Today, hundreds of thousands of Americans will fill the National Mall in Washington, D.C., to participate in the March for Life and mark the 41st anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade.
The size of such a crowd, peacefully rallying in front of the U.S. Capitol, should be the stuff of front-page news stories. But this year, like many before it, the media will turn a blind eye to one of the largest gatherings of the year.
While the media can willfully ignore the enormity of the March, it cannot silence the truth that it proclaims: Every human—from the moment of conception—is a person who has intrinsic value and possesses the right to life. That right belongs not only to the strong and powerful, but to all human beings regardless of their age, dependency, or ability.
Americans from across the country will mark Roe’s anniversary by remembering the devastating costs of excluding the youngest and most vulnerable from the right to life: Abortion has taken the lives of more than 55 million children since 1973. Abortion-on-demand has sentenced countless women to physical and emotional harm and has created a culture that disregards the dignity of human life, demeans motherhood, and denigrates the roles of fathers.
The power of the pro-life movement, however, is not merely in the hundreds of thousands of marchers who make their now-familiar journey to the Supreme Court. The movement’s heartbeat and success is in the simple, daily witness of Americans who recognize that every human has the right to life and that abortion victimizes both mother and child.
Every year, thousands of pregnancy centers across the country provide counseling and medical services and empower women facing difficult situations with life-affirming options. Pregnant women or expectant couples who desire to parent can find support. And birthmothers are educated on the beautiful choice of adoption and given resources to connect with the many families who stand ready to open their hearts and homes to children.
Because of the hope it presents and the truth it professes, the pro-life movement has been able to reorient the hearts and minds of an entire generation.
Today, roughly half of Americans consider themselves pro-life, including many in the millennial generation, who make up a considerable portion of the March for Life today. The efforts of pro-life policymakers have led to the enactment of a record number of commonsense laws that protect women and restore the dignity of both mother and child in policy.
Despite the many victories in culture and law, the deadly shadow of abortion-on-demand continues to pose threats to life and conscience. Every year, millions of tax dollars are sent to the abortion industry and Obamacare will only further entangle taxpayers in abortion coverage.
As yet another March for Life draws to a close, we look forward to the day when the law respects the dignity and value of every human life. It’ll be a victory won one heart and one policy at a time and sought with each step of the March—with or without the media’s attention.
Learn “How to Speak Up for Life” through a new booklet published by Alliance Defending Freedom, Americans United for Life, Concerned Women for America, Focus on the Family, March for Life Education and Defense Fund, Susan B. Anthony List Education Fund, and The Heritage Foundation.
