Thousands join antiabortion march in S.F.

Thousands of antiabortion demonstrators participate in the Walk for Life march from Civic Center to the Ferry Building in San Francisco, Calif. on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2015. Thousands of antiabortion demonstrators participate in the Walk for Life march from Civic Center to the Ferry Building in San Francisco, Calif. on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2015. Photo: Paul Chinn / The Chronicle Photo: Paul Chinn / The Chronicle Image 1 of / 30 Caption Close Thousands join antiabortion march in S.F. 1 / 30 Back to Gallery

Thousands of people calling for an end to abortion filled San Francisco’s Civic Center Plaza on Saturday for the annual West Coast March for Life.

Organizers of the event expected up to 50,000 antiabortion marchers from across the West Coast to participate in the 2015 event, which is scheduled each year to coincide with the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, the Jan. 22, 1973, Supreme Court decision that made abortion legal across the country.

People came from as far as Texas to participate in the march and rally, which included speeches and signs in Spanish and English.

One sign declared “1/3 of our generation has been killed by abortion,” while another read “Defiende la vida.” (Defend life.)

Mary Dudro, 21, a UC Berkeley senior, had been to several of the previous marches.

“We are 100 percent pro-women,” she said. “This is not a judgment or trying to limit women. We believe the maternal aspect of a woman to carry life is something sacred and needs to be protected.

“Even if your situation is difficult, you'll be 100 times better off keeping your child than having the knowledge you aborted it.”

Code of conduct

To keep the event peaceful, the Walk for Life organizers publicized a code of conduct for participants, advising them to never speak to, look at, stare at, threaten or get close to protesters.

“NEVER, EVER TOUCH PROTESTORS,” the advisory stated. “To maintain the peaceful and prayerful attitude of the Walk, please do not bring any graphic images of abortions to the Walk.”

The event also drew about 100 abortion rights supporters. Organized by Stop Patriarchy, they gathered at Powell and Market streets at 1 p.m., waving signs and shouting as the antiabortion contingent made its way from Civic Center Plaza to Justin Herman Plaza on the Embarcadero.

The pro-choice protesters carried signs reading “Abortion on demand and without apology” and “Stop the war on women.”

“I trust women,” said pro-choice advocate Michele Grim, 32, an Oakland grant management specialist. “They're on my turf now, and I want to make sure our voice is heard as well.”

About 100 antiabortion activists skipped the 12:30 p.m. Civic Center rally and instead squared off against the pro-choice crowd at the Powell and Market location, the sides kept 10 feet apart by metal barriers and police officers.

On the antiabortion side, a few folks had disregarded the advice about graphic images, including one with the caption, “Murdered! I was not just a blob of tissue.”

1 arrest reported

As the marchers went down Market Street, pro-choice demonstrators shouted at the crowd, but the few who tried to get onto the street to confront the walkers were quickly turned back by police. There were reports of at least one arrest.

Despite the vitriolic clash of words between the two sides of the abortion debate, the annual marches have been largely peaceful.

Jill Tucker, Stephanie M. Lee and Hamed Aleaziz are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. E-mail: jtucker@sfchronicle.com, slee@sfchronicle.com, haleaziz@sfchronicle.com