This week pro-life champions from around the nation have gathered in Washington, DC, to commemorate the 1973 deadly Supreme Court decisions that legalized the slaughter of babies in the United States.

These warriors work day after day to change laws, educate about what abortion looks like, and offer help to women in the midst of a crisis pregnancy. As they converge for their 47th year to march to the Supreme Court, I can’t help but imagine what it would look like if the march included the children whose lives were legally snuffed out before they ever took their first breath.

How many people would be marching to awaken the nation’s conscience? Some 50 million.

The ground would literally shake as 50 million boys and girls, men and women took to the streets. Imagine the roar that 50 million voices would make as they cried out for justice.

The innocents would be as old as 47, and every age down to mere seconds old. Even as they made their way past the U.S. Capitol, their numbers would increase as the souls of new victims were added. With an average abortion rate of about 1.6 lives claimed every minute, by the end of a three-hour march and rally, nearly 300 people would join the ranks. Think about that for a moment: Every hour in America nearly 100 boys and girls are obliterated or ripped out of their frightened mothers’ wombs.

Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life, points out this dreadful truth: “Since the average preschool class is 21 children, the abortion industry wipes out 112 preschool classrooms every day.”

Now, consider the women. The majority of mothers who have abortions are in their 20s. Still young and impressionable, they are targeted by Planned Parenthood to ply its bloody trade.

Seventy-nine percent of all Planned Parenthood abortion chambers are located within five miles of a college campus. That’s about five minutes away. Five minutes to the death of a baby. Five minutes to a lifetime of sorrow for the mother.

Any honest counselor will tell you that post-abortive mothers live with regret. Save for the awesome power of forgiveness and redemption provided through Jesus Christ, a post-abortive mother will likely spend her entire life in and out of anguishing torment.

Thousands of women who have faced the pain head on, accepted the grace of Christ, and found loving support now march for life each year. They make it their mission to save other mothers from the horror of abortion as they march arm in arm with the spirits of their lost children.

Imagine how large the crowd would be if more post-abortive women found the freedom to break through their chains of sorrow in a courageous move to warn those heading to abortion chambers. Their collective voices could save so many other mothers and babies from the lies, from the pain, from death.

Of course, not all of the displays of hope and remembrance take place in DC. A March for Life occurs in nearly every state capital. If the children lost in each state could participate, anywhere from hundreds of thousands to millions, depending on the size of the state, would be marching on the austere legislative houses crying out for the protection of future children.

Imagine the streets filled with aborted innocents. The crowds would be larger than any that have ever filled those streets. No march would have ever been bigger — not at the end of the Civil War, not the celebration of the end of World War I, not the march after WWII.

Even without the victims, the largest marches our nation has ever seen are done to end the war on children.

“The March for Life is truly the world’s largest social movement mobilization and speaks to the unwavering resolve of the American pro-life community. The dreadful Roe and Doe decisions inspired an entire citizen army to speak truth about the violence of abortion and to serve in love in their communities for those in desperation,” says Mrs. Hawkins.

Courageous leaders who exude love and boldly proclaim the life-giving message like Mrs. Hawkins spend every day of their lives helping save women and their children.

This week Mrs. Hawkins and others will train nearly 3,000 student leaders in how to expose the murderous lies of Planned Parenthood and reach young women with hope and tangible help. Find out how you can help at www.studentsforlife.org.

Rebecca Hagelin can be reached at [email protected].