Jeanne Mancini

Today the Guttmacher Institute, originally the research arm of Planned Parenthood, released a report “Abortion Incidence and Service Availability in the United States, 2011” showing that abortion rates are at their all-time low since 1973. The March for Life Education and Defense Fund warmly receives this news that has so many positive ramifications for our culture, in particular for women.

A question that everyone is asking is to what the decrease can be attributed. Unfortunately, the report does not provide statistics (the data is not yet available) to be able to make conclusions about this. The authors do make statements tying the decrease to contraception use, yet do not support this with data. The authors were however, reluctant to tie the decrease in abortion to the 106 popular pro-life laws (parental consent/notification, health clinic standards, informed consent laws) enacted at the level of the states between the years of 2008-2011. In fact the authors appear to do everything possible to disconnect these positive, popular state laws to the decrease in abortion.  

One less positive part of the article is the increased use of chemical abortion, which is much harder on women physically and psychologically. The March for Life also takes serious issue with the underlying concept that access to abortion is equated with women’s health. We are pro-women and pro-babies. Abortion clinics with the health standards equivalent to veterinary clinics or beauty parlors are not good for women. 

Despite a cold freeze in Washington, D.C. last week, pro-life America once again turned out for our annual March for Life (MfL) in “droves and droves and droves and droves” to borrow a phrase from one reporter covering the story. The bright sun and snow combined at times so that the ground on the National Mall appeared to almost sparkle, appropriate given the energetic spirit emanating from our young participants throughout the afternoon.

Marchers’ signs were creative and compassionate. Included were “Peace Begins in the Womb”, “I am a Feminist Fighting for Equality for the Pre-Born”, and “Babies Are a Blessing Not a Burden” among many others.  We were delighted by more mainstream media coverage this year, including CNN, MSNBC, FOX, ABC and many print outlets.

Social media was a big part of the March for Life. Young people had smiles on their faces and mobile phones in hand. The day prior to the March, the first ever MfL “app” was unveiled and during the March for Life rally, a text number (99000; keyword: “march4life”) was provided to participants to stay in touch. The two twitter hash-tags associated with the event, #marchforlife and #whywemarch, “trended” on twitter on January 22, 2014 (for non-social media types, this means that these hash-tags were two of the top six common twitter phrases utilized by tweeters throughout the day – no small feat).

In many measurable ways, the 2014 March for Life was a success!  And we are ready for a break now – our staff is tired after putting in long hours leading up to the event. Young people who slept on busses and took long rides to the March for Life are still defrosting and recovering from the trip. And their chaperones are really exhausted! But our work is not done; and there is no rest for the weary! If the enthusiasm that was contagious on the day of the March for Life dims over the day or week after the event, in reality the March did not meet its most important goal: changing culture. 

So, the question is: where do we go from here?

Many of you have heard that that March for Life Education and Defense Fund is now a year-round organization, with our ultimate lofty goal being to help build a culture of life in America. We believe that one of the ways this will happen is through participants continuing to figuratively “march” year round. We plan to stay in touch with those who were involved with the MfL – either in person or through social media- by helping to provide tools to impact local areas to become more respectful of life. We will do this through trainings and webinars. We also plan to continue to use social media for ongoing pro-life education of Marchers. In the spring, we will co-host a conference for women around the time of Mother’s Day.

So, as we begin 2014, let us take a few minutes to soak in our experiences last week. But let us not stop there but rather further consider what we can do to make an impact all year round in our communities, be it through starting a group, writing an op-ed, joining a school board or health board, or praying in front of an abortion clinic. Every little action counts. It is only in this way that as a collective unit we will be able to truly build a culture of life across America, one community at a time. 

This year marks the 41^st annual March for Life (MfL), and I am very excited to announce that we have developed a new logo for the March for Life Education and Defense Fund. It is our belief and hope that our new logo bridges our history and our future—and we’d like to hear what you think about it, too.

In the early days of the March for Life, and up until security requirements on Capitol Hill stopped the effort, young marchers would personally deliver red roses to legislators in their Hill offices. The roses symbolized the lives of the unborn and were also meant to encourage Members to support policies that protected and built a culture of life.

There is a lot to a red rose; red is a symbol of mourning. We are saddened and always remember the 55 million unique American lives that have been lost to abortion in the past 41 years. Yet a red rose is also a sign of life and love! Our new logo revamps the red rose that has been the symbol of the March for Life for these past 41 years. We believe it conveys life, love, and hope.

You’ll notice the new logo encompasses a mother and child. We march for moms and babies. Abortion not only snuffs out a life filled with potential, it harms a mother emotionally, psychologically and physically.  We embrace every woman and child with hope for happier tomorrows.

We hope that you like our new logo and what it stands for, but even more, we hope to see you at the MfL in two weeks! Stay tuned in the days ahead for more exciting announcements!