On January 24, 2020, in States across the Country and Washington DC, held their 47th annual March for Life, an event to promote their Pro-Life views. This year’s March for Life had the theme “Pro-Life is Pro-Women.” On their Website, Marchforlife.org, the organizers noted that so many feminist icons such as Alice Paul, Susan B. Anthony, and Norma McCorvey, who is better known as Jane Roe from the benchmark abortion case Roe v. Wade, were all against abortion and saw it as an exploitation of women.
In Washington DC, the main location of the March, between tens of thousands and one hundred thousand people came out to march. One particularly notable person in attendance was the current President of the United States, Donald J. Trump. This marks the first time in the March’s 47 year history that a sitting President of the United States was in attendance.
In his remarks to the crowd at the march, Trump said “It is my profound honor to be the first President in history to attend the March for Life. We’re here for a very simple reason: to defend the right of every child, born and unborn, to fulfill their God-given potential.” Fittingly with the theme of the weekend, President Trump included a statement of the strength of the female leaders of the Pro-Life movement. He also acknowledged the tens of thousands of students that were in attendance of the March for Life this year. President Trump also communicated his committment to prevent any pro-choice legislation from being passed, saying that he would veto any legislation that Congress may pass that would weaken Pro-life policies. He also included remarks about his 187 federal Judge Appointments, all of whom read the Constitution in a way that supports the ideals of the March for Life.
Trump also commented on the preservation of Religious Liberty in the United States, something that he and many in attendance of the March for Life feel is under attack in this country because of the rulings in favor of pro-choice organizations and rulings againts abortion bans.
While historic, President Trump’s presence at the March for Life was not completely unexpected. According to a White House Fact Sheet listing his policies, President Trump “is the most fearless pro-life president in American history.” His policies on abortion include encouraging Congress to pass legislation preventing late term abortions, ending federal research that uses fetal tissue from abortions, banning federal funds from being used to support overseas abortion organizations, and ruling against Title X family planning funding being used for abortions.
In addition to the President, many State and Local Politicians were in attendance as well as Members of the House of Representatives and Senators.
In addition to the March itself, there is an annual March for Life Conference, where speakers come out to support the message of the March for Life. The Conference is also focused on the theme of ‘Pro-Life is Pro-Women.” This year’s keynote speaker was Erika Bachiochi, a pro-life feminisnt, and author and legal scholar at the Ethics and Policy Center. Additionally, all of the speakers at the Conference in 2020 were women, highlighting the theme of the March.
Although not the most highly attended March for Life in the organization’s history, this March was certainly historic and will be talked about for years to come.