On the coldest day in Washington D.C. in the past five years, 400,000 people gathered on the National Mall to protest abortion. Since its legalization in the U.S. 38 years ago, people have gathered annually to protest Roe v. Wade in a peaceful rally called March for Life.

This year, sophomore Anna Hughes joined the 400,000 protesters for her first year on the march.

“I wanted to go because I want to support a cause that I believe in,” Hughes said.

Senior Haley Bensel also went on the pilgrimage for the first time.

“I feel really strongly about abortion and this year was the first year I was able to do it,” Bensel said.

All students participating in the march spent 24 hours on a bus to and from Washington D.C.

“[The bus ride] was actually a lot more fun than I thought it would be. I talked to my friends and had coloring books,” Bensel said.

Thirteen teenagers from Sacred Heart Catholic Church on Monticello Road participated in the march, along with 162 teenagers from the entire archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas.

Kyle Kuckelman, Sacred Heart youth minister, was excited about the turnout.

“It was a lot more stressful [than last year], but it’s awesome. You teenagers are starting to notice and care about the world around you,” Kuckelman said. “Your generation is the future of our country and world. We’re screwed if you don’t start caring now, and this shows that you really do care.”

Rick Cheek, associate consulter at the office of evangelization in Kansas City, shares a similar view as Kuckelman.

“The youth are the ever present here and now. Without their voice being heard, nothing will be changed,” Cheek said.

The 162 teenagers and multiple supervisors from Kansas City made up a small fraction of the 400,000 people who showed up at the march

“It was really amazing because we were all joining together for the same cause, and everyone there supported the same thing,” Hughes said. “I would go next year because the more people that show up, the bigger the impact.”

Kuckelman was in awe at the massive amount of people that were at the march.

“When you have 400,000 people there for one cause, it’s really cool,” Kuckelman said. “Primarily, it’s showing the world how much I care and how much everyone else cares. That’s the coolest thing about it.”