Thousands expected for Saturday's Texas Rally for Life

Organizers of the Texas Rally for Life are preparing for what they hope will be thousands of people at the Capitol on Saturday.

Anti-abortion rights demonstrators plan to kick off the event at 1 p.m. along the intersection of 14th Street and San Jacinto Boulevard with a march to the Capitol.

Nine speakers will take the podium atop the Capitol steps at 2 p.m., including state Rep. Jeff Leach; U.S. Rep. Chip Roy; and Sylvia B. Johnson-Matthews, the Houston Pregnancy Help Center's chief executive officer.

Amy O'Donnell, communications director for the event, said the mission of the 34th annual Texas Rally for Life is to "show the media and our elected officials that Texas is pro-life."

"It's going to be a beautiful day, so we expect about the same amount of people as last year or a little more than last year," O'Donnell said.

Organizers last year estimated about 5,000 people attended.

The Texas rally comes a day after President Donald Trump made history as the first sitting president to attend the March for Life rally in Washington.

During Trump's speech Friday, he said the mission of the event was to "defend the right of every child born and unborn, to fulfill their God-given potential."

"Young people are the heart of the March for Life," Trump said. "It's your generation that is making America the pro-family, pro-life nation."

O'Donnell said this year's Texas Rally for Life event will also commemorate the 47th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, which established a woman's legal right to an abortion.

Directly following the rally will be a pro-life expo between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.

"It will be a great event," O'Donnell said. "We have 100 choir singers coming from Bethlehem Baptist Church to perform."

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