Life is not a question of circumstance.

Last week, South Dakota State clubs, like the SDSU Feminist Equality Movement and SDSU Democrats, marched the streets of Sioux Falls for equality for all.

Jan. 19, a day before The Women’s March, in Washington D.C., another SDSU club took the streets for a similar reason.

Around 50 students in SDSU Jacks for Life joined tens of thousands other marchers at the 45th annual March for Life, which is the largest anti-abortion rally in the United States.

The Women’s March and The March for Life call for the same thing at the core: valuing human life.

Being against abortion practices is more than just a political stance, it’s a call to care for all humankind no matter what background they have, what opinions they hold or what stage of life they are in.

Because we were born, we have an inherent value and worth.

But when we deem anyone unworthy of life or disposable, all life becomes disposable.

When it is understood that life should be protected at all costs, life becomes dignified.

You don’t compare others by their skills or what they can do for you. Love and respect don’t have to be earned when everyone stands on equal footing and see each other more clearly. We don’t worry about insecurities or experience jealousy when life is looked through this lense of equality.

Both marches remind us of this. We earned our right to equality the moment we came into existence, and nobody should be able to take either of those opportunities away from us.

Brianna Schreurs is the Managing Editor at The Collegian and can be reached at [email protected].