Nearly 40 pro-life community leaders and residents gathered for the annual Hillsdale March for Life in front of the Hillsdale County Courthouse on Jan. 20.

“We were praying for the last two years for the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and now, with that decision, it went to the states,” College Director of Financial Aid Rich Moeggenberg said. “Proposal 3 passed here, which isn’t a good thing.”

Proposal 3 was a ballot initiative that amended the Michigan Constitution to create a right to abortion. The measure was approved in the November 2022 election, less than six months after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson overturned Roe v. Wade. 

Moeggenberg helped organize the march but said it was a group effort of local pro-lifers. 

“This last year was a full year,” said Bryce Asberg ’21, director of Helping Hands Pregnancy Resource Center and a speaker at the march. “We certainly need to praise God for his work overturning Roe v. Wade, but we also need to take stock of the situation and figure out what we do going forward.”

The march began near the courthouse at the gazebo steps, where Rev. David Reamsnyder, pastor of St. Anthony Catholic Church, led the group in prayer and benediction. The marchers then walked around the courthouse singing hymns. 

Asberg and Bud Vear, whom Moeggenberg called the “godfather of the pro-life movement” in Hillsdale, encouraged Christians to safeguard the sanctity of life. 

“Pro-life people are in general very peaceful,” said Vear, a 96-year-old retired doctor. “But the pro-abortion side is violent. They have begun to be violent in front of crisis pregnancy centers. Hopefully they won’t bother us here at Helping Hands.” 

Vear added that he sees differences in how the two sides treat their clients. 

“They charge for their services. You can’t get an abortion free. It costs money at Planned Parenthood,” Vear said. “All the services at crisis pregnancy centers are free, including ultrasounds. The contrast is remarkable.”

Asberg attended the march with his wife, Celina Asberg ’20. He spoke about pro-life Christians’ goals after the fall of Roe v. Wade.

“What’s our battle plan in an increasingly polarized post-Roe world?” Asberg said. “How do we stay faithful to God and what he’s commanded us to do?” 

State Rep. Andrew Fink, R-Hillsdale, attended the march with his family, as did state Sen. Joe Bellino, R-Monroe.

Vear shared experience from his career as an obstetrician, in which he delivered more than 2,000 babies. 

“All the babies I delivered, I felt it was a miracle,” Vear said. “So when you talk about destroying that life, not allowing that life to live — oh, come on.”