ST. CLOUD -- Since abortion was legalized nearly 45-years ago the March for Life Rally has been taking place every year in Washington D.C. and now a group of Central Minnesota students is joining in the march.

Brody Hagemeier is a student at St. Cloud State University. Hagemeier and about 20 other students from St. Cloud State and St. John's University will be joining in on the march. Hagemeier says when he started going to college he realized how passionate he was about the issue of abortion.

"The more I learned about abortion and people who have had abortions, the more I realized it doesn't do anyone any good. People realize that there is life in the womb and that life is tragically lost when an abortion is done."

Hagemeier says the rally will bring awareness to the issue that women don't have to choose between being a mother and having a career.

"This March for Life this year is really highlighting that we can choose both. We can love both mother and child, that we can help a pregnant mother through positive accommodations and life-affirming options to be able to be a mom, get a college degree as well as establish a strong career if she so chooses."

The 45th annual March for Life will be Friday at the National Mall in Washington D.C. The rally starts at 10:20 a.m. while the march kicks off at noon.

President Donald Trump will make an address live from the White House Rose Garden.

Other speakers for the event include House Speaker Paul Ryan, Pam Tebow, mother of former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow, Matt Birk, former NFL player and others.

The historic Roe v. Wade decision was made by the United States Supreme Court in 1973, it allowed women the right to choose to have an abortion.

NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota says since the decision was made, anti-choice activists have challenged the law and tried to take away women's rights.

“Despite being the law of the land for the past 45 years, lawmakers at every level of government, driven by a small group of extremists, continue to chip away at the fundamental right to abortion.

Poll after poll shows that 7 in 10 Americans support a woman’s right to abortion, but this out of touch minority wants to take us back to a time when women weren’t trusted to make their own decisions and, as a result, faced life or death consequences.

NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota will continue to advocate for policies that protect a woman’s decision whether or not to start a family.  Bills like the Physician’s Integrity Act (Minnesota Senate File 281) will authorize health care providers to provide information that is medically accurate, evidence-based and appropriate for the patient, leaving a woman’s personal reproductive health care decisions where they belong, between her and her doctor.

Abortion is healthcare and should be treated as such, not as a football to gain political points.”

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