March for Life

Iowans celebrate year anniversary of 6-week abortion ban at annual March for Life

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Iowans celebrate year anniversary of 6-week abortion ban at annual March for Life

(DES MOINES REGISTER) — Nearly a year after Iowa’s six-week abortion ban took effect, dozens of Iowans from across the state came together at the state Capitol for the third annual Iowa March for Life.

They gathered on Saturday, June 21 to celebrate the passing of the abortion ban and to encourage fellow pro-life Iowans to keep fighting for the legislation they wish to see.

The afternoon began inside the Capitol rotunda, with live music and educational booths from a number of different pro-life groups and support centers from around the state. Alternatives Pregnancy Center, based out of Waterloo, promoted its services that extended beyond pregnancy support, including STD testing, parenting classes, fatherhood programming and more.

“We want (women and families) to feel supported in their community and where they’re at,” said  Independence Epley, a representative of Alternatives Pregnancy Center. “We want to be the ones that stand alongside them as there’s so many voices that are crowding them. You know there’s so many options and we want to be able to help them walk through this season with joy, ultimately.”

(Originally published by Des Moines Register)

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March for Life Statement on U.S. House Passage of Reconciliation Bill

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Thursday May 22, 2025

Upon passage of the reconciliation package today in the U.S. House, March for Life Action president Jennie Bradley Lichter issued the following comment: 

“Today, March for Life Action welcomes the House of Representatives’ passage of a strong pro-family reconciliation package that supports mothers and their children, and stops spending taxpayer dollars to subsidize Big Abortion.  

As this bill advances to the Senate, we express our sincere thanks to President Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson, and other House leaders, for their bold pro-life leadership. Their commitment and common-sense negotiations ensured critical resources will be used to benefit American families instead of padding the pockets of the deadly Big Abortion industry. 

We urge the Senate to act swiftly and pass this legislation to empower mothers, protect unborn children, and improve the lives of families across the country.”

To schedule an interview with Jennie Bradley Lichter on this topic, please reach out to Prudence Robertson at prudence@peschstrategy.com or 240-672-2828.

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Why Foster Care Matters to the Pro-Life Cause

May is National Foster Care Month.

At the March for Life, we believe that being pro-life means defending and cherishing the life of every human being, from the moment of conception. It’s why we march. It’s why we advocate. And it’s why we also care deeply about foster care. 

In a perfect world, every child would grow up in a loving, stable, permanent home. But until that world exists, foster care remains a necessary and urgent response, and one the pro-life movement cannot and should not ignore. 

Children in foster care are living, breathing reminders of why our movement matters. Each one is a life with immeasurable worth. Being pro-life means recognizing the sacred dignity of the child in the womb and the sacred dignity of the child waiting for a stable home, for healing, for hope. 

It also means standing with the families – whether biological, foster, adoptive, kinship care, or stepping into a parental role in some capacity – who walk the hard road of love. It means supporting the moms who courageously choose life but, aren’t able to parent. It means praying for and supporting foster parents who open their hearts in the face of uncertainty and it means recognizing that foster care is not a broken part of the pro-life cause, but a vital extension of it. 

Foster care is pro-life in action. It is the daily, courageous work of loving children who have been through loss and uncertainty. It is the compassion of foster parents who say “yes” to loving without guarantees. It is the commitment of caseworkers, social workers, and volunteers who stand in the gap. It is the hope of biological parents working toward reunification, and the beauty of adoption when reunification is not possible. 

To be pro-life is to see the face of Christ in every child, including the one waiting in the system, the one aging out without a forever home, and the one learning to trust again. Their lives are no less sacred. In fact, they remind us why this mission matters so much. 

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump proclaimed May 2025 as National Foster Care Month. We applaud this administration for its continued commitment to vulnerable children, including ongoing efforts to strengthen the foster care system. We particularly applaud First Lady Melania Trump, who through her Be Best initiative and other efforts, has placed a strong focus on the well-being of children in foster care, raising awareness, advocating for youth aging out of the system, and encouraging compassionate support. 

We invite our March for Life community to reflect, pray, and act. Whether you’re called to foster, support a foster family, mentor a child in care, or simply advocate for better support systems, your voice matters. 

Let us be a movement that doesn’t stop at birth. Let us be a people who march not only for life in the womb, but out of it too. 

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March for Life Statement on Pro-Life, Pro-Family Reconciliation Bill

We at March for Life are grateful for the pro-life, pro-family reconciliation bill text released today.

We applaud Speaker Mike Johnson, Chairman Brett Guthrie, and the House Energy and Commerce Committee for including a provision to defund Big Abortion providers.  Congressional action to stop taxpayer funding of elective abortions is long overdue.  Under this bill, instead of spending taxpayer dollars to end the lives of innocent unborn children and put their mothers at risk of harm, these funds will now be redirected to community based, qualified healthcare providers that support both mother and child.

We are also happy to see the House standing with every woman and for every child in the language coming out of Chairman Jason Smith’s Ways and Means Committee that takes concrete steps to support families by increasing the Employer-Provided Childcare Credit, making Paid Family and Medical Leave permanent, and making the Adoption Tax Credit refundable.

As Vice President Vance said at the 2025 National March for Life, “America is fundamentally a pro-baby, a pro-life and a pro-family country”.  On behalf of our marchers across the country, March for Life continues to call on Congress to ensure that our government dollars are spent consistent with these most foundational of American values.

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Here’s how the pro-life movement can support Moms this Mother’s Day

(WASHINGTON EXAMINER) — Almost three years after achieving the pro-life movement’s initial long-term legal goal of reversing Roe v. Wade, and as we continue to work towards increased protections for the unborn, the cultural and practical work of supporting moms and building a robust life-supporting culture is more crucial than ever. And Mother’s Day is a perfect opportunity to reflect on how to do that.

As a mom, Mother’s Day is always very special to me — but this year more than ever.  This year, as the new leader of an iconic pro-life organization, I’m reflecting not just on the beautiful challenge that is motherhood, but also on the tangible support mothers need — especially those facing an unexpected pregnancy or raising a child in difficult circumstances. Now, more than ever, our movement must bring our formidable network, our nationwide resources, and our unmatched zeal to bear on offering holistic, hands-on support to moms who need it most.

A good starting point on the policy front is the recently introduced More Opportunities for Moms to Succeed Act. This bill offers Congress an opportunity to do something both meaningful and practical: empower women by offering concrete support and resources during the critical prenatal, postpartum, and early childhood periods. I hope it will be passed with bipartisan support.

Legislation must be only a part of the effort, however. Institutions at all levels of society should devote themselves to walking with mothers, too. I’ve seen firsthand what’s possible when institutions take this mission seriously. In a previous role at a university, I founded a program to support pregnant and parenting members of our community — from undergrads facing an unplanned pregnancy to grad students starting families and even faculty balancing work and family life. With the backing of key leaders across the university, we created a program that provided support, tailored to the concrete needs of our particular community — and it has been a great success.

To design this type of truly effective support for women, we must understand the cultural and practical pressures that come to bear on pregnant women. Our society tells young women that motherhood, especially when unplanned, will derail their dreams—that they must choose between their future and their child. This unfair and offensive narrative exacts a real cost from women and their babies. According to data from The Guttmacher Institute, Planned Parenthood’s research center, 74% of women who choose abortion cite concerns about their future. Pair this with the second most cited reason, which is financial concerns, for 73% of women choosing abortion — and you have the perfect storm: women fear their future will be derailed and they will be mired in poverty.

These numbers are a call to action for the pro-life movement. We have to counter the idea that motherhood is a threat to women, and offer steady, compassionate, and practical support that allows women to say yes to life without saying no to their future. If financial concerns drive many abortion decisions, then pro-life engagement and all people of good will must focus on ensuring that women have access to the economic support and tangible resources that they need in order to confidently choose life for their baby.

Here’s the good news: this support already exists, across our nation. Over 2,700 pregnancy-care centers and maternity homes in communities large and small stand ready to offer holistic support — material, educational, emotional, and psychological — for pregnant women and new mothers. In my first few months leading the March for Life, I’ve had the privilege of visiting several of these centers across the country as my travels have taken me to Dallas, Denver, Phoenix, and beyond. Each one is rooted in and responsive to its particular community, and run by staff and volunteers devoted wholeheartedly to walking with women through an unexpected pregnancy and empowering them to know their own strength as mothers.

Demand for the life-affirming services and support offered by PRCs and maternity homes is high, and we should all commit ourselves to helping them as they help women. The MOMS Act would make additional government resources available to nonprofits that assist moms, but government support is not enough; this is an opportunity for the entire community, including businesses, faith communities, schools, universities, and neighbors, to step up and ensure they have the resources and staffing necessary to serve women effectively.

Many women who get abortions didn’t want to have one, but feel hemmed in by their circumstances. This fact should compel us all to act — with urgency and compassion — to ensure that no woman feels she must end the life of her child for lack of support. That will continue to be a key part of my work at the March for Life, and I invite all who care about moms and their babies to join me.

Jennie Bradley Lichter is the president of March for Life Education and Defense Fund, and formerly served as Deputy Assistant to President Trump and Deputy Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council.

(Originally published by Washington Examiner)