! And it's just getting started, and there are already so many people. I'm so happy."
Organized by Protect Life Michigan, a group dedicated to mobilizing high school students, college students and young professionals, the march attracted more than a thousand people, a surprisingly high turnout given recent history.
Michigan pro-lifers suffered a devastating defeat in the November election.
Fifty-five percent of Michiganders voted to sweep away most of the state's abortion restrictions and enshrine so-called reproductive rights in the state's constitution.
Christen Pollo, executive director, Protect Life Michigan: "The abortion industrial complex, Gov. Whitmer and many radically pro-abortion legislators who work in this building behind me all want you to believe that death has won and that we should pack our bags and go home. But we will prove them wrong!"
Braving freezing temperatures, march participants were energized.
Sister Madeleine Marie, Sisters of Mary Immaculate Queen: "We're here to represent traditional Catholics for life and just to stand for the pro-life movement."
But organizers were also realistic, not downplaying the challenges ahead.
Pollo:
I think about the pro-life leaders in 1973 who decided when the Roe v. Wade decision was handed down — they decided to double down and to expand the pro-life movement. They did not give up; they were fortified. And now, we face our own 1973 moment. Despite our great disappointment, it is our turn to do as they did in 1973 and press on toward justice.
Pro-life apologist Scott Klusendorf sent participants off to march around the capitol.
Scott Klusendorf, founder, Life Training Institute: "Let's not surrender. We're not giving up. We're going to stay in this game and fight it to the end."
Pro-life Michiganders are sending a message loud and clear: They're not defeated, and they're pushing forward.
Organizations recruiting the pro-life generation of young people are proliferating, with Students for Life claiming more than 1,200 chapters.
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