Seventh Annual Rally features Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears and other local advocates

Washington, D.C. – Today March for Life, in partnership with The Family Foundation, is leading a demonstration of thousands in Richmond, the Commonwealth’s capital city. Virginians are joined today by Governor Glenn Youngkin and Lieutenant Governor Winsome Sears. This year, the march takes place as the Virginia General Assembly is fast-tracking a referendum on abortion for 2026 that would drastically change the Commonwealth’s existing policies on the issue. 

“We are thrilled to partner with The Family Foundation of Virginia to host the seventh annual Virginia March for Life,” said March for Life president Jennie Bradley Lichter. “Our goal today is simple: to empower Virginians to work together towards a future that supports every woman and protects every child. The Commonwealth faces a crucial moment that will require those of us who believe that women deserve great healthcare and ample resources, and that babies deserve protection, to make our voices heard – especially as the General Assembly is fast-tracking an extreme “right to abortion” ballot measure that is out of step with the views of commonsense voters in Virginia.”   

 “At this year’s march, thousands of Virginians will be marching for life and against the extreme and unsafe unlimited abortion amendment, HJ1,” said Victoria Cobb, president of the Family Foundation of Virginia. “This radical measure would strip protections for the unborn and endanger women. Virginians reject this agenda and demand a Commonwealth that values life at every stage.”  

 The Virginia March for Life brings together a diverse group of Virginians each year. Today, students from Liberty University in Lynchburg carry the banner leading the march, attended by young and old, families, secular people and religious believers alike. Since the overturn of Roe vs. Wade, which restored the power to protect the unborn to the American people at both the state and federal level, March for Life has organized 30+ demonstrations at dozens of state capitols in red and blue states across the country.  

In the commonwealth of Virginia alone, there are 300+ free life-affirming clinics and resource centers aiding women, children, and families, working to provide them with excellent healthcare and provide for their unique material needs.  

Speakers at today’s rally include: 

– Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, Lieutenant Governor of Virginia 

-Erin Getz, senior director of the State March Program, March for Life Education and Defense Fund 

-Victoria Cobb, president of the Family Foundation of Virginia 

-Most Reverend Barry C. Knestout, Bishop of the Diocese of Richmond 

-Pastor Robert Gurley Jr., president of the Frederick Douglass Freedom Alliance of Virginia 

-Shawnte Mallory, mother, abuse survivor, and family coach, LABIR Love and Care

-Reverend James Douthwaite, pastor of Saint Athanasius Lutheran Church Missouri Synod 

-Most Reverend Michael F. Burbidge, Bishop of the Diocese of Arlington 

-Delegate Delores Oates, Virginia House of Delegates representing the 31st District  

CONTACT: Pesch Strategy I Prudence de Bernardo  

[email protected]  

 240-672-2828  

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March for Life is a non-sectarian organization that promotes the beauty and dignity of every human life by working to end abortion – uniting, educating, and mobilizing pro-life people in the public square. It hosts the world’s largest annual human rights demonstration in Washington, DC every January.