On Tuesday, 150 students from Notre Dame and Saint Mary's will join between 100,000 and 200,000 pro-life supporters from around the country for the annual March for Life in Washington D.C.

Groups of students will leave for Washington both Saturday and Sunday to participate in the annual March, which coincides with the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court ruling made in 1973. The trip also includes a "Collegians for Life Conference" at Georgetown University, a Mass at the National Shrine and a rally.

The events are meant not only to demonstrate against legalized abortion but also to raise awareness for other pro-life issues including cloning and the death penalty, according to Stephen Merjavy, one of the Notre Dame Right to Life trip coordinators.

"I think it [the March] encompasses all these issues," Merjavy said. "It focuses primarily on abortion but has a wider scale."

While fewer students have signed up to attend this year's March — 150 compared to last year's 300 — the club has been able to keep the student price the same by subsidizing the cost. Tricia Keppel, trip coordinator, estimates that the club will spend more than $4,000 for the event, some of it paid for by an anonymous donor.

"We didn't want to raise the price from last year," she said.

The club attributed last year's large attendance to the presidential inauguration that occurred the same weekend. Also, students only missed one day of class last year compared to this year's two.

"Last year the inauguration fell on the Saturday we arrived and that drew a lot of people," Keppel said. "Last year was definitely the peak in attendance."

In preparation for the event, the club sponsored an informational meeting on Monday, an ice skating social on Tuesday and a sendoff Mass on Thursday night at the Morrissey Chapel.

"I'm excited," Keppel said. "The people that are going are dedicated and excited to be going. It's a day where you can stand there and be a voice for those who don't have a voice."

This year marks Notre Dame and Saint Mary's sixth trip to Washington for the March since its beginning in 1974. The trip, organized by Monica Brown, Keppel and Merjavy, is one of the club's larger events. The organization is also involved in community service activities, like Project Mom, and hosts a spring conference.

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