Annual ‘March for Life’ Goes Virtual in Washington: We Are Not Going Away

Pro-life activists participate in the "March for Life," an annual event to mark the anniversary of the 1973 Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion in the US, outside the US Supreme Court in Washington on Jan. 29, 2021. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

This year’s “March For Life” rally took place virtually, as participants were told to stay home amid the pandemic. Still, a small group of pro-life leaders marched together in Washington on Friday.

The rally—which marks the 48th annual march—comes before a new administration that supports abortion. The theme for this year’s March for Life is “Together Strong: Life Unites” that highlights the importance of each person in building a culture of life, according to the organization.

The non-partisan group has been organizing the rally since 1974, it’s first ever. That year’s rally was held on the one-year anniversary of Roe v. Wade, a Supreme Court decision that prevented states from imposing most of the previously existing restrictions on abortion. One of the goals of the rally has been to have the decision overturned.

Advocates will continue marching no matter who is in the oval office, according to Carol Tobias, the president of the National Right to Life Committee (NLRC), who was also in Washington for the march.

“We are not giving up. We are not going away,” Tobias told The Epoch Times in a phone call. “We are going to do everything we can to protect unborn children.”

There was a bipartisan group of speakers at the virtual rally. Some of the political figures include Representative Chris Smith (R-N.J.), a long-time pro-life champion in the U.S. House of Representatives and Kentucky House of Representatives Minority Whip Angie Hatton, a Democrat who is currently serving her third term in the Kentucky House of Representatives.

“For 48 years, we have marched for life, and we will continue marching until abortion is not only illegal but unthinkable,” the March for Life organization said in a Twitter post.

Pro-life activists participate in the 48th annual March for Life outside the U.S. Supreme Court Jan. 29, 2021 in Washington. Alex Wong/Getty Images

Tobias said the march started as a fairly small group but as they went further along, many college-aged people joined in.

“They didn’t want to be left on the sidelines,” she added.

President Joe Biden supports abortion and has said he would nominate federal judges who back the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision. He’s also said he’d support a federal statute legalizing abortion if the Supreme Court’s conservative majority strikes down Roe v. Wade.

The previous administration’s stance was fully pro-life. President Donald Trump made history by being the first president to attend the “March for life” rally. “Unborn children have never had a stronger defender in the White House,” Trump said at a rally in January, 2020.

In a personal reversal, Biden now also supports repeal of the Hyde Amendment, opening the way for federal programs, including his prospective public option, to pay for abortions.

First implemented in 1977, the Hyde Amendment, which currently forbids the use of federal funds for abortions except in cases of life endangerment, rape, or incest, has guided public funding for abortions under the joint federal-state Medicaid programs for low-income women.

The NLRC, like other pro-life groups, is focused on passing legislation to protect unborn children and their mothers while also educating the community about the humanity of the unborn child, according to Tobias.

She called the Biden administration’s stance on abortion “way out of step with the American public,” and said the country does not support using abortion as a method of birth control.

Tobias acknowledged the new administration is “going to put up a tough fight” in a bid to remove all protections for unborn children, but she noted that the pro-life movement is growing.

“This really is a movement that crosses all kinds of lines: ideology, religion, political, age group, and color,” she said. “This is a movement that attracts people from any, and all walks of life.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report