Thousands of
anti-abortion
demonstrators descended upon the nation’s capital for the annual
March for Life
Friday, the first such event since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year.
The landmark June 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization accomplished the long-stated goal of the annual march to overturn Roe, and raised questions as to how large the 2023 event would be compared to previous years amid speculation of diminished enthusiasm.
‘FAR FROM COMPLETE’: MARCH FOR LIFE CHARTS NEW COURSE 50 YEARS AFTER ROE
But the big crowd, reminiscent of past marches, that gathered on the National Mall seemed to allay turnout concerns as speaker after speaker elicited enormous roars and vowed to continue the fight to end abortion into a new moment, one where Roe no longer holds the force of law.
Official crowd estimates were not available. A spokesperson for the National Park Service told the Washington Examiner the agency did not have estimates of the crowd size. A representative for the March for Life also said the organization had no way of measuring the overall attendance.
“This will be a day to celebrate the overturn of Roe, a momentous occasion, and then to talk about what’s next and build a culture of life in the United States,” Jeanne Mancini, the president of the March for Life, told the Washington Examiner in an interview. “The enthusiasm of the young people is contagious here today, and so my enthusiasm is strong.”
The raucous crowd heard from a number of speakers, including former NFL head coach and Hall of Famer Tony Dungy and his wife Lauren Dungy, who have adopted eight children.
“We keep rejoicing that our children’s biological parents chose life,” Lauren Dungy told the crowd. “I am so grateful for the birth moms who chose life for our children. They will never know what a blessing they are.”
With the future of abortion policy now squarely in the legislative process, the 2023 March for Life route finishes at the U.S. Capitol building, a change from previous marches that finished at the Supreme Court.
Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said in an interview that the goal now is to establish a minimum federal limit to abortion while pushing for further restrictions at the state level. But ultimately, she said, the goal should be a national ban on abortion.
“[A national ban is] where we need to end up,” Dannenfelser said. “But I think that we have the power to build consensus and establish an actual law. We want to pass a law that will actually save lives.”
The anti-abortion movement has long made “changing hearts and minds” a rallying cry as it has sought to make abortion not only illegal but “unthinkable.”
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Chris Faddis, the president of Solidarity HealthShare, which serves as an alternative to health insurance, told the Washington Examiner that the healthcare industry is a place where changing hearts and minds is a particular need.
“It’s almost impossible to get into [medical] school, unless you’re willing to say certain things or capitulate on certain things,” Faddis said. “We really need to stand up opportunities where … we can help them while they’re going through medical school, coach them through some of the challenges they’re going to face within medicine because they’re going to face them.”
