March for Life

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‘Every human life is priceless’: Why we march

(FOX NEWS) — Women need to know that they are strong and capable, and the pro-life community will love and support them long after their child is born

As we gather today for the 52nd annual March for Life – the world’s largest annual human rights demonstration – we mark a time of new beginnings. Earlier this week our country welcomed a new presidential administration, and, closer to home, our organization also begins a new season of leadership.

It has undoubtedly been the honor of a lifetime to serve this incredible organization – and the collective millions of marchers – for the past 12 years, but I am delighted to now pass this responsibility to Jennie Bradley Lichter, with confidence that she is the woman meant to lead the March for Life and the pro-life community in this next season.

With such exciting changes, it is also good to recall what is unchangeable; the thing that draws countless people to Washington, D.C., year after year and that which makes the March for Life great.

I’m referring to the foundational values that anchor our efforts, remembering that all human life, born and unborn, has inherent dignity and value that deserves to be protected and supported in families, communities and by law. The unborn are the poorest of the poor, the most vulnerable, and they are worthy of every possible protection we can offer. I can’t think of a more worthy cause.

This year’s theme, Life: Why We March, highlights our desire to refocus on these attractive, commonsense and basic fundamentals of life. These include the truth that each life has inherent dignity and that science shows that life begins at the moment of conception or fertilization. The heart of the pro-life movement is about providing the resources and support pregnant women and families need, and last, we need to continue to utilize the power of witness and storytelling to change hearts and minds.

Science clearly shows that life begins at the moment of conception/fertilization. From that moment on a new human life in the womb possesses its own genetically unique DNA, different from its mother and father. At just six weeks, expectant parents can see and hear their child’s heartbeat and by 12 weeks all other organs have formed.

These are only a handful of the many moments of gestational development that give witness to the reality that each life is unrepeatable, inherently valuable, and deserving of our love and protection.

Tragically, we live in a culture that presents confusing messages to women in this regard, presenting the false idea that abortion is necessary to flourish and succeed. Yet the tragic reality is that 60% of women who had abortions would have preferred to give birth if they felt they had the emotional or financial support they needed.

Women need to know that they are strong and capable, and the pro-life community will love and support them long after their child is born. That’s why there are approximately 3,400 community-based maternity homes and pregnancy resource centers across America that help women in need who want to keep their children.

Denying the inherent value and dignity of unborn children through elective abortion has scarred innumerable women, families and doctors, and, of course, robbed us of hundreds of thousands of innocent and precious children each year. The speakers who address the March for Life this year, from a man who survived a botched abortion to a former abortionist, have come to share their testimony and shine light on the tragedy of abortion, while serving as a beacon of hope for our future.

Sometimes we forget that abortion impacts real people for the rest of their lives. But by boldly sharing our stories, we can remind women and families around us that their lives, as well as their child’s, are worthy of love and protection. There is strength in our voices and power in our presence.

We march for unborn children in the womb, all of whom deserve love and life. But being pro-life goes far beyond protecting those still in the womb; we stand by and support every struggling mother and family as they welcome new life into the world. We also march for the former abortionists, those who have survived abortions, and the women who have suffered the physical and emotional pain of abortion.

Our message is simple, direct and clear: each human life from the moment of conception deserves our respect and protection, and we are here to support those lives every step of the way. The outpouring of love and support shown by the pro-life community must serve as a guiding light in the midst of so much darkness.

So the world continues to change as it always will, but the goals of the March for Life remain steadfast and true. We will continue to affirm the beautiful truth that unborn children are equal members of our human family, offer resources and support to women and families in need, and let our witness tell the story that every human life is priceless and the tragedy of abortion harms us all. And that is why we march.

(Originally published in Fox News)

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What Trump and Vance Told March for Life Crowd

(THE DAILY SIGNAL) — On Friday thousands of supporters of the pro-life cause gathered to participate in the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., and heard from President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, who were sworn into office earlier this week.

In a prerecorded video, Trump pledged that in his second term his administration would “again stand proudly for families and for life, we will protect the historic gains we have made and stop the radical Democrat push for a federal right to unlimited abortion on demand up to the moment of birth and even after birth.”

The 47th president also promised to support adoption and foster care and to investigate attacks on churches and crisis pregnancy centers. The president also noted his recent pardoning of pro-life activists.

“I will also end the weaponization of law enforcement against Americans of faith,” said Trump. “I’m releasing the Christian and pro-life activists who were persecuted by the Biden regime for praying and living out their faith.”

The vice president struck a similar note, making it clear that pro-life activists should no longer fear the Justice Department.

“No longer will the federal government direct FBI raids on the homes of people like Mark Houck and other Catholic and Christian activists who are fighting for the unborn every single day,” said Vance. The FBI came with guns to the house of Houck, a pro-life activist, and his wife and seven children without notice.

“And no longer will our government throw pro-life protesters and activists, elderly grandparents, or anybody else in prison. It stopped on Monday and we’re not going to let it come back to this country,” Vance added.

In his address, he also decried the anti-family culture of the United States.

“We failed a generation, not only by permitting a culture of abortion on demand, but also by neglecting to help young parents achieve the ingredients they need to lead a happy and meaningful life,” he said.

Vance declared that he saw a role of the government to provide an environment that supported families.

“And it is the task of our government is to make it easier for young moms and dads to afford to have kids, to bring them into the world and to welcome them as the blessings that we know they are here at the March for Life.”

The 40-year-old, who has three young children with his wife Usha, continued:

Now it should be easier, easier to raise a family, easier to find a good job, easier to build a home to raise that family in, easier to save up and purchase a good stroller, a crib for a nursery.

We need a culture that celebrates life at all stages, one that recognizes and truly believes that the benchmark of national success is not our [gross domestic product] number or our stock market, but whether people feel that they can raise thriving and healthy families in our country.

The vice president touted the record of Trump during his first term, including his appointments of three justices of the Supreme Court who helped overturn Roe v. Wade, as well as dozens of pro-life federal judges.

Vance noted that, just four days into his second term, Trump had already endorsed the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, and he promised that the Justice Department would no longer target pro-life activists.

The vice president concluded his speech by praising the pro-life marchers.

“You make it possible for us to stand here and say that America is fundamentally a pro-baby, a pro-life, and a pro-family country.”

The Daily Signal also caught up with some pro-life marchers to ask them what they hoped to hear from the new administration. Father Ben Rynearson, a Catholic priest, told The Daily Signal that he hoped the country could “get back to a place in our culture and our societies where all life is seen as something sacred … to protect the unborn and those who have no voice, to be able to speak for those who have no voice.”

Eva Cooley and Hunter Dalke, an engaged couple active in pro-life politics, also discussed what they wanted to see from the Trump administration. Cooley told The Daily Signal that one of her biggest priorities she hoped to see from the new administration was planning to defund Planned Parenthood.

“Planned Parenthood has caused so much damage to so many women, and they are funded with taxpayer dollars to allow abortions to happen, and that is just a horrible use of funds, a horrible use of resources. And so I’m really hoping that the Trump administration can stop pouring so much of our money into this abortion giant,” Cooley said.

Dalke added that there needed to be “accurate messaging about what abortion actually is.”

“Across America, women are being told lies about what abortion has been, telling them that it’s not the killing of a human life. And I think we can do better and treat women better.”

Cooley and Dalke also expressed appreciation for Trump’s pardoning of pro-life activists Thursday. “We were just so grateful that these peaceful protesters, some of whom were just praying outside of abortion clinics, can finally go home to their families,” said Cooley.

“It was just absolutely ridiculous and an utter misuse of power from the Biden-Harris administration to put these protesters in jail. And we’re looking forward to seeing what else Trump can do,” she added.

(Originally published by The Daily Signal)

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EXCLUSIVE: JD Vance’s First Speech As Vice President To Be At National March for Life

(THE DAILY WIRE) — Vice President JD Vance will speak at the National March for Life in Washington, D.C., on Friday, The Daily Wire can first report.

The event will mark Vance’s first public remarks since he was sworn in as Vice President of the United States. In 2019, Donald Trump became the first president to speak at the March for Life, several years before Roe v. Wade was overturned. Trump is scheduled to be in California visiting areas destroyed by the wildfires during the 2025 March for Life.

This year’s March for Life will take place on Friday, January 24, beginning by the Washington Monument. It comes two years after the Supreme Court overturned Roe in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, due in large part to Trump’s Supreme Court appointments.

News of Vance’s upcoming speech came shortly after the Daily Wire reported that Trump will pardon pro-life activists imprisoned by the Biden Justice Department in a matter of days. The plight of the imprisoned pro-lifers is an immediate priority to Trump’s team, and they will likely be pardoned within days, two sources with knowledge of the matter shared with The Daily Wire.

“We are thrilled that Vice President Vance has chosen the National March for Life for his first public appearance in his new role – a sign of his commitment to standing up for life,” Jeanne Mancini, President of March for Life, and Jennie Bradley Lichter, President-Elect of March for Life, said in a statement. “President Trump governed as a pro-life president during his first term which resulted in a long list of accomplishments. We look forward to working with him and Vice President Vance as they dismantle the Biden Administration’s aggressive and unpopular abortion agenda and once again put wins on the board for vulnerable unborn children and their mothers.”

Besides Vance, speakers include House Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, surfer Bethany Hamilton, Republican New Jersey Rep. Chris Smith, pro-life activist Lila Rose, and more.

“When we see the image of a baby in the womb, we glimpse the majesty of God’s creation,” Trump said at the March for Life in 2019. “When we hold a newborn in our arms, we know the endless love that each child brings to a family.  When we watch a child grow, we see the splendor that radiates from each human soul.  One life changes the world.  From my family — and I can tell you, I send love and I send great, great love.”

He continued: “And from the first day in office, I’ve taken a historic action to support America’s families and to protect the unborn. And during my first week in office, I reinstated and expanded the Mexico City Policy, and we issued a landmark pro-life rule to govern the use of Title X taxpayer funding.  I notified Congress that I would veto any legislation that weakens pro-life policies or that encourages the destruction of human life. At the United Nations, I made clear that global bureaucrats have no business attacking the sovereignty of nations that protect innocent life.Unborn children have never had a stronger defender in the White House.”

Trump issued a sweeping executive order on Monday that granted full pardons for about 1,500 criminal defendants related to the January 6 Capitol Riot, making good on a campaign promises to free those targeted by the Biden administration. His actions prompted many in the pro-life community to hope that he would similarly pardon the pro-life activists targeted by the Biden Justice Department under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.

(Originally published by The Daily Wire)

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‘I want more babies,’ JD Vance says at the March for Life

(USA TODAY) — Vice President JD Vance on Friday told anti-abortion activists at their annual March for Life rally in Washington that the country had failed its citizens.

“We failed a generation not only by permitting a culture of abortion on demand, but also by neglecting to help young parents achieve the ingredients they need to lead a happy and meaningful life,” he said.

He said a “culture of radical individualism” had led to people viewing the “responsibilities and joys” of raising a family as obstacles.

“Our society has failed to recognize the obligation that one generation has to another as a core part of living in a society,” he said. “So let me say very simply, I want more babies in the United States of America.”

Vance, a former senator from Ohio, has advocated boosting the Child Tax Credit from $2,000 to $5,000 per child to help with the cost of raising children.

Vance and his wife, Usha Vance, have three young children: Ewan, 7, Vivek, 4, and Mirabel, who is 2 years old, according to People magazine. She went viral during the inauguration for sporting bandages on her fingers.

Vance sworn in earlier this week

JD Vance was sworn in Monday as the 50th vice president of the United States, the culmination of a rapid political rise that propelled him from modest Ohio roots to a heartbeat away from the presidency.

Vance, who lives in Cincinnati and grew up in Middletown, took the oath of office alongside President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol, surrounded by his wife, children and mother. Administering the oath was Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who counted second lady Usha Vance among his employees when he served on the U.S. Court of Appeals.

Vance placed his hand on a Bible that belonged to his great-grandmother, which he got from his “Mamaw” when he left home for the Marines in 2003. He donned a navy blue Italian suit custom-made for the inauguration by his longtime tailor in suburban Cincinnati.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you for making this possible,” Vance said during brief remarks at the Capitol after the swearing-in. “We love you. We wouldn’t be here without you, and we’re going to make America great again together for the next four years.”

Vance authored ‘Hillbilly Elegy’

After the inauguration, Trump credited Vance for being “upwardly mobile” and said the only person smarter than him is his wife, Usha.

“He took on some pretty mean people, and he handled it well,” Trump said.

Vance’s inauguration came just two years after he assumed the role of U.S. senator for Ohio. A once fierce Trump critic, the “Hillbilly Elegy” author walked back his past comments and made himself a key part of the president’s inner circle. As vice president, Vance is expected to champion Trump’s agenda and serve as an attack dog when needed.

(Originally published in USA Today)

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Thousands fill National Shrine for 2025 March for Life vigil: ‘We march as pilgrims’

(CATHOLIC NEWS AGENCY) — More than 5,000 students, families, and other pro-life Catholics packed into the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., for a vigil service Thursday on the evening before the national March for Life.

Attendees filled the pews in the upper church, which is designed to hold about 3,500 people. They crammed into the various Marian shrines along both sides of the basilica to worship at the vigil Mass during the National Prayer Vigil for Life. Hundreds more flowed into the basilica’s crypt, which is similarly adorned with shrines to the Blessed Mother.

Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, was the primary celebrant and homilist for the Mass. Four cardinals and 21 bishops concelebrated the Mass with Naumann, and 50 deacons and 300 seminarians were also in attendance.

“When we march tomorrow, we march as pilgrims of hope,” Naumann said during the homily after the Gospel reading, which was part of the first chapter of the Gospel of John.

“With the love of God revealed and the Word made flesh in Jesus Christ, how can we not have hope?” Naumann said.

The Gospel reading teaches us that “the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us,” which the archbishop related to the importance of defending the sanctity of unborn life, saying during his homily that Christ “humbled himself to be an embryo in Mary.”

Naumann said during the homily that “culture is more significant than politics” and urged people to be “witnesses to your peers” to help transform people’s hearts.

“To transform our culture, we must touch the hearts [with] efforts like Walking with Moms in Need, where we try to surround women in difficult pregnancies with a community of love and support,” the archbishop said.

Naumann added that Christ told his disciples that “if we’re going to follow him, we have to follow him all of the way to Calvary — that we have to be prepared to take up the cross.”

Speaking directly to the young people in attendance, the archbishop told them they have “a unique power to be that light” for others, telling them to “be as only young people can be like” and cited Blessed Carlo Acutis, who died at age 15 and will be canonized as the first millennial saint in April.

“My good young people here, you’re called to be witnesses to your peers, you’re called to help them to come to know what brought you here tonight,” Naumann said.

Naumann celebrated the Mass in place of Bishop Daniel Thomas of Toledo, Ohio, who could not attend because of a death in his family. Thomas is the chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities. Naumann serves on the committee and is a former chairman.

The archbishop also read some of Thomas’ notes that he provided, which emphasized that “every human person, preborn and born,” is made in “the image and likeness of God.”

Matthew Montano, a senior at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, attended the vigil with fellow Catholic classmates. He told CNA he made arrangements to travel to the march at the last minute, adding: “It’s the grace of God that brought me here.”

Montano, who is attending the March for Life for the second time, said he hopes to help “bring to light the atrocities that are going on” by marching in defense of life, adding that the right to life is the “most important thing we have.”

Brenda Alcanta took five buses to get to Washington, D.C., from Wisconsin. She told CNA she was encouraged by a friend to attend her first March for Life this year and plans to attend every year going forward.

“So many people coming together for one cause … just makes you feel like you’re making a difference,” Alcanta said and emphasized the importance of the vigil to “pray for women who are considering abortion.”

Before the Mass, the congregants prayed the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Following the Mass, clergy processed down the aisles of the upper church of the basilica with the Blessed Sacrament and held adoration. Congregants also prayed the luminous mysteries of the rosary during adoration.

(Originally published by Catholic News Agency)