Annual Pro-Life March Sends Message: 'Love Them Both'
By Pamela Seal
Diocese of Lake Charles
LAKE CHARLES — “Love Them Both” was the theme for the 30th annual Louisiana Life March Southwest through downtown Lake Charles on Thursday, January 22, 2026. The pro-life March takes place every year on the “Day of Prayer for Legal Protection for Unborn Children.”
An otherwise cloudy and dreary day gave way to a beautiful sunset as nearly 200 walked in support of the sanctity and dignity of life at all stages, and to hear the story of Amber Dubois who was conceived in rape.
This year’s march made its way from the Veterans’ Memorial Park at the Lake Charles Civic Center to the Calcasieu Parish Courthouse steps for a candlelight prayer vigil. It is sponsored by Louisiana Right to Life, New Life Counseling Pregnancy Center, ABC Pregnancy Center, Louisiana Baptist Convention, Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops, United Pentecostal Church of Louisiana, Louisiana Family Forum, the Knights of Columbus, and Concerned Women for America.
The Very Rev. Matthew Cormier, Pastor of Christ the King Catholic Church in the Diocese of Lake Charles, led the opening prayer reminding all that God is the one who knitted each one of us together in our mother’s womb. Father Cormier gave thanks to God, our Creator, who alone has the power to impart the breath of life.
WHY WE MARCH
Nicole Bertrand, Executive Director of New Life Counseling Pregnancy Center, said the Life March began in 1996 for the babies whose lives were never given a chance.
“We gather for a moment to pause, a moment to grieve, and a moment to acknowledge the profound loss of lives in the silent suffering carried by so many,” said Bertrand. “From the beginning, this march and vigil were meant to surround women with compassion and love.”
Bertrand assured those gathered that the march continues because the need has not disappeared.
“We continue because women are still facing unplanned pregnancies, uncertainty, and fear. We continue because healing is still needed for hearts, for families, and for our community. We continue because love requires action, and that action continues beyond this evening,” she said.
EVERY LIFE MATTERS
If there was one message that featured speaker Amber wanted to get across as she courageously shared her story, it was this: “When we get love right, we get life right.”
“We could all be somewhere else, but we all chose tonight to march for life, to march for love,” the young mother from the Acadiana-Lafayette area remarked as she began her talk. “Those who march for life march for love because we know that love is not always easy. Love isn’t always convenient; sometimes, it’s a little messy.”
of how her life was spared from abortion after
being conceived in sexual assault.
Amber (along with three younger sisters) was raised by her grandparents after her parents divorced when she was 6 years old.
“My dad’s parents loved us deeply and made many sacrifices for us,” she said. “They made sure there was food on the table, we were clothed, went to church, and had friends who helped us make good choices.”
Growing up felt like a normal childhood for Amber until she realized from being around her classmates that her upbringing was anything but normal.
By the time she was a teenager, she convinced her mother to have a heart-to-heart talk and answer all her questions. It was a day that changed her life and explained areas of her life where she knew “deep, deep down that something was missing.”
Amber’s mother revealed to her that her father was not her biological father; that she had been conceived in rape.
“When I asked my mom, who is an atheist, why she made the choice to keep me, she said that the pain of terminating the life within her would have been greater than the pain of the rape itself. It would just be pain upon pain,” Amber recalled.
“According to the world — even pro-lifers — I did not deserve to be here. I was an accident,” she shared. For many years, Amber struggled with this mindset.
“I felt like I had to prove that I deserved to breathe the same air as everyone else,” she said. “I had to prove that my mom made the right decision in keeping me. As I grew older, I would hear ‘pro-life, except in the case of rape, except in the case of Amber.’ Thankfully, God was not done with me yet.”
When Amber asked her mom if she ever regretted not having an abortion, “She told me I was best decision she ever made.”
Even though Roe v. Wade has been overturned, many states still offer abortion in the case of rape, incest, or if the mother’s life is in danger.
Amber told the crowd that the world has to stop seeing people like her as less.
“Why are people like me always the first to go? It is not fair. It is not just,” she said.
Moving on with her life, Amber is now married, a theology teacher at Catholic High in New Iberia, has three unborn babies in heaven, and a 6-month-old.
“I can stand here and share this part of my story, this vulnerable piece of myself — for people like my mom and for people like me — and how we can “Love Them Both,” she said. “Thank you for marching and thank you for saving the ‘little Ambers’.”
To view more photos from the 30th annual Louisiana March for Life Southwest, visit the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lake Charles Facebook page.
