The first March for Life was held on January 22, 1974, on the one-year anniversary of Roe v. Wade, and tens of thousands of pro-life marchers have gathered in DC every year since then, both to protest the pro-abortion Supreme Court decision and to advocate for a culture of life. The March for Life has become the largest, longest-running, annual human rights demonstration in the world and is gathering this year for the fiftieth time.

On June 24, 2022 - that was the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, by the way - Roe v. Wade was officially overturned when Dobbs v. Jackson decided that the U.S. Constitution itself does not confer a right to abortion. Dobbs has now given individual states the right to regulate any aspect of abortion that is not protected by federal law. If Roe v. Wade is no longer in effect, why are people still marching?

I myself have attended the March for Life most years of my adult life and have more recently begun taking my older kids with me. This year I've found myself pondering the future of the national March in the wake of the Dobbs decision, since the event is scheduled each year around the anniversary of the now-overturned Roe v. Wade. (For the record, I'd much rather spend a day outside during the early summer instead of mid-winter. I've joked to more than one person that I'd now like the March for Life to commemorate Dobbs instead of Roe. My recommendation apparently hasn't made it to the March for Life headquarters yet.)

Yesterday, I listened to the latest episode of The Gloria Purvis Podcast with guest Jeanne Mancini, who has served as the President of the national March for Life for just over ten years. If you've never heard of Gloria Purvis, she's an African-American Catholic speaker who's well-known for addressing both life issues and racial justice issues. She was once the host of EWTN's Morning Glory radio show and is now a podcaster for America Magazine. In this episode of her podcast - “The future of the March for Life in a post-Roe America” - Gloria spoke extensively with Jeanne Mancini about the next steps for the human rights event. I found the episode enlightening and encourage you to listen to it.

In response to the question of whether we even need a March for Life anymore, Jeanne Mancini said bluntly, “we're nowhere near close to ending this human rights abuse of abortion.” She's right, of course: Dobbs restored the right of states to pass legislation that restricts abortion, but legislation varies widely from state to state, and widespread abortion will continue in one form or another until our culture respects the humanity of each unborn child. We need to focus not only on changing laws, but on changing our hearts and our culture. Mancini highlighted the need for the pro-life movement to focus on education, safety nets for moms who are facing unexpected pregnancies, and state-level initiatives.

Purvis and Mancini, both Catholics, also emphasized that this is a “social justice” issue. Gloria Purvis wisely noted that the pro-life movement is “a successful grassroots movement in the tradition of the abolition movement, the suffrage movement, the civil rights movement.” The March for Life president echoed this idea:

Social justice begins in the womb, and that is the heart of the March for Life. And the heart of the pro-life movement is respecting the inherent dignity of the human person and wanting people to fully humanly flourish. And seeing that regardless of race, creed, disability, imperfection - which, oh, by the way, we all have imperfections - that every life is a gift and really wanting to cherish and respect that. And so I think that sometimes we get stereotyped as crazy as, you know, trying to take rights away as, you know, lacking empowerment, as being fear based, and it couldn't be further from the truth. 

I especially enjoyed the podcast's discussion about widespread misconceptions about the March for Life. First and foremost, Jeanne Mancini highlighted that the event is not a partisan political rally. She explained that she is neither Republican nor Democrat, that the March for Life never endorses political candidates, and that political speeches make up only a quarter of the scheduled program at the March. Each year, the planners go out of their way to invite both pro-life Democrats and Republicans.

Mancini did acknowledge that the political landscape has shifted dramatically over the past decade or so. Although Democrats like Dan Lipinski - recently ousted from office by others of his party for his pro-life views - used to be very supportive of the March for Life, it's gotten nearly impossible to find national-level Democrats who are willing to express any opposition to abortion. Nonetheless, Jeanne Mancini invited everyone, regardless of political affiliation, to tune in to the March for Life this year to see that there are individuals from both sides of the political aisle, especially at the state-level, who remain part of the pro-life movement.

The March for Life's 2023 theme - “Next Steps: Marching Into a Post-Roe America” - directly addresses the need for perseverance in pro-life work. This  recently-released video highlights the theme:

Though the national March remains a significant opportunity to rally pro-lifers and highlight important federal initiatives, state marches and efforts are now more important than ever. My family and I are therefore hoping to attend the Maryland March for Life this year on February 27, 2023, and I encourage you to consider doing the same. Gloria Purvis will be one of the featureds prayers. (February is still mid-winter, though. How about a summer march? Anyone?)