Across the span of one month and two coasts, we hosted three incredible State Marches for Life in California, Virginia, and Pennsylvania—and our State March program is just getting started!
Working with local pro-life organizations, meeting hundreds of pro-life marchers from each community, and affecting pro-life policy at the state-level has been both an invigorating and humbling experience for our whole team. Here’s to many more State Marches in 2022!
In the meantime, I wanted to give you a brief snapshot of the California, Virginia, and Pennsylvania Marches for Life.
California March for Life
On August 25th, we gathered in Sacramento for the first-ever California March for Life. We encouraged hundreds of marchers to contact their local lawmakers about a radical, pro-abortion bill that would have forced health insurance providers to pay for abortions in their entirety, and the bill was halted THE VERY NEXT DAY!
Virginia March for Life
Pennsylvania March for Life
On September 27th, we saw our largest State March crowd this year at the first-ever Pennsylvania March for Life. PA State Representative Kathy Rapp, who has been in office for well over a decade, remarked on stage that it was “the largest rally [she] has ever seen in Harrisburg.” Even Pennsylvania’s pro-choice governor saw the crowd and responded against their pro-life witness!
Beautiful weather paired with the courageous presence of pro-life lawmakers on stage and powerful testimonies from abortion-healed speakers like Toni McFadden and Abby Johnson made the day as impactful as it was.
There is one reason why these State Marches are so beautiful and so fruitful: you. We are honored to march beside you and give joyful witness to the beauty of life. Thank you for marching with us. Each step brings us closer to each other and to the day when the heartbreak of abortion will be unthinkable.
2022 Rose Dinner Keynote Speaker
We have exciting news to share with you about the March for Life on January 21, 2022!
First, as we gear up for our in-person event, we are delighted to announce Fr. Mike Schmitz as the Keynote Speaker for the 2022 Rose Dinner Gala. Fr. Mike will also speak at the March for Life Rally.
Fr. Mike Schmitz is the director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry for the Diocese of Duluth, as well as the chaplain for the Newman Center at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. After attending the St. Paul Seminary and being ordained in 2003, Fr. Mike offers weekly homilies on iTunes and bulldogcatholic.org and has appeared in programs for youth and young adults through Ascension Press, as well as through regular short video presentations on Ascension Presents. His Bible in a Year Podcast reached #1 in all categories in 2021.
Second, registration open TODAY for all March for Life events! There are several amazing events surrounding the March for Life, so be sure to reserve your spot by following the information below:
ROSE DINNER GALA: Our Annual Rose Dinner Gala is a formal event following the March for Life that includes a three-course dinner and live jazz band! Join hundreds of pro-life leaders and guests from across the country for an inspiring evening, and hear from our Keynote Speaker, Fr. Mike Schmitz. Book your Reserved Table here!
Book Your Table
SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES: By partnering with the March for Life as a sponsor, you make our year-round work of standing up for the most vulnerable in the media, on social media, and on Capitol Hill possible! Sponsoring the March for Life will also bring new supporters to your mission and strengthen the commitment of those who already stand behind you. Don’t miss this incredible opportunity!
For a full list of the Sponsorship Opportunities available, see the “Sponsorship Brochure” HERE.
Sponsorship Opportunities
MARCH FOR LIFE EXPO: We invite you to be an exhibitor at the nation’s largest annual pro-life Expo! Every year, the most influential organizations gather at the Renaissance Hotel to engage the countless marchers attending the March for Life. The Expo provides an unparalleled opportunity to unite with pro-life Americans nationwide and increase your organization’s visibility and impact!
From now until October 5th, use the code EARLYB50 at checkout for an Early-Bird discount of $50! Be sure to submit your application today as space is limited.
Become An Exhibitor
ADVERTISEMENTS: In the days surrounding the March for Life, complimentary copies of the March for Life Event Program are distributed to those attending in-person events including backstage at the Rally and exclusive VIP events. Gain massive exposure for your organization by advertising in the 2022 March for Life Event Program. All pro-life organizations and individuals are welcome to apply.
Advertisement Opportunities
CAPITOL HILL 101: Capitol Hill 101 is a complimentary educational session bringing together a panel of pro-life lobbyists and legislative experts. This event will prepare you to effectively advocate for pro-life laws and policies with your elected officials and their staff during your trip to Washington D.C, and year-round.
Sign Up
Friend, we hope you will join us at this year’s 2022 March for Life! In the days and months leading up to January 21st, 2022, we will have plenty of other exciting announcements including our Theme Debut, Speakers, and much more.
Stay tuned and get excited!
History and Science Both Support Mississippi’s Abortion Law
Mississippi’s limit on abortion after 15 weeks—which the Supreme Court is gearing up to consider this fall—is supported by historical legal principles as well as the latest science.
The state’s obligation to protect life is rooted in centuries of common law and legal history. The United States ratified the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which states that no person shall be deprived of “life, liberty or property, without due process of law,” in 1868. Long before that, our Founders outlined the obligation to protect life in the Declaration of Independence, and they in turn relied on the common law tradition, as described by William Blackstone.
This legal history supports the notion not only that the state must protect life, but also that it must protect unborn life.
In his Commentaries on the Laws of England, Blackstone contends that life “begins in contemplation of the law as soon as an infant is able to stir in the mother’s womb.” Similarly, when the 14th Amendment was ratified, 23 states explicitly referred to an unborn baby as a child, and nearly all had statutes limiting abortion.
Facing this historical precedent, some abortion advocates contend that a modern nation’s laws must rely on modern science. In the same breath, however, these activists rely on the scientific understanding of the 1970s. Yes, science increases our understanding of the world, and that understanding—combined with ethical ideals that recognize the humanity in people at all ages and stages—should inform our country’s laws. If our understanding increases, then we should change our laws accordingly. To behave otherwise is akin to closing your eyes, plugging your ears and refusing to acknowledge the truth.
Recent studies have shown that babies as young as 12 weeks can feel and react to pain. Yet dilation and evacuation (in which a doctor rips a fetus apart, often one limb at a time) remains the most common abortion procedure performed for pregnancies between 12 and 24 weeks.
Sadly, pro-abortion activists deny this scientific progress in order to justify America’s barbaric abortion practices. Even though we know unborn children can feel pain as early as 12 weeks, states still allow doctors literally to tear them apart as late as the 24th week. For context, the United States is one of only a handful of countries around the world (including China and North Korea) to offer elective abortions at all beyond the 20th week of pregnancy.
While this reason alone should be enough to vindicate Mississippi’s legislation, the law also incorporates a new understanding of how abortions impact women. With each gestational week after 10 weeks, the risk of complications from abortion increases 38 percent. Past studies have found that women who obtained abortions were 15 times more likely to die at 16 weeks pregnancy than at 12 weeks.
The threat which abortion poses to mothers, however, extends far beyond physical harm. In one legal case, approximately 1,000 women filed affidavits testifying that they suffered “long-term emotional damage and impaired relationships” because they had an abortion. Another study showed that women under the age of 25 who obtained abortions experienced elevated rates of depression, anxiety, suicidal behavior and substance use disorders. Abortion advocates may attempt to downplay the negative effects abortion has on a woman’s body and mind, but they cannot deny them.
Given the harm abortion inflicts on both mother and child, it is no surprise that Americans overwhelmingly support abortion restrictions past the first 3 months of pregnancy.
Mississippi’s law, which protects both children and their mothers, stands well-founded on the most up-to-date science as well as longstanding legal principles.
A Look at the California March for Life
Last week, we hosted our first-ever official California March for Life. What an incredible day it was! We are overjoyed by the enthusiasm and support of life that we encountered in Sacramento. Several hundred pro-life Californians came together from all over the state, heard from amazing local lawmakers and speakers, and marched around the Capitol grounds in defense of the unborn.
Not only were pro-life Californians seen on Capitol grounds, but we were heard.
A priority of the California March for Life was for our attendees to contact their California lawmakers to stop a bill that would force health insurance providers to pay for abortions in their entirety. By the end of the day, we had sent several hundred emails to their offices!
One marcher told us
I was so encouraged and excited at how many pro-lifers there were and how peacefully yet enthusiastically they marched around the Capitol Building. The speakers were amazing and it was so cool that they joined us all in marching, and not only speaking. I am hoping to go to the March for Life in DC next year. Thank you so much for making this happen!
We are already looking forward to hosting another California March for Life next year.
Here are some great photos from the rally and march!
We were also joined virtually by several thousand viewers! If you want to watch the inspiring California March for Life Rally, you can re-watch the Livestream of the event on our YouTube channel.
So what’s next?
This month, we are hosting two additional State Marches in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and Richmond, Virginia!
We plan to host many more State Marches in state capitals across the country over the next few years!
State Marches are crucial to our mission of making abortion unthinkable. When Americans gather in their state capitals to march for life, both the local lawmakers and the local community can glimpse just how personal and important this issue is to their constituents and neighbors. Now more than ever, states must unite for life and use their voices for the voiceless. Defending life truly demands local engagement!
Remembering Nellie Gray
When Nellie Gray began the March for Life in 1974, she could never have imagined this gathering in our nation’s capital would become the largest annual human rights demonstration in the world.
On this 9th anniversary of Nellie’s passing, we remember her heroic legacy and stand firm in our promise to continue the great work she began.
When Roe v. Wade was wrongfully decided on January 22, 1973, Nellie gave up her successful career as a U.S. government attorney to fully commit to the fight for life. Within a few months, she organized the first-ever March for life on January 22, 1974, uniting over 20,000 pro-life advocates in our nation’s capital. Nellie thought the March of January 22, 1974 would be the first and only March for Life.
But tragically, one march would not be enough. So Nellie vowed to come back year after year until the Supreme Court corrected its wrongful decision. Nellie spent the next 40 years dedicating every waking moment to the defense of human life and to inspiring generations to advocate for life.
Many believed the American people would come to accept abortion and the pro-life movement would eventually fade. However, nearly fifty years later, Nellie’s legacy persists and the March for Life continues to grow. Even now, we are expanding our reach into state capitals across the country!
Life is surely winning!
It’s impossible for us to know the great difference our little “yes” to defending life can make. On the anniversary of her passing, we thank Nellie for her “yes” that has led us here today.
