Thousands of jubilant pro-life activists joined the first March for Life since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, pledging to take their fight against abortion to federal and state legislatures.
Protesters at the 50th annual rally and march, which is held around the Jan. 22, 1973, anniversary of the Roe decision that legalized abortion nationwide, walked to Congress instead of the Supreme Court for the first time to show support for federal laws restricting abortion, organizers said.
“While this year marks our most significant victory, the human rights abuse of abortion is far from over, sadly,” said Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life.
“Every day in this country, innocent lives are at stake,” former NFL coach Tony Dungy told a cheering crowd of activists who gathered in sunny and mild January weather.
Several pro-life members of Congress appeared with Mr. Dungy and other speakers onstage at a noon rally on the National Mall, which preceded the march along Constitution Avenue.
They included House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Louisiana Republican, and Rep. Chris Smith, a New Jersey Republican who said he attended his first March for Life in 1974.
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“Life and death is at stake at this March for Life,” Mr. Scalise told the crowd.
“Countless times we chanted the slogan, ’Hey hey, ho ho, Roe v. Wade has got to go,’ and today we celebrate Roe is gone,” Mr. Smith said.
Mr. Smith touted a bill the Republican-led House recently passed to protect children born alive during an abortion and a resolution to investigate attacks on anti-abortion pregnancy centers.
He also mentioned an upcoming House vote on a bill to ban taxpayer funding for abortion, citing polls that have consistently shown most Americans support such laws.
All of those bills are expected to fail in the Democratic-led Senate — and President Biden is expected to veto any anti-abortion legislation that reaches his desk.
Despite the pro-life victory in the Supreme Court, this year’s crowd appeared larger than last year, when cold weather and COVID-19 restrictions on businesses reportedly kept some protesters away from Washington.
Kristen Day, head of Democrats for Life of America, said more people joined her group this year.
“There is much optimism about the opportunity to change the conversation on the legality of abortion to focusing on the needs of women,” Ms. Day said. “We will keep marching until no woman believes abortion is her best or only choice.”
The annual rally, whose theme this year was “Next Steps: Marching Into a Post-Roe America,” was one of the first major protests at the U.S. Capitol since the Jan. 6, 2021, riot. A Capitol Police spokesperson said the agency could not discuss security measures outside of road closings “for safety reasons.”
The Supreme Court’s decision in June to return jurisdiction over abortion to the states has led to legislative and legal battles throughout the country, with red states implementing sweeping restrictions and blue states protecting or expanding access to abortion.
Many of the activists attending Friday’s demonstration said they are shifting their efforts to focus on chemical abortions, which now make up the majority of U.S. abortions.
“The big battle is over chemical abortions now,” said Kelly Lester, a 46-year-old former abortion clinic receptionist from Richmond, Virginia, who said she had four abortions, including one chemical abortion. “We want people to know that abortion is not health care.”
The Biden administration has taken steps to ensure that women in abortion-restricting states can order abortion pills online. Meanwhile, several major companies have offered to fly women to other states for surgical abortions.
Those efforts are targeting abortion-restricting states, said Dr. Ingrid Skop, an OBGYN who traveled from San Antonio for the march.
“We’re ground zero in Texas with our near-total ban and abortion advocates are not letting it go,” said Dr. Skop, who is affiliated with the pro-life Charlotte Lozier Institute. “We’re already seeing more women traveling to other states and abortion pills shipped into Texas.”
Responding to emerging state battlegrounds, the March for Life has expanded to include state marches in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia this year.
Pro-life activists from Ohio who attended Friday’s protest said they expect more than 5,000 people to attend their second march at the statehouse on Oct. 6.
“Abortion is not merely a states’ issue,” said Lizzie Marbach, Ohio Right to Life communications director. “Until unborn life is protected from state to state, we’ll keep marching across the country.”
Forty students from Ave Maria University in Florida who traveled to Washington said they intended to participate in protests back home.
“Just because Roe is gone doesn’t mean we can stay quiet about all the lives being lost every day,” said Dominique Martinod, a 22-year-old junior attending her second march. “It’s important to let people know that babies are alive at conception and deserve to live.”
Protesters insisted on the need to continue marching in Washington on the anniversary of Roe as a symbolic gesture.
Ending Roe is like being on the 50-yard line of a football field with the end zone in sight, said Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life.
“It’s actually more important than ever for the pro-life movement to share its strength,” Mr. Pavone told The Times in an interview.
Although the protesters do not see a national ban on abortion as a realistic goal, they promised to keep advocating for limits on the procedure.
“I just think it’s important to let people know murder is not OK,” said Jake Koster, a 16-year-old junior from Bishop McLaughlin High School in Spring Hill, Florida, attending his first march.
• Sean Salai can be reached at ssalai@washingtontimes.com.
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