Thousands of anti-abortion rights activists came to the March for Life in downtown Dallas.

At the first March for Life in North Texas since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, abortion rights opponents cheered and gathered in downtown Dallas on Saturday afternoon.

The organizers said the event is dedicated to ending legal abortion in Texas, but their work is not yet complete.

Participants marched with pastel balloons and placards with phrases such as “I’m the generation after Row,” “Birthday,” and “Pills and Navy also kill kids.”

Organizers said about 6,000 people took part in the rally after the march from the Cathedral of the Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe to the Earl Cabell Federal Building, where the 1973 lawsuit that legalized abortion originated. In June, the Supreme Court overturned Roe’s decision, and in August, an “action law” banning abortion in Texas went into effect.

At the rally, Bishop Edward Burns of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas prayed for women in need and “further advancing the gospel of life,” while speakers shared their desire to end medical abortion, continue to support women, and oppose policies that support access to abortion.

“We are here today because Texas is in the lead. We are setting the bar for the rest of the nation in the fight for life,” said Geralyn Kaminsky, executive director of the Catholic Community for Life. “We pray for a day when all children are protected and all their mothers are supported.”

After Rowe’s ouster, youth are stepping up to support women and offer resources to families, said Erin Quinn of Students for the Life of America..

Quinn told the crowd that although abortion laws are limited, abortion still happens, and the battle has shifted to drug-assisted abortions.

“We will not stop offering resources, family support, jobs, maternity housing,” Quinn said. “We will not stop doing all this until every woman believes in her heart that abortion is unthinkable. That’s what it means to be part of the generation after Rowe.”

Kaileen Wright, president of the Texans for Life Coalition, told the rally that while Rowe was ousted, “public opinion was pretty much in favor of abortion, which we haven’t seen in many, many years.”

She noted several political moves towards legalizing abortion, including actions by President Joe Biden and the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide abortions to veterans and their beneficiaries in certain cases, including in Texas and other states, that ban or restrict the procedure.

“Rowe is not dead,” Wright said. And I’m sorry I broke it for you. He’s on life support, but the abortion fanatics, along with the Biden administration and even the majority of Congress, are hard at work to revive – even expand – Rowe’s deadly legacy.”

In the crowd at the event was Julia Friedl of Carrollton with five of her seven children, ages 2 to 15. She said that a few years ago they started praying in front of the abortion center.

She said she was “disappointed” that she didn’t see many families at other events and decided to start taking the kids with her. On the way to the event, she said, she told her children that the question was not about the legality of abortion.

“We are talking about people who still want abortions or think it is okay to kill these children before they even see the light of day,” Friedl said. “Now our job is to change people’s hearts and show them that there is support, there is love, and that although it is difficult, the blessings are worth it.”

Also present with his family was Paul Kupp of Irving, who said that while his family believes that life begins at conception, he understands that not everyone believes so.

“We truly believe that the beliefs we hold will lead people to fulfillment and happiness,” Kapp said. “I hope people understand this, as opposed to a movement that wants to belittle people or hate them.”

Photos: Crowds take to the first March for Life in North Texas since Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court

[10/10] Matachins listen outside the Earl Cabell Federal Building, the site of the Roe v. Wade lawsuit, during the 2023 Rowe Memorial Mass and North Texas March for Life on Saturday, January 14, 2023, in Dallas. The event was dedicated to the end of the legalization of abortion in Texas.(Juan Figueroa / staff photographer)

[1/10] Bernie Gonzalez leads other members of St. Bernard of Clairvaux Catholic Church as they hold a rally outside the Earl Cabell Federal Building, the site of the Roe v. Wade lawsuit, during the 2023 Roe Memorial Mass and North Texas March for Life on Saturday, January. February 14, 2023 in Dallas. The event was dedicated to the end of the legalization of abortion in Texas.(Juan Figueroa / staff photographer)

[2/10] Nancy Sanchez wears a “Madonna and Child” headband outside the Earl Cabell Federal Building, site of Roe’s landmark lawsuit against Wade, during the 2023 Roe Memorial Mass and March for Life in North Texas on Saturday, January 14. , 2023, Dallas. The event was dedicated to the end of the legalization of abortion in Texas. (Juan Figueroa / staff photographer)

[3/10] People march down S Field Street towards the Earl Cabell Federal Building, the site of the Roe v. Wade lawsuit, during the 2023 Rowe Memorial Mass and North Texas March for Life on Saturday, January 14, 2023, in Dallas. The marchers celebrated the end of the legalization of abortion in Texas. (Juan Figueroa / staff photographer)

[4/10] Erin Quinn, strategic partnership advisor for Students for Life America, speaks in front of the Earl Cabell Federal Building, site of the landmark Roe v. Wade lawsuit, during the 2023 Roe Memorial Mass and March for Life in North Texas on Saturday, Jan. 14 . , 2023, Dallas. They celebrated the end of the legalization of abortion in Texas. (Juan Figueroa / staff photographer)

[5/10] Members of St. Bernard of Clairvaux Catholic Church hold a rally outside the Earl Cabell Federal Building, site of the Roe v. Wade lawsuit, during the 2023 Roe Memorial Mass and North Texas March for Life on Saturday, January 14, 2023, in Dallas. The event was dedicated to the end of the legalization of abortion in Texas.(Juan Figueroa / staff photographer)

[6/10] People march to the Earl Cabell Federal Building, the site of the Roe v. Wade lawsuit, during the 2023 Rowe Memorial Mass and North Texas March for Life on Saturday, January 14, 2023, in Dallas. The marchers celebrated the end of the legalization of abortion in Texas. (Juan Figueroa / staff photographer)

[7/10] People march down S Field Street towards the Earl Cabell Federal Building, the site of the Roe v. Wade lawsuit, during the 2023 Rowe Memorial Mass and North Texas March for Life on Saturday, January 14, 2023, in Dallas. The marchers celebrated the end of the legalization of abortion in Texas. (Juan Figueroa / staff photographer)

[8/10] People march down S Field Street towards the Earl Cabell Federal Building, the site of the Roe v. Wade lawsuit, during the 2023 Rowe Memorial Mass and North Texas March for Life on Saturday, January 14, 2023, in Dallas. The marchers celebrated the end of the legalization of abortion in Texas. (Juan Figueroa / staff photographer)

[9/10] People march down S Field Street towards the Earl Cabell Federal Building, the site of the Roe v. Wade lawsuit, during the 2023 Rowe Memorial Mass and North Texas March for Life on Saturday, January 14, 2023, in Dallas. The marchers celebrated the end of the legalization of abortion in Texas. (Juan Figueroa / staff photographer)

[10/10] Matachins listen outside the Earl Cabell Federal Building, the site of the Roe v. Wade lawsuit, during the 2023 Rowe Memorial Mass and North Texas March for Life on Saturday, January 14, 2023, in Dallas. The event was dedicated to the end of the legalization of abortion in Texas.(Juan Figueroa / staff photographer)

[1/10] Bernie Gonzalez leads other members of St. Bernard of Clairvaux Catholic Church as they hold a rally outside the Earl Cabell Federal Building, the site of the Roe v. Wade lawsuit, during the 2023 Roe Memorial Mass and March for Life in North Texas on Saturday, January. February 14, 2023 in Dallas. The event was dedicated to the end of the legalization of abortion in Texas.(Juan Figueroa / staff photographer)