(The Center Square) – Thousands of people are expected Saturday for the Arizona March for Life in Phoenix.
The pro-life march will begin at noon, following pre-march events at 10 a.m. The rally’s primary sponsor and organizer is the Arizona Life Coalition.
The rally will feature speeches by Center for Arizona Policy President Peter Gentala and Dr. William Lile, a pro-life physician. The event will also include a musical performance by McKenna Faith, who was a contestant on “American Idol.”
Garrett Riley, part-time executive director of Arizona Life Coalition, estimated the rally will have between 4,000 and 5,000 people, a similar crowd size to previous years.
Riley told The Center Square that the informative event will feature 25 exhibitors, including some from pregnancy health centers and foster care, as well as adoption and social agencies.
“It’s gonna be very entertaining, uplifting and encouraging for anyone who is pro-life,” he explained.
Riley also recommended that people who may not consider themselves pro-life come to the rally with an “open mind and open heart” and talk with people there.
He added that his organization is “focused on influencing the hearts and minds of the culture.”
Riley said his organization sees abortion from a “moral and religious perspective” rather than a political perspective.
The Arizona March for Life is not a political rally, he said. He also noted his organization has been preparing for the event for the last six months.
The March for Life comes as debates continue over abortion laws. In 2024, Arizona voters passed Proposition 139, which guaranteed a right to abortion in the state Constitution.
Based on this new constitutional guarantee, an Arizona judge earlier this month ruled several state abortion laws were unconstitutional, such as Arizona’s reason ban, two-trip requirement law and telemedicine ban.
“The state’s interest in protecting potential life is not a legitimate justification for a law that interferes with a woman’s right to seek a pre-viability abortion,” Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Gregory Como wrote in his decision.
Dr. Misha Pangasa, an OB/GYN at Planned Parenthood Arizona, said the organization believes “everyone deserves compassionate, judgement-free care. It’s the center of our ethos.”
She added that “Arizonans have a right to comprehensive reproductive health care and education.”
“While sometimes voices of opposition filled with rage and judgement can feel loud, we must center ourselves in the truth: In Arizona, we are actively expanding access to reproductive care,” Pangasa said, answering The Center Square’s questions by email.
“From voters overwhelmingly passing Prop. 139 and enshrining the right to abortion in our state constitution, to a state court earlier this month striking down several harmful, burdensome, and medically-unnecessary abortion restrictions, Arizona is moving health care forward,” she noted.
According to Riley, Arizona’s pro-life community is “undeterred by these political and legal outcomes.”
“The movement is even more dedicated and determined than ever to promote and defend innocent life and the rights of unborn children,” Riley said.
“No matter what the laws are, we believe abortion is always wrong,” he added.
Riley said his organization believes “pro-life is pro-family.”
“We have to double down on that because the law and the politics are not in our favor,” he said.
Sue Liebel, director of state affairs for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, told The Center Square that nearly 13,000 babies were aborted in Arizona in 2024.
Other states have passed constitutional amendments similar to Arizona’s. Liebel said legislators in such states will attempt to remove health and safety regulations surrounding abortion.
Liebel added that Arizona may see in the future an attempt to start paying for abortion with state taxpayer money.
“People need to get out and say even though this unfortunate amendment passed, we still expect that in Arizona we’ll try to save as many lives as possible,” Liebel stated.
Pro-life supporters in Arizona can continue to “petition the courts, legislature, governor [and] health department to maintain the medical safeguards [and] standards we expect in today’s modern medical marketplace,” she said.
Liebel also noted Arizona pro-life supporters can launch campaigns to inform women that the “abortion industry does not have their back.”
She encouraged pro-life Arizonans to come out and support the March for Life.
“This may not be over,” Liebel said, adding that the pro-life movement “needs to be ready” when the opportunity presents itself, especially when women need medical care after failed or incomplete abortions.
