Contact: Dolores Meehan, Walk for Life West Coast, 415-860-7899

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 16 /Standard Newswire/ -- Many say that the victory of President-elect Barack Obama shows that Americans don't care that Obama endorses unrestricted access to abortion.

But, in San Francisco, where Obama won by a landslide and no public official has won office for years without endorsing abortion rights, the pro-life movement is paradoxically energized. Organizers of the Walk for Life West Coast, set for Saturday, January 24th , expect record turnout at the event. The Walk is just four days after the presidential inauguration and a couple of days after the 36th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade ruling.

"Americans voted for our new president because they do care about justice - they wanted to shut the door permanently on the prejudice and injustice that is a blemish on our history. We hope President-elect Obama will bring the concern for Americans' well-being that he is showing in tackling the economy to bring justice to women in crisis pregnancies and to the unborn - the most vulnerable of all," said Walk for Life co-chair Dolores Meehan.

More buses have registered than ever before, and there is still another week to go, said Walk co-chair Eva Muntean.

"We always have a flood of last-minute sign-ups," said Ms. Muntean, who runs the Walk's logistics. "I never want to predict turnout, but it is looking big this year."

Last year, crowd estimates were 25,000 to 30,000 for the rally and walk along the city's Fisherman's Wharf and Embarcadero.

"This is the 5th year and it has become part of the fabric of the city and the state," said Ms. Muntean. "People just plan to come as part of their January."

High school and college students plan to meet at the Walk; families schedule get-togethers for the night of the Walk as friends from around the state and sometimes the country meet each other for the annual event.

The first year, January 22, 2005, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom spoke at a rally blocks away from the Walk, condemning the Walk and its ideals. Today, Newsom keeps a low profile. Likewise, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, which declared January 22, 2005 "Stand up for Choice Day," has chosen to avoid mentioning the Walk so far this year.

And in perhaps the most telling sign that the pro-life movement might actually be gaining ground in this most liberal of liberal cities--a billboard declaring "Abortion Hurts Women," and advertising the Walk in the middle of San Francisco's downtown--has only been defaced once since it was erected New Year's Eve.