By Kate Scanlon OSV News WASHINGTON — Tens of thousands of pro-life advocates, including pilgrims from the Archdiocese of Mobile, descended upon the nation's capital for the 50th March for Life Jan. 20 — the first national march since the overturn of the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that initially prompted the annual demonstration.
Standing on the event stage at the National Mall, with the U.S. Capitol visible in the background, Jeanne Mancini, March for Life president, told attendees at a rally prior to the march that "the country and world changed" when Roe was reversed in June 2022. But she said the annual March for Life would continue in Washington until abortion is "unthinkable."
"While the March began as a response to Roe, we don't end as a response to Roe being overturned," Mancini said. "Why? Because we are not yet done."
The march took place on a sunny and unseasonably warm day in Washington. A headcount of attendees was not immediately available, as the National Park Service does not release crowd size estimates.
The national March for Life first took place in Washington in 1974 in response to the Roe decision legalizing abortion nationwide the previous year. The protest has taken place in Washington each year since, with a smaller-in-scale event during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021.
The 2023 event was the first national March for Life since the high court’s June 2022 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that overturned Roe and returned the matter of regulating or restricting abortion to state legislatures.
At the pre-march rally, the Christian band "We Are Messengers" performed, followed by a number of speakers, including Jonathan Roumie, known for his role as “Jesus” in the television series "The Chosen," former Indianapolis Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy, Democratic Connecticut State Rep. Trenee McGee, and Gianna Emanuela Molla, the daughter of St. Gianna Beretta Molla. Canonized in 2004, St. Gianna gave her life for Giana Emanuela, choosing to move forward with her fourth pregnancy even after doctors discovered a tumor in her uterus.
Molla told the rallygoers that she thanks her "saint mom" for the gift of life. "I would not be here now with all of you if I had not been loved so much," she said.
Roumie took a picture of the crowd behind him from the stage, telling marchers to tag themselves on social media, and quipping he is the "TV Jesus," not the real one.
"God is real and he is completely in love with you," he said, adding that each person is individually loved by God.
"Remember my dear friends, we know how the story ends: God won," Roumie said.
Prior to speaking to the sea of pro-life marchers on the National Mall, Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, who argued the Dobbs case before the Supreme Court, told OSV News that "empowering women and promoting life" were the next steps post-Roe.
"Some of the things that we're talking about in Mississippi and promoting legislation on are workplace flexibility options, particularly for mothers," she said. "We lose young mothers because they don't have any options. They don't have that flexibility. We've got to have childcare. It's got to be affordable, accessible and quality."
Fitch said she wants to see the pro-life movement do "some heavy lifts" to push laws enhancing child support enforcement and reforming the adoption or foster care systems.
"(These systems) are failing our children; they're broken," Fitch said. "We've got to make those (changes) happen and put those children in these loving families."
— Kate Scanlon is a national reporter for OSV News covering Washington. Julie Asher, Gina Christian, Marietha Góngora and Kurt Jensen contributed to this report.