Antiabortion marchers jam SF’s Market Street in 15th annual Walk for Life

Thousands of marchers make their way down Market Street in San Francisco to protest abortion during the 15th annual Walk for Life. The event began with a rally at Civic Center Plaza, and then participants marched to the Embarcadero. less Thousands of marchers make their way down Market Street in San Francisco to protest abortion during the 15th annual Walk for Life. The event began with a rally at Civic Center Plaza, and then participants ... more Photo: Photos By Jessica Christian / The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Photos By Jessica Christian / The Chronicle Image 1 of / 14 Caption Close Antiabortion marchers jam SF’s Market Street in 15th annual Walk for Life 1 / 14 Back to Gallery

Thousands of people marched through downtown San Francisco on Saturday to protest abortion as part of the 15th Annual Walk for Life West Coast.

Protesters gripped signs reading, “Protect the Innocent,” decorated with angel wings, and “Abortion is Murder.” Before the march, the crowd gathered for a rally at Civic Center Plaza on the heels of the anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Jan. 22, 1973, Roe vs. Wade decision that made abortion legal nationwide.

“Today, the unborn do not have a voice. Today, men do not have a voice. Today, parents do not have a voice,” Patricia Sandoval, an antiabortion activist, told the large crowd. “Our nation is wounded by abortion. I’m not here to take your rights away.”

Sandoval, who said she suffered after she had three abortions and temporarily worked for Planned Parenthood in Sacramento, repeated other speakers’ characterization of abortion as being violent to women and fetuses.

Most marchers raised printed signs proclaiming, “I am the pro-life generation” while others, like Gabby Lara, created their own.

Lara, 20, joined a number of San Jose State University students from a group called “Spartans For Life,” each carrying handmade signs calling for an end to abortion in the United States. One of her signs read, “I will not stay silent so you can stay comfortable” in black letters outlined with pink, blue, purple, yellow and green accents.

“It’s crucially important to defend the lives of those that can’t speak for themselves,” Lara said.

“We live in a world where women are told that they can’t go to school and have a baby, or they can’t have an education or work and be a single mom. If women were cheered on, we would live in a better place.”

Eva Muntean, one of the two Walk for Life organizers, said the gathering was designed as a sister event to last weekend’s Washington March for Life, to provide a platform for women affected by abortion and to celebrate solidarity among those “affirming human life.”

“It really is about making people think about the issue, because many people don’t give abortion a second thought,” Muntean said.

“But there are people like us who believe in the sanctity of life, and we come out in big numbers. We love conversation about it, so let’s talk about it.”

She said organizers estimated about 7,500 antiabortion activists participated in the first march 15 years ago. In recent years, that number has ballooned into the tens of thousands of participants calling for an end to abortion.

Protesters were met on Saturday by dozens of abortion rights advocates — some of whom dressed in red capes and white bonnets in the style of Margaret Atwood’s dystopian book, “The Handmaid’s Tale” — rallying at Market and Powell streets as marchers made their trek from Civic Center Plaza to the Embarcadero.

Many of the marchers sang “America the Beautiful” and chanted “Pro-women, pro-life.”

San Francisco police officers separated the groups with a fence, but some antiabortion protesters propped up graphic photos and illustrations of aborted fetuses.

“I oppose these Christian fascists and their aim to not only deprive women of their abortion rights, but even contraception,” said Reiko Redmonde, manager of Revolution Books in Berkeley.

“In the past 15 years or so, women’s rights have been whittled away at by both Democrats and Republicans.”

Redmonde said the antiabortion protesters who marched down Market Street were trying to “drag women back to the Dark Ages” with their calls for Roe vs. Wade to be overturned.

Members of dozens of churches and religious organizations throughout California drove several hours to attend the march, including groups from Sacramento, San Diego and Los Angeles.

Lauren Hernández is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: lauren.hernandez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @LaurenPorFavor