Palatine anti-abortion march marks Roe v. Wade anniversary

NorthWest Families for Life's third annual March for Life from St. Theresa Parish in Palatine Saturday was among several Archdiocese of Chicago events protesting the 42nd anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.

Hundreds of people of all ages carried signs and chanted slogans during the walk along Northwest Highway to the plaza at the intersection of Hicks Road.

Palatine police stopped traffic on Northwest Highway for about 10 minutes as the marchers crossed at Benton Street.

Laura Vandercar, co-founder of NorthWest Families for Life and a parishioner at St. Theresa, said she has hope for the future of her cause because younger and younger people are reaching the same conclusions that she has.

"Teens are realizing there's life in the womb," she said.

Vandercar said she measures victories every day in the minds of expectant mothers that her organization has been able to change at abortion clinics.

Among Saturday's participants were Paul and Maureen Deitche of Streamwood, members of the organization Silent No More.

Though married for nearly four decades and with four children and nine grandchildren, the Deitches said they live with the regret of having aborted their first child when they were teens and marriage wasn't yet a legal option.

That regret has made them part of the anti-abortion cause for 30 years, but Paul said Saturday was the first time he'd told their story publicly in such detail.

Over the years, he said he's grown more optimistic because he perceives support for the cause to be growing.

"I see a lot more people coming out to these things," he said.