The March for Life, in which thousands of pro-life advocates will march to the Supreme Court to protest legalized abortion, returned to Washington, D.C. on Friday for its 49th year.
The March has taken place every year since Roe vs. Wade (the event was virtual last year), the 1973 landmark Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide. Organizers say the march is the largest annual human rights demonstration in the world.
Pro-life marchers carried a plethora of different signs on Friday demonstrating their advocacy for both mothers and their babies. Some proudly hoisted American flags as they marched.
“Love them both,” read one sign with an illustration of a mother and her unborn child.
“Be honest. Face the truth,” another sign read.
Ciara McArdle, 24, took a bus to D.C. from several hours away in Virginia with her friend to march.
“Today was very empowering. All of these people are clearly everyday Americans, family people. While we are fighting against a horrible reality of abortion, there is such joy in this huge group of young people together. There is actually a pro-life generation, and today has proven that,” McArdle told The Daily Wire.
McArdle said she was especially moved by African American speaker Toni McFadden, who spoke at the March for Life rally and shared her abortion story of regret while encouraging her listeners to remain hopeful.
Another marcher, Jonathan Bacon, 18, traveled all the way from California to march and said the issue of abortion is a personal one for him.
“In the womb, my mother’s doctors recommended she terminate the pregnancy of me and my twin brother due to a high risk of complications,” Bacon told The Daily Wire.
“Here I stand as a healthy young man, so I am grateful that my mother chose life. I believe it is important every young person understands the importance of choosing life, so I was happy to travel all the way to D.C. to promote my values and demonstrate my commitment to the pro-life movement,” Bacon said.
The theme of the 2022 March for Life is “Equality Begins in the Womb.”
“The pro-life movement recognizes the immense responsibility this nation bears to restore equal rights to its most defenseless citizens in the womb,” March for Life president Jeanne Mancini said when organizers announced the theme last year.
“Since Roe v. Wade, scientific advances have undeniably confirmed the humanity of the unborn, and today most Americans agree there should be significant limits on abortion,” Mancini said.
This year’s march comes amid renewed hope that legalized abortion could become obsolete or at least less permissible and widespread in the U.S.
A Supreme Court case moving through the court now, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, could end in a decision to overturn Roe. The case involves a challenge to a Mississippi law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Mississippi is arguing against Roe vs. Wade’s ban on states outlawing abortion before the fetus is viable outside the womb, usually considered around 22 weeks of pregnancy.
During oral arguments in the case, which began in December, the court’s six conservative-leaning justices appeared inclined to uphold Mississippi’s abortion ban.
A decision is expected by late June.
“We live in a very different world from that of the Roe Court nearly half a century ago. Dramatic advances in medicine and technology have opened new frontiers in our understanding of how human beings develop before birth,” wrote Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List, in a Friday op-ed.
“This is a culminating moment for the pro-life moment, and life is winning,” she added.
In September, the Supreme Court decided in favor of allowing Texas’ near-total abortion ban to go into effect.
The Texas law bans almost all abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, at around six weeks of pregnancy, and does not make exceptions for abortions in cases of rape and incest. The only abortions the law allows are in cases where the life of the mother is at stake or the pregnancy could cause “substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function.”
In addition, the Texas law allows private citizens to launch civil lawsuits against anyone who “aids or abets” an abortion after a fetal heartbeat can be detected. At least one such lawsuit has already been filed.
Meanwhile, according to a recent poll, a majority of Americans want abortion to be limited significantly.
About 71% of Americans want abortion to be limited to the first three months of pregnancy, according to a Knights of Columbus/Marist poll released this month.
Related: March For Life President Jeanne Mancini Discusses ‘Equality Begins In The Womb’ Theme