On Saturday, thousands will fill the streets of San Francisco in the Walk for Life West Coast.

More than five dozen Napans are expected to be among the crowds who will march up the main roads in one of the most liberal cities in America to mark the 34th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court case that legalized abortion in the United States, and to let it be known that many Americans continue to oppose abortion.

Walk for Life West Coast complements the annual March for Life, which will see many thousands more demonstrate in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 22.

Napa resident Ron Maxson is recruiting demonstrators at the Catholic parishes of St. John the Baptist and St. Apollinaris in Napa. “At present, I have 64 people signed up,” Maxson said. “I’m expecting 15 more. … We had 70 people in vans last year.”

He described the walk as a “positive, prayerful witness that women have another option. … We want to be positive.”

Maxson commented he has “been moved” through his participation in the walk, which last year drew 15,000 people. The annual march also draws counter-demonstrators, pro-choice advocates who believe a woman’s right to choose an abortion is a critical freedom, and that it would be a step backward should courts reconsider the constitutionality of Roe v. Wade.

Maxson said his first march, in 2005, was memorable for being a “disappointment. It was officially opposed by the city (of San Francisco). The positive step was that last year the civic leadership was silent. There was less opposition on the streets.”

Lowell Stalbaum, who chaired the Respect Life Committee for St. Thomas Aquinas parish in Napa, went to the first Walk for Life. He said the highlight was listening to members of a group called Feminists for Life. The group, he said, holds that feminism is compatible with a pro-life stance, using the slogan, “Women deserve better than abortion.”

Stalbaum was with another group that showed the pro-life advocates are fairly diverse, as he carried a sign that said “Democrats for Life.”

Stalbaum said the purpose of the march is “to let people know there’s a huge pro-life movement in the Bay Area. ... This march makes it possible for people to speak up in an ultra-liberal community, and question the validity of abortion to solve human problems.”

Stalbaum also said his views do not align squarely with any political orthodoxy. Conservatives might side with Stalbaum on the issue of abortion, but he said, “My Republican friends disagree with me because I oppose the death penalty.”

Stalbaum is also active in Napa. He helped start the Life Chain, an annual anti-abortion silent vigil held in conjunction with local evangelical churches.

Other marchers carry more traditional views.

Chuck Haeuser, a parishioner at St. Thomas Aquinas, is going to the Walk for Life West Coast for the first time this year. “I need to stand up for the unborn and be counted.”