People from diocese to attend March for L.I.F.E in Washington, D.C.

By KATIE LEFEBVRE, Globe staff reporter
January 19, 2006

Students and chaperones from the Diocese of Sioux City will travel to Washington, D.C. for the 33rd Annual March for Life.

Iowans for L.I.F.E. has organized for eight buses from Iowa to make the trip to the march. Twenty-five students from Carroll, 22 from Kuemper High School and three from Carroll High, with chaperones and 14 students from St. Edmond High School in Fort Dodge with three chaperones are among those from Iowa going to the rally.

The bus will pick up the group from Fort Dodge at noon on Jan. 21. Then it will go to Carroll to pick up the other group. A group from Iowa City will also be joining them.

According to Paula Templemeyer, organizer of the group from St. Edmond's, there was a group of about 10 to 12 students that wanted to start a pro-life group last year, so they went to a meeting and started a group.

"We got to talking and my sister was taking kids from Carroll to it last year and that is how they heard about it. They wanted to know if they could go this year," said Templemeyer. "I think it is this generation that is going to get Roe vs. Wade turned around. Our teens today are very pro-life, very in favor of respect for life in all stages whether it be the pre-born to the elderly."

She continued that the students need to "speak up and be heard and that is what these students would like to do. They want people to know how they stand."

Terri and Dave Prenger have organized the group from Carroll that will go to the rally. The couple took six high school girls to the rally last year.

"I expected this big rally. I expected a big march," said Terri of her experience last year. "It doesn't get covered in the news, so you have no idea how big this really is."

Terri noted that there were about 150,000 people there last year. She was amazed at the number of teenagers and 20-year-olds that were there.

"It is really the young people's fight," said Terri. "I was surprised that half of the numbers of marchers were male. People tend to think it is just a women's fight as far as gender."

She pointed out that there were women there from the Silent No More campaign telling their story about having an abortion and the affects of it.

For the march itself, Constitution Avenue is closed and the street is filled with people, mentioned Terri.

Terri added that the girls that went last year came back and joined the Carroll area Iowans for L.I.F.E. and have gone to several schools and talked on the pro-life issue. They talked at Dowling and now there are 10 students from there going.

On Jan. 22 when the group arrives, they will attend a Mass for all participants at the national basilica.

The pro-life rally is on Jan. 23. There will be a rally, speeches and the march. Nellie Gray, the woman in charge of the March for Life, called and, because of the number of students traveling from Iowa, asked that the Iowa delegation lead the march and carry the banners, Terri explained. She commented that "this is a huge honor."

"I am excited and the kids are thrilled. It is quite an honor," said Templemeyer.

The march will be covered live on EWTN, so anyone interested in seeing the group from Iowa will be able to see it.

"We can't just sit back anymore and say let somebody else handle it," said Terri. "We have to speak up because they are killing us off in the mean time. I think it is part of our calling as Catholics not to sit back and let things happen around you. We have to speak up. We have to let people know how wrong this is."

The students from both Carroll and Fort Dodge did fundraising in order to attend the rally. The Carroll area Iowans for L.I.F.E. paid the first $50 for each student from Carroll. The students also helped with a breakfast and did another fundraiser on their own.

"The kids really worked hard on fundraising for this and promoting it. We've gotten a lot of support from Kuemper," said Terri. She added that there are basketball players going from Kuemper and the coaches have been supportive.

The students from St. Edmond's did so much fundraising that they got each person's trip completely paid for.

Iowans for L.I.F.E. provides each person that goes on the bus with a red fleece scarf with Iowans for L.I.F.E. embroidered on it.

"It is kind of nice that we can pick out our group as we march," said Terri.