Destiny Herndon De-La Rosa attends Women’s March despite retracted invitation
A pro-life women’s group who weren’t welcome at the massive Women’s March in Washington, D.C., found more love than hate when they decided to attend anyway.
“It was a really positive experience,” said Destiny Herndon De-La Rosa, founder of New Wave Feminists.
Her organization was dropped from the partner list days before the Jan. 21 march thanks to a social media uproar that insisted a pro-life group couldn’t participate in a march for women’s rights.
Herndon De-La Rosa and about 50 other pro-life feminists joined the march anyway.
“So many women come up to us with Planned Parenthood scarves saying: ‘We disagree with you on this issue but we’re glad you’re here with your voice,’” she told The B.C. Catholic.
“We showed up as participants” and received “zero negativity.”
They held signs showing they, like many participants, were ready to hold their newly inaugurated president, Donald Trump, accountable.
“I had a sign that said: ‘Hey Trump! Torture is not pro-life,’” said Herndon De-La Rosa. Other signs denounced violence, the death penalty, and war.
“We fit in with the ideology and the political leanings of a lot of the people already. We just extended the nonviolence to the womb to be more consistent,” she said.
Joining the march revealed that when it comes to human rights there is more that unites women than divides them, she said.
“When you’re able to get past the rhetoric and labels and how divided we’ve become, at the core we’re both fighting for human rights and human dignity. We (tend to) think they’re polar opposite margins, but they’re not.”
The New Wave Feminists refused to clap or cheer when speakers at the march spoke in support of abortion, but during other moments, such as reading the names of victims of violence, Herndon De-La Rosa said it was important that pro-lifers were there to show sympathy.
“It was incredibly moving. If they can see us showing respect and reverence for these lives that are lost, it will get past that stereotype that we only care about life in the womb,” she said. “I found tons of areas we could overlap.”
Less than a week later, New Wave Feminists also marched in Washington during the 44th annual March for Life.
Herndon De-La Rosa said the Jan. 27 March for Life, though a veritable force, felt slightly smaller than the Women’s March, which researchers estimate was between 470,000 to 680,000 people.
“It was a very joyful event, standing for something we believe in and celebrate life,” she said. “Both of them were great experiences.”
She added some pro-lifers who arrived at the Women’s March as protestors did not get as welcome a reception.
