More than 500,000 people are attending today’s March for Life in a massive attendance that could be well higher than that estimate and set records for the annual pro-life event challenging the mantra of unlimited abortion.
Typically held on the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision that allowed virtually unlimited abortions at any point in pregnancy for any reason, the march for Life typically sees anywhere from 250,000 to 500,000 people lining the streets towards the Supreme Court building.
The huge crowd is expected to exceed last year’s 400,000 participants as they mark the 40th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision that, along with an accompanying ruling in Doe v. Bolton, allowed abortion on demand in all 50 states.
The official theme of this year’s march is “40 = 55M,” an equation meant to remember the enormous toll on human life that has resulted in nearly 56 million people losing their lives.
Sarah Torre of the DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society at The Heritage Foundation, talked about the meaning of this year’s March for Life.
“Like many annual March for Life events before it, there will likely also be smaller groups of counter-protests by abortion advocates holding signs and chanting slogans championing the ethic of Roe that pledges unwavering allegiance to a right of abortion-on-demand, for any reason. But those now-tired slogans are no longer able to convince a new generation that denying life to some will lead to a more just society and freedom for others,” she said.
She continued, “It is a simple witness by a tireless pro-life movement over the past 40 years that has reoriented the hearts and minds of an entire generation toward the dignity and worth of every individual—born or yet to be. Despite obstacles, the pro-life movement has achieved notable victories in public opinion, law, and culture.”
Torre said, “Today, roughly half of Americans now identify themselves as “pro-life,” including many of the millennial generation who will make up the crowds at today’s march.”
“As the March for Life draws to a close and Americans look to yet another year under the waning, yet still deadly ethic of Roe, there remains hope that government will one day soon return to a deeper respect of the principles that founded and sustain America by ensuring the basic rights of liberty and life to everyone—including those yet to be born,” she said.
As hundreds of thousands of right-to-life activists march up Capitol Hill today to the U.S. Supreme Court to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, many carry the iconic “STOP ABORTION NOW!” signs distributed by National Right to Life.
“The right-to-life movement remains more committed than ever to protecting unborn children and providing compassionate, life-affirming alternatives to their mothers,” observed National Right to Life President Carol Tobias. “What profoundly scares abortion supporters gives us enormous confidence in the future: young people are more and more pro-life.”
“Our movement is re-energized and renewed every year when we see the March for Life and the rallies and marches held by our state affiliates featuring younger and younger participants,” Tobias added.
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Since they first appeared at National Right to Life’s “Rally for Life ’90,” hundreds of thousands of “STOP ABORTION NOW” signs have been distributed and displayed at pro-life rallies across the country. The signs have been part of an exhibit at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, she told LifeNews.
In addition to greeting marchers on the National Mall, National Right to Life’s headquarters will play host to the organization, KIDS: Keep Infants with Down Syndrome. KIDS helps raise awareness that, tragically, the number of babies prenatally diagnosed with Down syndrome are aborted. Dozens of children with Down syndrome and their parents will join Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wa.) in a gathering before heading down to the March for Life.
“Our humanity is not defined by the atrocities that have been committed throughout history, but by the shining light of those who recognize injustice and refuse to be complicit through silence,” Tobias concluded.