The March for Life is an American Miracle

The Aura of Victory: An Amazing March for Life

By: Marjorie Dannenfelser and Chuck Donovan

Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life and emcee of its massive annual gathering on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., describes it perfectly. Speaking to a crowd of a quarter million or more, a good half of them men and women under the age of 20, Jeanne hailed the attendees as the largest pro-life event in the world.

Let those words sink in.  Mass demonstrations occur around the planet every year, some of them very impressive.  People gather to highlight climate change, protest tax hikes on fuel or other commodities, or to demand a change in government.

But all of these events pale before the March every January in Washington, D.C to challenge the Roe v. Wade decision that eviscerated the right to life of unborn children from conception to birth, and now – starkly and sadly – beyond.  Year in and year out – for 47 years in a row – this peaceful and awe-inspiring event – come snow, sleet, or an occasional early spring – has endured, a march for people seeking nothing for themselves but rather a cradle of protection for the most vulnerable among us.

For decades, the March for Life was helmed by the redoubtable Nellie Gray, whose leadership and character blunted the barbs of the pundit class and endured their fading attempts to overlook the millions she shepherded onto the National Mall over the decades.  She came to be known by her first name – just “Nellie” – a rare tribute in our national politics, befitting the role she played in a thoroughly American drama.

Now it may have become “Jeanne’s” hour.

You see, in 2020, there was fresh realization, dawning on a jaded country, that the tide of resistance to the brutal command of the abortion cases no longer flows in a radical direction.  That rarest of things in politics and policy anywhere, a seemingly impregnable fiat written from above by the highest court in the land is being resisted and reversed by the people.

Our history has taught us how difficult a thing this is to accomplish, no matter how grave the injustice.  In 1896 the United States Supreme Court, discarding the ideals inscribed in our Constitution at the price of a Civil War, upheld racial segregation in Plessy v. Ferguson.  Enormity that it was, this ruling lasted 58 years until it was overturned by that same court in Brown v. Board of Education.

Today Roe v. Wade has lasted nearly five decades as “the law of the land.” While it took a decision of the Supreme Court to end a manifest injustice, contrary to the nation’s deepest values, segregation was ultimately ended by the people themselves, embodied by Dr. Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement, who marched, prayed, sang, and called on the nation to raise the banner of freedom – to recognize that every person is “an heir of liberty,” that “noble legacy” we receive by virtue of merely being human.

Thus, in 2020, we are sensing anew that the invention of an abortion right violates the deepest principle that every one of us is made in the image and likeness of God.  How often have marchers for Life heard the catcalls of opponents and some in the press, who argued that these annual displays on the Mall would not last?  That we would tire, suffer division, wither away, and collapse.

How wrong they are!  This is where Jeanne Mancini and her team have performed an American miracle.  They are too humble to say it, and knowing her, even to think it, but they have done something that almost never happens in the annals of our country.  They have witnessed without fail.  They have helped us reach the edge of the uplands we seek – a life-affirming, woman-affirming, family-affirming culture and polity.

This year’s March was once again warm and hopeful.  The spirit of the March converged with and conveyed our fondest dreams.  Yes, there is work to be done, laws to be passed, pregnancy centers to be opened, mantles of responsibility to be taken up, health care to be delivered to women and babies in need.  We are summoned once more to heed the “better angels of our nature.” Above it all, there is thanks to Almighty God, and praise for all who have labored, wept, and worked to see such a day.

Truly this was a March to remember – an ambience of love and service agleam with the aura of victory.

This article was originally published by the Susan B. Anthony List.

Marjorie Dannenfelser (@marjoriesba) is president of the national pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List. Chuck Donovan (@cantdon) is president of the Charlotte Lozier Institute, the research and education arm of Susan B. Anthony List.

There are moments in life when you know you are witnessing history unfold.  My first such recollection was 34 years ago today.  I recall vividly when my elementary school principal came over the intercom and told us the Space Shuttle Challenger had exploded just after takeoff.  A few years later, I watched Operation Desert Storm unfold from the T.V. in my living room.  And, of course, none of us will forget watching the twin towers fall on 9-11.

It’s more difficult to recall positive history-making moments of my lifetime, but as of last Friday, there is one such event I am certain never to forget: when President Donald J. Trump addressed the national March for Life rally in Washington, D.C.

On Jan. 24, 2020, President Trump became the first sitting U.S. president ever to deliver a speech at the March for Life.  And to my amazement, I stood beside him.  More specifically, I was one of 19 women asked to stand with the president as he delivered his historic speech to the 47^th annual March for Life.

This year’s march honored the 19^th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote in 1920.  Many suffragist leaders were pro-life; they did not believe abortion to be beneficial to women.  These women included Susan B. Anthony and Alice Paul, who considered abortion the “ultimate exploitation of women.” It was humbling to remember these courageous female pioneers as I stood there — women who would no doubt smile and cheer at the sight of their sisters standing on that stage.

As I stood feet from the president, overlooking tens of thousands of pro-life men, women and children (estimates are 60,000 to 70,000 attended the rally, and a total of 350,000 joined the march itself), I was overwhelmed.  I couldn’t see the end of the crowd, nor could I imagine the end to what this would mean to pro-life Americans.  To say the president’s speech galvanized the pro-life community would be an understatement.  It electrified us, gave us a shot in the arm unlike any other pro-life address could.

President Trump encouraged us with statements including “Young people are the heart of the March for Life — and it is your generation that is making America a pro-family, pro-life nation,” and made powerful declarations like “Unborn children have never had a stronger defender in the White House.”  I personally appreciated his words to women and mothers: “Today, millions of extraordinary women across America are using the power of their votes to fight for the first right in the Declaration of Independence — the Right to Life,” and “To all of the moms here today: we celebrate you and we declare that mothers are heroes.”

Undergirding his strong rhetoric were many examples of his commitment to pro-life policies.  President Trump recounted his Executive Order to reinstate and expand the Mexico City Policy, his support of the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, his commitment to veto anti-life legislation, to protect faith-based adoption agencies and the rights of pro-life college students to speak freely.  One of the loudest applause lines came when he recalled his appointment of 187 federal judges, including two Supreme Court justices.

The president did not simply “give a pro-life speech.”  He delivered one of — if not the — strongest pro-life speeches I’ve ever heard.  Moreover, his speech was God-honoring, including lines like “When we see the image of a baby in the womb, we glimpse the majesty of God’s creation,” and reminding us of Psalm 139, that “each person is wonderfully made.”  Perhaps strongest of all was his concluding remark: “Every human soul is divine, and every human life — born and unborn — is made in the holy image of Almighty God.”

On the slight chance that this article makes it to the president, I would like him to know how profoundly grateful I was, and will always be, to have stood with him as he boldly and unashamedly proclaimed the unalienable right to life and the inherent dignity and value of every human life.  It was an honor I will never forget, and a historic moment for which millions of Americans will forever be thankful.

 

About the Author

Amanda Banks serves as the Director of External Relations for the Family Policy Alliance.