PITTSBURGH (LifeSiteNews) — Nearly 1,000 pro-lifers gathered this weekend for the inaugural Pittsburgh March for Life in the city’s Oakland neighborhood near the University of Pittsburgh’s (Pitt) campus.

On April 18, several hundred pro-lifers from the Pittsburgh area and across the Keystone State, including many enthusiastic young people, marched for the unborn in scorching 80-degree heat. While some leftists had drawn pro-abortion messages on the sidewalk for the marchers to see before the event, only a handful of protesters approached the march, and they were relatively quiet.

Several pro-life leaders and marchers emphasized to LifeSiteNews the importance of making voices heard for the unborn in the city of Pittsburgh and surrounding Pitt’s campus, despite the uphill battle to change hearts and minds.

Lydia Taylor Davis, the spokesperson for Students for Life of America, stressed that Pitt’s campus is where pro-life voices urgently need to be heard.

“We’re truly in a mission field. This is where the message needs to be heard,” she said. “So we’re hoping to reach especially Gen Z on this campus at the University of Pittsburgh with the message that women don’t need abortion, that 28 percent (Gen Z) were aborted.”

“We have to fight for the future generations, and so I think reaching these people with truth is the most amazing opportunity we have here to truly be a light in the darkness,” she added.

Davis further highlighted that there’s something everyone in the pro-life movement can do to step up and spread the pro-life message, whether that’s lobbying for pro-life legislation, supporting mothers at pregnancy resource centers, or even posting something spreading the message on social media.

“God commands us to get involved; it’s not an option. God commands us to defend the defenseless, and babies are being killed in our communities. We have to speak up, we have to do something,” she said. “So I encourage people not to be deterred by backlash. If you’re facing backlash, it means you’re doing something right. So never be deterred, saving babies is what this is about.”

PHOTOS: Thousands of pro-lifers bear witness to the unborn at Pennsylvania March for Life

David Bereit, the executive director of the Life Leadership Conference and the founder of 40 Days for Life, noted how important it is for pro-life activists attending these marches to realize that there are many others who care deeply about the pro-life cause and that they’re not alone.

“People here who have faith, who have conscience say, ‘I want to get together with other like-minded people to realize I’m not alone,’” he said. “So we can raise our voices up and communicate to the broader Pittsburgh community (that) there are many people who do care deeply about innocent human life and protecting mothers and fathers and families.”

Bereit emphasized that this march should be only the beginning, not the end, of their pro-life commitments.

“One of the greatest risks of having an event like this is some people may come and think, ‘I’ve done my pro-life thing,’ but this is merely the beginning,” he said. “What’s most important is what happens tomorrow, what happens next week, what happens next month.”

“For people of faith and conscience, begin with prayer, because you need to ask God to guide you and direct you on what it is he wants you to do,” he added.

Bereit encouraged pro-life advocates to discern what they can do to advance the pro-life cause, whether that’s volunteering at a pregnancy resource center, participating in a 40 Days for Life campaign, or getting involved in a pro-life activity at their church.

Nikki Bruni, the executive director of both People Concerned for the Unborn Child (PCUC) and 40 Days for Life Pittsburgh, stressed the importance of pro-life advocates continuing to be involved with the movement despite difficulties in both the Steel City and in enacting meaningful legislation in the left-wing Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, because, if we despair, more babies die.

“If we don’t witness, then the babies die in silence with nobody to even recognize them. So we have to, as a pro-life Christian community, come out and proclaim their dignity and their sanctity,” she said. “Even though we’re not making much progress… we still can grow as a community of believers and show up and show the city that there is a lively, vibrant, pro-life community here that’s alive and well in Pittsburgh.”

Bruni also noted that pro-lifers can get involved with a 40 Days for Life campaign in front of a Planned Parenthood near them, recalling how two babies were just saved from their sidewalk counseling within the last week.

PHOTOS: Hundreds of Catholics join Eucharistic procession to Pittsburgh Planned Parenthood

“We just had a couple leave the day before yesterday that was pregnant with twins that were considering abortion and went to Planned Parenthood, and they decided to choose life,” she said. “So our prayerful presence in front of abortion clinics can change hearts and minds and save lives.”

Several march participants highlighted the importance of showing up to march in defense of the unborn. Natalie, a student at St. Vincent’s College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, told LifeSite she marched to “advocate for those who can’t advocate for themselves.” She underscored that it’s crucial for pro-lifers to offer help to mothers considering abortion and to remember that abortion harms them as well.

“Oftentimes, (When a woman hears), ‘I want to help you,’ that saves lives,” she said. “So loving the mother is often one of the most effective ways to save the lives of the unborn.”

Jordan, another student at St. Vincent’s, said she attended the march to stand for her beliefs and try to make a difference.

“I believe that abortion is murder and that it is wrong. So I just came to stand for that and… to try to make a difference,” she said.

John Paul from Pittsburgh said that he marched to show the city that the pro-life movement values the protection of all life, both from abortion and other injustices.

“The people who see us might not change their minds immediately. But I think sometimes a small little seed can make more of a difference than you would think,” he said.