Feb. 5, 2020

By Darcy Fargo
Editor

The last time Cindy Healy attended the March for Life in Washington, DC, she was 16 years old. This year, the Fort Covington resident returned to the March, this time accompanying her 16-year-old daughter, Emily, and the Youth Buses for Life.

“The last time I went, it was 1985, and I went with a young women’s group, Sodality, from Verona, New York,” Cindy Healy said.

Emily Healy, a high school junior, has attended the March more frequently.

“This was my fourth time, but my first time with my mother,” she said.

“It’s something my husband and I believe in very strongly,” Cindy Healy said. “We’ve encouraged Emily to go in the past. This year, I wanted to share that experience with her.”

Cindy Healy said the March has evolved since she last attended.

“It was very different from the last time,” she said. “There were so many more thousands of people at this March, and it was so much more organized. When I attended in the past, we took a school bus for a school trip. There was no overnight stay. There were no conferences. This was much larger scale.”

It was that scale that continues to impress young Emily Healy.

“When we reached the top of the hill, I turned around and saw thousands of people behind me,” she said. “It’s just… wow.”

Emily Healy said it was also amazing to experience the March with her mother.

“It meant more this time,” she said. “I spent almost the entire time with my mom. Spending that time with her made it more emotional. She had gone before, but it had been so long. I liked seeing her reaction to how much it had grown. I’m 16 now, and the last time she went, she was 16. It was just a good experience.”

It was also a meaningful experience for her mother.

“It reconfirmed my belief and made me realize so many people out there have the same beliefs I do,” Cindy Healy said. “It was nice to have that affirmation. And it was surreal to experience it with Emily.”

She also noted that she had an outstanding experience traveling with the youth of our diocese.

“The kids were fantastic,” Cindy Healy said. “We had Bishop (Terry R.) LaValley and Father Scott Belina on our bus, which was wonderful. The kids were singing, praying and socializing.”

Both the Healy women said they were also happy to hear President Trump, the first sitting president to speak at the March for Life.

“It was fantastic having the president speak to us, knowing he’s the first sitting president to ever speak at March for Life,” Cindy Healy said. “And Vice-President Pence’s daughter, Charlotte, spoke. She was very uplifting and very knowledgeable.”

“We got in just in time to see President Trump speak,” added Emily Healy. “It was very impactful to see someone with so much power and with so much to say. It was mind blowing.”

Both women say they hope to participate in next year’s March, as well.

“I know my daughter felt it was the best March she’s ever been to,” Cindy Healy said. “Listening to the other students, it sounded like they felt the same way. It grows every year. It reaffirms their beliefs. They get to see that so many others share their beliefs, even though you might not see that every day. They learned to talk to people about those beliefs. It was well worth it. I’d love to go again.”

“I plan on going again next year,” added Emily Healy. “It stands for something bigger than myself. It’s a great experience.”