The annual January gathering to commemorate the anniversary of Roe v. Wade has long been the largest gathering of pro-life advocates in Oregon. 
The first known account of a pro-life march was in May 1973. It was described as a parade through Portland and featured a speech from author Ken Kesey, a drum and bugle corps and floats. Participants were encouraged to ride decorated bikes. 
The gathering has been held on the steps of the Oregon Capitol and in Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square over the years. Each time, the event begins with a solemn acknowledgement of the lives lost to legal abortion. By the gathering’s end, the messages of encouragement and determination lift the crowd and send them off in hopes that next year, we will celebrate more progress towards the end of legal abortion.
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