Thousands of people gather in Zagreb and Split.
The second “Walk for Life” event on Saturday brought out about 15,000 people in Zagreb. They walked through the centre of the city promoting the belief that the human life begins with conception and ends with natural death, and that the right to life is a fundamental human right. A similar event took place simultaneously in Split as well, reports Večernji List on May 21, 2017.
“Walk for Life” is a civic project which brings together representatives of many associations and movements who, through similar initiatives, want to promote the values of human life, with special focus on the unborn.
The procession was accompanied by peaceful protests of pro-choice activists, who carried banners with inscriptions such as “We will not hand over our bodies”, “Country and God are not the owners of my ovaries”, “My body – My decision”, “Walk for illegal abortions”, “Walk against women”. A banner with the inscription “The Church and the State in the war against women” was put on one of the buildings on the main city square.
The only incident which required police intervention took place near Ban Jelačić Square in central Zagreb, where about a dozen protesters blocked Ilica Street and prevented the walk from continuing. The police carried the protesters away to police cars, and the participants of the walk then proceeded to the main square, where a concert was held.
The main coordinator of the “Walk for Life” Hajdi Begović, addressed the participants, pointing out that the goal of the event was to prompt people to begin thinking about when human life begins. “All medical schools in Croatia say that the life begins at the moment of conception. At conception, it is determined whether we are male or female, whether we have green or brown eyes, blue or black hair, our height, body, musicality, or talent for sports. The heart that beats in us started beating on the 18th day after conception,” Begović said and claimed that every woman and man has the right to know these scientific facts.
Tomislav Slavić, the coordinator of the “Walk for Life” in Split, said that “pregnant women and mothers with young children are the most discriminated groups in Croatian society. We want a different Croatia. We do not want that more than 20 percent of women, when they return from maternity leave, lose their jobs. It is terrible to hear that 75 percent of women deciding for abortion say that they had done it under pressure of the people around them or due to economic problems. We want to use this walk to demonstrate solidarity with women, mothers and their children and families.”
“Walk for Life” was preceded by the “Week for Life”, which was organised by the “Croatia for Life” association.
