Over 700 from area to join March for Life

Anti-abortion demonstrators arrive on Capitol Hill for the March for Life in 2017. Around 700 people from the area are expected to travel to this year's March for Life in Washington, D.C.

At least 700 northwest Ohioans are expected to participate in March for Life in Washington on Friday. The 45th annual anti-abortion demonstration marks the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, through which the U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion in 1973.

The Diocese of Toledo coordinated several buses to the capital, estimating that more than 700 activists from its 19-county region will join Bishop Daniel Thomas at March for Life.

St. Francis de Sales High School sent 28 students and Lourdes University sent four.

Several anti-abortion marches are set to take place this weekend locally, too, including a march that leaves St. Joseph Catholic Church, 104 W. Broadway in Maumee, at 2 p.m. Sunday.

“Being pro-life to me means that like Mary, Our Blessed Mother, we say yes to life!” Bishop Thomas said in a statement. “Yes to life in the womb, yes to life in poverty, yes to the life of the refugee, and yes to the life of those facing the death penalty. Mary, in her son Jesus, faced all these circumstances and in each case, she said yes to life.”