Witness a year of firsts in the 47th national pro-life march.The 47th annual March for Life has been a year of firsts. The first time a sitting president showed up in person to the rally and the first time that the crowd was so large that it stretched from the main stage all the way back to encompass the Washington Monument. The crush of hundreds of thousands around the National Mall, coupled with the extensive security for President Trump’s motorcade, made the neighboring streets virtually impassable.
In his address, the president proclaimed, “All of us here today understand the eternal truth, that every child is a precious and sacred gift from God … and together we must protect, cherish and to defend the dignity and sanctity of every human life.”
The marchers, with their characteristic joyful enthusiasm, brought the voice of the unborn to the nation’s capital in what is officially the largest human rights demonstration in the world. With a crowd larger and even younger than last year, students of all ages from elementary school through university age stood side by side to defend the lives of those who remain most vulnerable.
This year’s theme, “Life Empowers: Pro-Life is Pro-Woman,” taps into the history of the early suffragists, who embraced the value of all life, including the unborn. Alice Paul, one of the leading suffragists, called abortion “… the ultimate exploitation of women.” The theme emphasizes the empowerment of women through respect for all aspects of femininity, including bringing new life into the world.
As the march kicked off, winding its way up Constitution Avenue, the massive crowd surged forward, united in spirit and committed to their cause, with some raising their voices in song while others prayed intensely.
After 47 years of legalized abortion in the United States the pro-life movement seems more hopeful than ever. And with favorable judicial appointments in both the Supreme Court and many appeals and district courts, the reinstatement of the Mexico City policy and Planned Parenthood under formal investigation, there’s good reason.
But perhaps a greater reason for hope is the ever-growing youth movement that proudly proclaims themselves the “Pro-Life Generation.” And it’s within this hope that a future in which all lives are respected equally seems more possible than it was even just a year before.
