March for Life

(Newsmax) — As Washington, D.C., braced for a major storm and a possible shutdown Friday, thousands of abortion opponents from across the U.S. arrived in the nation’s capital for the 53rd annual March for Life.

In a trend that has emerged since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 and returned authority over abortion to the states, participants are increasingly younger and more vocally opposed to abortion.

“Dobbs [the decision which overturned Roe] didn’t go far enough,” said Charlie Leighton, one of a contingent of high school students from St. Francis Xavier Church College in St. Louis, Missouri. “The next great step would be a federal ban on abortion.”

Leighton conceded that “this may not be politically viable now, but I hope that will change.” He added that larger Marches for Life could help generate broader support for a federal abortion ban.

Fellow Xavier student Nick Johnson, who is Black and attending his first March for Life, described himself to Newsmax as a “convert” to the pro-life cause and said he wanted very much “to be a voice for all races” in ending abortion.

“I was raised by a single mom who never married and could have aborted me but didn’t,” Johnson said. He also said he admired President Donald Trump’s “attitude on the abortion issue and his boldness in speaking out against abortion. He does say things sometimes that aren’t appropriate but on the abortion issue, he’s made a good start.”

Trump later spoke to marchers from the White House and promised to be a “voice for the voiceless” in the fight to end abortions.

Joseph DeProuyear, one of a group of 20-25 seminarians (students for the Roman Catholic priesthood) from St. Joseph’s Church in Yonkers, said “We’ve seen a lot of progress on the issue of abortion, such as overturning Roe with Dobbs and getting the issue back to the states. And some states such as Missouri have moved advanced pro-life laws.”

But, he quickly noted, “New York is still very pro-abortion. And that’s the reason we have to give more testimony to state legislators on why abortion should be stopped and continue to hold marches like this in individual states.”

While the March for Life has traditionally attracted large numbers of Roman Catholic participants, a growing number of non-Catholics continue to brave the Washington, D.C., cold to participate in the annual trek from a downtown rally to the Supreme Court.

One of them was Christina Hadgimallis of Southampton, Pennsylvania, a member of St. Mark’s Eastern Orthodox Church in nearby Newtown.

Noting that she is a mother of four and a chaperone for her daughter and her high school classmates, Hadgimallis said, “Speaking as an Orthodox Christian, in our church I don’t see as much of a push for pro-life activism, per se. [But] I’m very passionate about it. I wasn’t always, but I really am [now].”

As to just what made Hadgimallis passionate about the issue, she said “I’m not sure who explained it to me first. If it was [the late] Charlie Kirk or [educator] Michael Knowles, they explained life the way I could understand it from the womb all the way out. I have to say, when I was [her children’s] age, I could probably move more pro choice.

“But then, having my own children and losing children, I thought it’s an important movement. And I think it’s taking off with young people. This my first time here. I think it’s inspiring, and I want to set a good example for [my] girls.”

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(Originally published by the Newsmax)

(Daily Signal) — On Friday, tens of thousands of Americans once again gathered for the 53rd annual March for Life in the District of Columbia. This year’s theme, “Life is a Gift,” points to the heart of why people young and old, from all walks of life and across the political spectrum, brave the cold every year.

Until every human being is protected and cherished from the moment of conception, happy warriors will continue to come together to celebrate wins, strengthen resolve, and demand for Congress and those who influence our culture to do more to protect women, girls, and unborn children.

On the policy front, both the Trump administration and Congress have been working to roll back President Joe Biden’s pro-abortion policies and advance additional pro-life protections.

Earlier in January, the administration announced:

—The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights put Illinois on notice for a state policy requiring medical providers to provide abortion referrals. Such laws violate federal conscience protection laws. If Illinois doesn’t follow the law, HHS can withhold millions in federal funding.

—The administration is further expanding the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance policy, which was reinstated last year. Nongovernmental organizations today receive global health assistance funding to certify that they won’t perform or promote abortion. Now, that policy will also apply to radical gender ideology and DEI policies as well.

—The National Institutes of Health is reinstating a policy requiring no federal funding to go to entities conducting unethical research on obsolete fetal tissue obtained from elective abortion. NIH will prioritize ethical alternatives instead.

—As reported exclusively by The Daily Signal, the Small Business Administration “is reviewing whether Planned Parenthood affiliates illegally received $88 million in loans during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

—HHS confirmed it will reverse a Biden-era regulation that allowed “taxpayer-funded abortion travel for unaccompanied illegal alien children.”

—The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services put Maryland on notice that its “abortion grant program violate[s] the protections against federal funding of abortions.”

—These announcements build on actions taken at the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, including:

—Pardoning 23 pro-life activists who had been convicted after the Justice Department under Biden weaponized the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act against them for peacefully protesting at abortion clinics.

—Issuing an executive order to disentangle taxpayers from abortion funding and revoking two pro-abortion executive orders issued by Biden.

—Reinstating the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance Policy, which requires nongovernmental organizations to certify they won’t perform or promote abortion as a condition of receiving U.S. dollars.

—Defunding the United Nations Population Fund over its complicity in China’s coercive and inhumane population control policies.

—Renewing membership in the Geneva Consensus Declaration, a partnership of more than two dozen countries united in the goal of improving women’s health, preserving human life, strengthening the family, and protecting national sovereignty.

—Taking steps to ensure the Title X program grantees comply with the letter and spirit of federal law. The administration paused funding to certain grantees, like Planned Parenthood, to review compliance with grant terms and executive orders. And it restored funding to pro-life states, like Oklahoma and Tennessee, after the Biden administration improperly conditioned grants on abortion counseling requirements.

—Rescinding pro-abortion guidance and policies such as the Department of Defense abortion travel policy allowance as well as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services guidance that wrongly claimed federal law on emergency medical care requires that doctors perform elective abortions.

—Rescinding a Biden administration regulation requiring abortion benefits and abortion counseling for veterans and certain beneficiaries.

Congress, for its part, delivered a massive win by defunding Planned Parenthood of Medicaid payments for one year, thanks to a provision in 2025’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill.” The abortion giant receives over half a billion dollars courtesy of American taxpayers every year, and most of that is from Medicaid. Cutting off those reimbursements for a year has left Planned Parenthood reeling. About 50 clinics have closed in the past year.

Looking ahead, there’s still a lot of work to do.

In addressing health care reform, Congress must deliver on its commitment to protect innocent life by not expanding or entrenching taxpayer funding for abortion coverage. While Congress can be flexible on which road to take on health care reform, all of them must lead to a destination that protects innocent unborn life.

Congress must remain committed to preserving the Hyde family of amendments—which prohibit taxpayer dollars from being spent on elective abortions—in annual appropriations legislation. First enacted in 1976, Hyde will mark its 50th birthday later this year, assuming members hold the line. Importantly, thanks to Hyde, 2.6 million Americans get to celebrate their birthday every year, too.

Federal lawmakers must also work to defund Planned Parenthood beyond the one-year provision of the One Big, Beautiful Bill. Otherwise, the bulk of its taxpayer funding will resume on July 4. On the day Americans mark our nation’s 250th anniversary, it would be a tragedy to simultaneously gift Big Abortion with a massive payday.

There’s plenty of additional action for the administration to take as well. There are still regulations and administrative policies from Trump’s first term that haven’t been revived yet. There are also new challenges that have become more pronounced in recent years.

Addressing dangerous abortion drugs must be a top priority because women, girls, and unborn children’s lives are at stake. These pills are corrupting medicine by destroying any semblance of a doctor-patient relationship. They hurt women who are coerced or forced into an abortion they didn’t want. And they are stifling otherwise strong efforts pro-life states have made to protect life following the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision.

It’s, of course, encouraging that the Food and Drug Administration is conducting a holistic assessment of these dangerous drugs. Such a review is long overdue, especially in light of incomplete adverse event data that has corrupted decision-making to weaken safety protections over the years.

In the meantime, the FDA should do the bare minimum and restore the safety requirements that were in place during Trump’s first term, including in-person visits to rule out dangerous complications. Thanks to Biden, abortion pills can now be obtained online with little more than a few clicks of a mouse, stripping away basic safeguards such as knowing how far along a woman actually is in her pregnancy, whether or not she has a life-threatening ectopic pregnancy, or if the person ordering pills is even a pregnant woman at all.

This status quo is unacceptable, and returning to pre-Biden rules does not require a full-scale safety review. It would simply restore basic safeguards while the FDA tackles the broader concerns about mifepristone’s many safety concerns.

During Trump’s first term, the administration and Congress made significant pro-life policy progress. Now is the time to restore and expand on what Biden and his pro-abortion allies spent four years undoing.

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(Originally published by the Daily Signal)