CHICAGO – The Pro-Life Movement supersedes political party identities.
That seems to be the message organizers of this Saturday's annual March for Life Chicago wants to get out by focusing on one of the speakers lined up for the celebration: Pastor Chris Butler, who identifies as a Democrat.
Illinois Review asked if he has ever run for office as a Democrat – or how he determines he is a Democrat.
"Pastor Chris Butler is a Democrat because he has worked on Democratic causes, volunteered on Democratic campaigns, and voted in Democratic primaries all of his life," was the response from Butler's press person.
Pastor Chris Butler and a diverse group of pro-life leaders will speak at the March for Life Chicago on Saturday January 8, 2022, to advocate for the lives of pre-born babies and mothers. They represent many pro-life advocates, both in the crowd on Saturday and throughout the Midwest, who recognize the value of human life in the womb.
As a pastor who has walked with women and their families through the difficulties of unplanned and unwanted pregnancies, Butler says, “We must work together for both the life of the mother and the life of the infant, Butler believes that that the solution should not be either women or infants but women AND infants.”
This year, the March for Life Chicago is focused on “Saving Midwestern Lives.” Illinois’ increasingly extreme abortion policies draw women and girls from throughout Illinois and neighboring states to get abortion on demand at any stage of pregnancy. In 2019, Illinois performed 46,517 abortions, which is more abortions than its neighboring states combined, according to data from state health departments.
As a pro-life Democrat and a champion for the vulnerable, Butler asks the people of the Midwest, “How can the advocate for human rights not stand up for the most vulnerable human there is—the unborn child?”
Butler and the March for Life Chicago recognize that Midwesterners support the rights of the unborn and of women. He points out, for example, that 72% of Illinois residents opposed the repeal of Parental Notification of Abortion in Illinois.
Participants will gather at Federal Plaza for a Rally with a full line-up of speakers and then march through downtown Chicago to call for the protection of both the pre-born and their mothers because Butler and the March for Life Chicago believe in justice for both.
WHAT: March for Life Chicago 2022 (March and Rally)
WHEN: Saturday, January 8, 2022, from 1 to 3 p.m. (Central)
WHERE: Federal Plaza, 50 W. Adams St.
WHO: Pro-life individuals, families, and groups from throughout the Midwest
See additional events below the speaker line-up
SPEAKERS:
Pastor Chris Butler, Senior Pastor of Chicago Embassy Church, Executive Leader of the AND Campaign (andcampaign.org)
The Honorable Avery Bourne, Illinois State Representative, District 95
Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, Archbishop, Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago
Kelly Dore, Executive Director of the National Human Trafficking Survivor Coalition
Rev. Dr. Matthew Harrison, President of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
Client, Aid for Women (a Chicago based pregnancy resource network)
Sr. Alicia Torres, a 2015 winner of the cooking show “Chopped” and member of the Franciscans of the Eucharist in Chicago (Humboldt Park)
Dante Bucci, weDignify leader and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign senior
Kevin Grillot, weDignify Executive Director
ADDITIONAL MARCH FOR LIFE CHICAGO EVENTS INCLUDE (all times Central):
March for Life Chicago Convention, 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 3 to 6 p.m.
40+ pro-life organizations
Diaper Drive for mothers in need
Youth Rally, 8:45 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Educational sessions, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Illinois’s Repeal of Parental Notification of Abortion
Illinois's Sex Ed Law – What Parents Need to Know
How Abortion Enables Sex Trafficking & What to Do
How Illinois's Abortion Laws Impact the Entire Midwest
Abortion Pill Reversal
Catholic Mass for Life, 4 p.m.
Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod Gathering, 4 p.m.
Banquet, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
These additional events are all on Saturday, January 8, 2022, and take place at the Hilton Chicago, 720 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60605 [https://tinyurl.com/4n39pnpy]
DETAILS: MarchForLifeChicago.org
