More than 100 people took part Sunday, Jan. 28, in the annual Walk for Life held by Options for Women Tri-County, Osceola. (Submitted photo)

Options for Women Tri-County, Osceola, held its annual Walk for Life on Sunday, Jan. 28.

More than 100 people of all ages took part in the walk through the streets of Osceola. The crowd then gathered at St. Joseph Catholic Church for a chili supper and entertainment. The Solid Rock Quartet, which shares the Gospel through music, performed during the dinner.

Three local families in attendance, the Bornes, Sandbergs and Novaks, had just returned from Washington D.C., where they attended the National Walk for Life. Led by Randy and Nicholas Borne, the families shared the highlights of their trip.

This year marks the 45th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling, which constitutionally allowed women the right to abortion. Shortly after that ruling came the court case of Doe v. Bolton which then defined health of the mother as to include “all factors – physical, emotional, psychological, familial, and the woman’s age – relevant to the well being of the mother.” This health exception vastly expanded the right to abortion through all three trimesters of pregnancy.

Kris Hartung, a board member of Options for Women Tri-County, reminded the group that since the Roe v. Wade ruling, more than 60 million babies have been aborted in the United States – equivalent to the entire populations of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, North and South Dakotas, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Nebraska and Missouri.

The local Walk for Life is held every January to not only mark another year since the Roe v. Wade ruling, but to celebrate those mothers and fathers who, in difficult situations, have chosen to give life to their children.