Pennsylvania Attorney General and governor hopeful Tom Corbett this morning gave approximately 150 anti-abortion activists a send-off as they gathered at St. Joan of Arc's Catholic Church in Derry Township to board buses headed for the

at the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

The annual Jan. 22 event coincides each year with Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.

Speaking to parents and dozens of children and teenagers, Corbett, a Catholic, Republican and anti-abortion supporter, said that as long as the high court decision stood, the movement would see limited gains. "We have a Supreme Court decision that we have to live with," he said. "As long as nothing changes there, nothing can change."

Corbett said the March for Life was an important annual event. "The pro-life movement has to keep reminding everyone that these are living human beings," he said.

Dressed in hardy winter gear and boots -- some carrying placards that read "Stop Partial Birth Abortion" and "Women do regret abortion" -- the bus convoy headed toward the nation's capitol to join the expected hundreds of thousands of other activists who will circle the National Mall and conclude the march in front of the Supreme Court.

Mary Hess, of Harrisburg, a first-time marcher, said abortion is the one key issue she considers at election time. "We have to take a stand," she said.

Sister Eileen McGowan, principle at St. Joan of Arc School, said the students traveling to Washington would gain an added lesson from the day's event. She said the students in eighth grade study social justice and that respect for life was an important component of that. "This is a way to put that into practice," she said.

Giovanna Heanue, an eighth-grader at the school said: "Everyone deserves a shot at life."