SAN FRANCISCO, CA, January 19, 2008 -- A woman who was aborted and survived today urged a crowd of 25,000 to forgive and sent out a blessing of "mercy and grace and redemption" over the life of anyone who has had an abortion.

After the speeches, the crowd walked along San Francisco's waterfront for 2.5 miles in the 4th Annual Walk for Life West Coast, carrying banners that proclaimed "Abortion Hurts Women" and "Women Deserve Better®." About 250 pro-choice protestors chanted and jeered alongside the pro-life walkers.

"I was aborted and did not die," Gianna Jessen told the cheering crowd, but added, "I will limp my way into heaven" because she bears the mark of the saline abortion, cerebral palsy, that was meant to end her life at a Los Angeles clinic.

"The abortionist signed my birth certificate," Jessen said. However, she noted, "My life is not defined by abortion. I am not a victim, I am a victor." Jessen was one of four speakers at the Walk for Life rally at the foot of Washington Street and the Embarcadero. Alveda King, the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., BlackGenocide.org founder Rev. Clenard Childress, and radio host Jesse Romero also spoke. Eight California Catholic bishops were on hand to support the event.