SW News: The National March for Life in India will be held on August 10 in Pune, in the western state of Maharashtra. The nation’s second March for Life is mainly organized by the Catholic Charismatic Renewal International Service (CHARIS).

The day will begin with a Pro-Life exhibition at St. Patrick’s Cathedral Hall, followed by a public gathering, during which Cardinals from across the country and prominent members of the Pro-Life movement will address the participants of the march. The 1.5-kilometer prayer walk will then be flagged off by Cardinal Oswald Gracious of the Archdiocese of Bombay. The events of the day will come to a close with the Holy Mass.

The key features of the event include a "delegation of influential persons to submit a memorandum seeking reversal of the Act at the Pune Collectorate Office."

Ajin Joseph, national coordinator of Youth United for Christ (YU4C), a Catholic organization and one of the organizers of the event, said that through the march, he wishes "to promulgate a culture of life by exposing the culture of death" and "to make abortion unthinkable in our lifetime."

The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act (MTP), which legalized abortion in India, was introduced on August 10, 1971. According to a study in 2015, India accounts for 15.6 million abortions annually. Since 2021, the year that marked 50 years of the legalization of abortion in the country, several Indian Pro-Life organizations have observed August 10 as a ‘Black Day’ to mourn the deaths of millions of unborn children lost to this procedure.

India's first National March for Life was held last year in Delhi on August 10, where hundreds of pro-lifers marched to champion the cause of the unborn.