About 50 women, men and children gathered outside the Flathead County Courthouse in Kalispell on Saturday afternoon for the annual Pro-Life Rally and March for Life. The anti-abortion rally is sponsored by Flathead Pro-Life and is scheduled each year around the anniversary of Roe v. Wade — the U.S. Supreme Court case that on Jan. 22, 1973 decided that a woman’s right to an abortion was protected by the Constitution.

Michelle Jenkins, a Swan Valley resident who traveled 60 miles to attend the rally, said she is promoting the message “That life is sacred, and each life is uniquely its own.”

Jenkins, who has attended the event every year since the early 1990s, was holding a blue balloon and a sign reading “abortion hurts women.”

“We love the mother, we love the baby, and it’s because we love them [that we march],” Jenkins said.

A lunch was served at noon at the Central Bible Church in Kalispell, followed by a rally in the church basement.

Mark Cutler, the senior pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church and president of Lutheran Pro-Life, spoke at the rally prior to participating in the march. During his speech, he remarked that he has been discouraged by the current state legislative session, saying that fewer bills have been put forth to challenge the Roe v. Wade decision than in previous years.

“Politically, we’re happy we have a president who speaks for the pro-life position, but we know that our work is not done,” Cutler said.

Cutler said he has been involved with both Flathead Pro-Life and Lutheran Pro-Life since 1988.

“It’s about awareness for the sanctity of human life. Every baby in the womb is a human life,” Cutler said.

From the courthouse, the group marched north along Main Street carrying pink and blue balloons, and signs. The march concluded at Depot Park with a closing prayer and a release of the balloons.

Included in the events surrounding the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, there will also be a memorial service at Trinity Lutheran Church for the “victims of abortion” at 6 p.m. today.