Every year thousands gather on Parliament Hill for the March for Life rally in favour of ending abortion. By 1p.m. RCMP estimated about 10,000 people were on the hill.
The day began with speeches and musical performances before the group started their march around 1:30.
“We want restrictions on abortions and once we realize abortion in the late term is wrong than what’s the different between killing a baby at 5 months and killing a baby at 8 months,” said Alissa Golob, a pro-life activist.
But they were not the only group of activists marching Thursday. This year a much smaller group of pro-choice activists tried to intervene with the walk.
Hundreds of pro-choice activists met up at Confederation Park and headed down Laurier shouting ‘my body, my choice’. Several group members said they hoped to meet up with the anti-abortion walk so that they could have a discussion.
Police officers worked to keep the two groups from coming face-to-face. Officers ran up and down city streets rerouting both sides away from each other.
At one point a city bus was parked on Metcalfe near Albert Street in what appeared to be an intentional block between both groups.
During the event, at least one pro-choice activist was taken away in handcuffs after she ran past a line of police officers.
Justine Laconte, a pro-choice activist from Quebec, called it extremely frustrating.
“That fact that the police are making us stop and not go talk to those people and trying to have a dialogue… is infuriating because we do not get to have our opinion but they get to have theirs,” said Laconte.
This is the second time police have had to intervene between pro-life and pro-choice groups this week.
On Wednesday two people were arrested at a pro-life vigil at Elgin and Laurier after things turned violent.
19-year-old-Sarah Carstensen and 24-year-old Nicolas Vicencio-heap are both charged with mischief, causing a disturbance and resisting arrested.
It is alleged the woman was at the vigil in support of pro-choice and was swearing and pushing through the crowd. Her boyfriend allegedly jumped in when police went to make her arrest.
In that case, police said pepper spray was used to try and calm the crowds.
