Lopez: Why the March for Life remains crucial in a post-Roe America

The human-rights issue of our lives is abortion. Clearly not everyone sees it that way. It's buried in euphemisms about women's health. But unborn children still die.

The March for Life happen every January, marking the anniversary of the Supreme Court case which legalized abortion in all three trimesters, which was overturned in 2022.

The March doesn't typically get a lot of media coverage. For years, the attention it did get would focus on a few pro-abortion protesters in front of the Court. That changed the year Donald Trump accepted an invitation to speak. Other presidents have sent messages and videos. But Trump showed up, making it a major news story even before the end of Roe. That was maddening to me. The March for Life was never Trump's, and never will be — especially now that the Republican party platform has betrayed the cause. Leaving the issue to the states is not enough.

The March for Life organization just announced a new president. Jennie Lichter is a wife and mother of two. Her father, professor Gerard Bradley at Notre Dame, is a leading intellectual in the pro-life movement. As general counsel at the Catholic University of America, she spearheaded a program to help mothers — staff and students — on campus.

The march is one of the most encouraging and inspiring events in the United States. Annually young people fill D.C. — occasionally in a blizzard. (I got stuck in a bus for 24 hours after one with University of Mary students, but that is another story.)

There are state marches, as well. Lichter says the importance — besides education — is "to show that pro-life Americans are still here, we are still motivated, we will never, ever tire of witnessing together to the beauty and dignity and utter preciousness of human life."

"And I also think that it's important to talk about how abortion raises very specific human rights concerns as well," Licthter adds. "For example, the disability discrimination involved in the high rates of abortion of babies with Down Syndrome, which is particularly tragic at a time when life expectancy and opportunities for people with Down Syndrome are on the rise. Or the discrimination involved in sex-selective abortion, which in some parts of the world allows a preference for sons and the consequent abortions of baby girls to result in a skewed sex ratio among babies being born."

"I'm often asked why we continue to March for Life in January — there are a variety of reasons for that, but one is the importance of remembering our history," outgoing president Jeanne Mancini says.

One is to promote pregnancy care centers, which are often vilified by the left. "Pregnancy care centers answer such a need and have been providing such necessary and life-saving services for more than half a century. Women deserve to know all their options, including the love, compassion, and free resources available to them through the vast pro-life safety net. In America, over 3,000 organizations across the country offer women and children the physical, educational, emotional and financial resources necessary to transform their lives. Those of us in the pro-life movement will continue supporting these life-giving organizations and the incredible work they do to ensure that no woman ever must walk alone," Mancini says.

The march continues. For women and children and families. For humanity.

klopez@nationalreview.com