St. Gabriel and St. Patrick Cathedral young adults during the March for Life in D.C. (Photo by James Sarkis)WASHINGTON, D.C. — Hundreds of North Carolinians gathered in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception to attend Mass before participating in the National March for Life Jan. 24.
The Mass was celebrated by Raleigh Bishop Luis Zarama and priests of the Raleigh and Catholic dioceses.
The homily was delivered by Father Patrick Winslow, vicar general and chancellor of the Charlotte diocese, in place of Bishop Peter Jugis, who was unable to attend the liturgy due to illness.
In his homily Father Winslow encouraged the congregants who would soon be joining the March for Life of bearing witness as disciples of Christ, of “bringing the light of Christ more brightly into this world to those who now and in the future most desperately need it.”
“The people of North Carolina come here every year,” he said. “We come here to join with people from all over the country – other Catholics, Christians, people of faith, people of goodwill and people, quite simply, of sound reason – to bear witness to the dignity of life.”
Participating in the March for Life every year since 1973 is about more than raising one’s voice in opposition to the U.S. Supreme Court’s controversial decision in Roe v. Wade to legalize abortion, he said.
“More importantly, it’s our hope that no one would ever want or desire an abortion. More than the change of law, we want the change of hearts and minds.”
Hearts and minds are indeed changing, he said, noting the decline in abortion rates and the increasing number of crisis pregnancy centers over abortion facilities.
“This is due to your prayers, your witness and your work,” he said.
But the fight must continue, he said, in our conversations with friends and family, with those who think abortion is acceptable or who don’t want to address it. Those conversations can be difficult, he said, because it’s a complex issue that can be considered from many angles – societal, legal, medical, moral and spiritual.
From a societal angle, abortion is about more than a woman’s choice; it’s a symptom of a breakdown in society. He recounted that after giving a homily on abortion, a parishioner came up to him after Mass and said, “Father, I agree with everything you said,” but “women don’t get pregnant by themselves. Where are the men?”
“It stuck with me. It is a societal issue, how we get to these problems. As a society, this has to be addressed,” he said.
“On the legal front,” he continued, “for us it’s very simple: At what point does a person be afforded the protection of law?”
Any time after conception is an arbitrary line, he said. “The state has an obligation to protect the innocent.”
Medical advances “increasingly tell the story of what we have been bearing witness to,” he also said.
“In the past, it’s been difficult to see what is going on behind the veil of flesh, but as technology increases we’re able to see the beautiful process of life unfolding. It’s extraordinary! We can begin to tell when this little child begins to experience pain, so very early on. And these technological and medical advances are very informative – and increasingly making it difficult to believe something other than the fact that this is a human life.”
He continued, “For us (it is also) a moral question that is informed by faith, but it doesn’t require faith to see the issue, to see right from wrong here. People of good reason can see clearly the right and just thing to do.”
The spiritual aspect of abortion is insidious, he also noted.
“When people – most importantly, women – are in these positions that are so traumatic and difficult, it is easy to believe a lie. A lie is seductive. And there is a father of lies who’s all too willing to make sure that the words are whispered in the ear of people in these difficult situations: ‘It doesn’t have to be. You can roll back the hand of time. You can undo this.’”
“But you, we, all of us are here to pray, to bear witness and to proclaim the truth over and against such lies, to shine light where there is darkness. And in this sense we are fulfilling our discipleship. We are bringing the light of Christ more brightly into this world to those who now and in the future most desperately need it.”
After the Mass concluded, people joined the National March for Life down the Mall to pray in front of the U.S. Supreme Court building.
— Catholic News Herald. Photos by César Hurtado, James Sarkis and provided by Father John Putnam and Liliana Cabada de Salas
Trump tells attendees he welcomes their commitment to life
-
Trump tells March for Life attendees he welcomes their commitment to life
WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump credited attendees at the 47th annual March for Life for their commitment to protect the life of unborn and born children."Together we are the voice for the voiceless," Trump told tens of thousands of people gathered at a noontime rally Jan. 24 on the National Mall.
"You stand for life each and every day. You provide housing, education, jobs and medical care for the women that you serve," the president said.
Trump was the first president to speak in person in the 47-year history of the March for Life. He spoke for about 10 minutes at the start of the rally and before attendees began their march to the Supreme Court.
"Today, as president of the United States, I am truly proud to stand with you. We're here for a very simple reason: to defend the right for every child, born and unborn, to fulfill their God-given potential," Trump said.
He also credited the young people who made up a large portion of the crowd for their commitment to life, saying they were "the heart of the March for Life."
"It's your generation that is making this a pro-life nation," the president said, adding, "You are powered by prayer and motivated by pure unselfish love."
Trump's speech before the largely supportive crowd was punctuated by applause and cheers. Calls of "Four more years" welcomed him to the podium.
The pro-life movement has been buoyed by Trump's appointment of two conservative justices to the Supreme Court. Their goal has been a reversal of the court's 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion.
Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen, addressed the rally in a video recorded in Rome prior to Trump's arrival at the rally. Pence met with Pope Francis earlier in the day.
He said in the video that he thanked the pope "for all that he and Catholic Americans have done to defend the sanctity of human life in the history of this movement."
Karen Pence thanked attendees for their witness and compassion for the unborn. "Thank you for standing for life," she said. "We cannot be more proud to be on this journey with you."
The vice president called Trump the "most pro-life president in American history" and a "champion for the movement."
"So keep standing strong and stand with that love and compassion that has always defined the movement for life," Pence said.
Not all participants in the rally agreed with the single-issue stance of Trump and Pence. A group of Franciscan friars and their supporters held signs aloft outside of the security barrier with messages reading "I am 100% Pro-Life." "Care for the Unborn." "Protect the Earth" and "Seek Justice for the Poor."
Franciscan Father Jud Weiksnar, pastor of Sts. Columba Brigid Parish in Buffalo, New York, said he attended the March for Life to encourage people to embrace a wider call in support of life, including care for the environment and peace.
"I'm very deeply convinced that my religious calling calls me to something like the March for Life," he told Catholic News Service in a phone call from a point just off the Mall.
His group included about 20 people, among them priests, men in formation and laypeople.
His friend, Franciscan Father Jacek Orzechowski of Maryland, said he joined the march and rally "to remind others about what it means to be authentically pro-life."
"It's not enough to say that a person is against abortion, but especially about other concerns at this time when we as humanity are standing on the verge of ecological catastrophe," he explained. "I'm not willing to fall into a false choice in caring four our common home or caring for the unborn."
Rally-goers also heard from members of Congress and several other speakers, including women who survived attempted abortions, over the course of an hour following the president's appearance.
Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Louisiana, urged the audience to support the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act that has been introduced in Congress. The bill would ensure that any child born alive after an abortion received medical care. It would also institute penalties for doctors who allow such infants to die or who intentionally kill a newborn.
He said he is working to bring the bill to a vote in the House of Representatives by filing a discharge petition, meaning it would by pass committee action and go directly to the full House. He said 204 House members have signed the petition -- all 197 Republicans and seven Democrats -- and that he is working to gain 14 more Democrats to gain a majority that would force a vote on the bill. He encouraged those at the rally to contact their member of Congress to express support for the petition and the bill.
At times the rally turned to politics as speakers called on rally-goers to vote for pro-life candidates in the upcoming presidential election. They also complimented Trump for his appointment of 187 federal conservative judges who are more likely to support restrictions on abortion.
"We are at a pivotal moment for the pro-life movement and this great nation," said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony List, a pro-life education organization, in crediting legislative efforts nationwide to limit abortion.
She encouraged the crowd to "go for the win" and "put the will of the people into law" in an effort to overturn Roe v. Wade in the Supreme Court in the November election. "It's the most consequential for the cause of the unborn," she said.
In brief remarks, Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, noted how there have been incremental steps to end abortion throughout the nation.
"We're making progress," Smith said. "Be very encouraged. With the help of ultrasound imaging, we will tirelessly struggle to ensure that unborn children are no longer invisible, trivialized, mocked, dehumanized and killed."
Smith, who co-chairs the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, credited the crowd for their activism that has resulted in "countless" women and babies who have been spared "the violence of abortion and today live, love and thrive."
Others addressing the rally included Elisa Martinez, founder of New Mexico Alliance for Life and co-chair of Native Americans for Life, and Democratic Louisiana State Rep. Katrina Jackson.
— Dennis Sadowski, Catholic News Service
Youthful crowd seen as signs march resonates with the young
-
Teen speaker, youthful crowd seen as signs march resonates with the young
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Catalina Galinanes, this year's student speaker at the March for Life rally on the National Mall, has been to almost as many marches as Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund.
The Jan. 24 march was Galinanes' seventh, Mancini's eighth.
"It's so inspiring and so powerful to go with family and friends," said the junior at Oakcrest School in Vienna, Virginia.
She's president of the school's Respect Life Club. Forty students from the school were chosen to carry the parade-front banner for the entire duration of the march down Constitution Avenue to the Supreme Court.
It's in keeping with this year's theme, "Pro-Life Is Pro-Woman," linking the pro-life cause to the women's suffrage leaders who brought about the 19th Amendment, enabling women to vote for the first time.
"And so I thought it was appropriate that we have young women at the front of the march," said Mancini in an interview with Catholic News Service ahead of the event.
Another 200 students from Colorado Christian University in the Denver suburb of Lakewood were chosen to carry pennants.
Putting the focus on young participants has been Mancini's goal for some time.
"The way I see it, the March for Life is organically young grassroots. Like, we don't really try really hard to bring young people to the March for Life. They are attracted to the issue now."
That's partly been the result of the organization's aggressive use of social media. "Knowing that social media is a language that reaches young people, so there's a pretty massive difference from eight years ago. I think we're the most followed pro-life group on Instagram," Mancini explained.
"When we do the surveys after the march to see who the favorite speakers were, by and large it's always the young speaker, someone like Catalina, that people were excited to hear from, because they're speaking for their generation."
Young people "know that social justice begins in the womb, and they have such hopes that their generation will make abortion unthinkable."
The long-established image of the marchers is of school groups in matching toboggan caps, and parish groups arriving by bus. But to anyone who has ever talked to marchers, a more nuanced picture emerges. Many are there as individuals or as couples who have come on their own.
Mancini has some personal experience with that as well.
"It's almost like a call," she agreed. "Someone in my family came for the first time last year. I think he felt a certain call to come. It really changed his heart.
"He's going to be back this year. ... He's got all his work to rearrange and he has to come from way out West. The experience is really transformative. Something about standing up in a public way."
"Just witnessing everyone standing up for pro-life" has an impact, Galinanes added.
— Kurt Jensen, Catholic News Service
Bishop tells teens it's a 'blessing' to be voice of the unborn
-
Arlington bishop tells teens it's a 'blessing' to be voice of the unborn
FAIRFAX, Va. — At her New York high school, Elizabeth Hotalen feels alone in her pro-life beliefs. But every January, she travels southward to Virginia and attends the Arlington Diocese's Life is VERY Good event with more than 8,000 teens who are as pro-life as she is.
"I come from a school (where) everyone is very anti-life. I've been harassed in school because I'm pro-life and it's amazing to see so many teens here. It makes me so happy," she said.
Busloads of Catholic youths traveled from 49 dioceses and archdioceses from 26 states to attend the annual rally held at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax the evening before the March for Life. The Jan. 23 event was sponsored by the diocesan office of Youth, Campus and Young Adult Ministries.
Each group sported matching shirts, sweatshirts or scarves. Before the program began, the teens walked around the concourse, chatted with the men and women religious manning booths and took photos with a cutout of Pope Francis. They bought pro-life and religious swag, as well as sodas and snacks. Dozens of priests heard confessions.
In the amphitheater, multicolored lights roved over the quickly filling seats as Catholic musician ALOB sang praise and worship songs. Then Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington greeted the teens.
"(We bishops) are so very proud of you when we see your love for the Lord, your commitment to the Gospel of life, your courage and your zeal," he said.
Bishop Burbidge told them he hoped this night would prepare them for the next day's march.
"Did you ever notice when you have a big sporting event or a big performance or a big task to do, the better prepared you are, the better it will be? So we have this rally (with) great music and great speakers so we get that zeal, that energy, that enthusiasm going for tomorrow," said Bishop Burbidge.
"Tomorrow is a special day for the unborn and how blessed are we that we get to be their voice, their intercessors and their protectors," he said.
Speaker Immaculee Ilibagiza spoke about surviving the Rwandan genocide. She held a rosary throughout her speech, saying that reciting the prayer brought her peace during the months she and several women spent hiding in a small bathroom. Though she was angry and devastated when she learned her family had been killed, she encouraged the teens not to harbor hatred and to always forgive.
When Ilibagiza finished, the entire auditorium gave her a standing ovation.
At the close of the night, Bishop Burbidge led adoration, processing with the monstrance throughout the crowd. The thousands knelt on the concrete as the smell of incense wafted up to the rafters.
"The other reason I love (Life is VERY Good) is adoration, being there with God," Hotalen told the Arlington Catholic Herald, the diocesan newspaper. "This is an amazing rally."
Prior to the March for Life, Bishop Burbidge was the celebrant and homilist at Mass the morning of Jan. 24 at EagleBank Arena. More than 5,000 people attended, including dozens of priests and bishops.
— Zoey Maraist, Catholic News Service
Marching 'an authentic act of patriotism,' Archbishop says
-
Marching 'an authentic act of patriotism,' Archbishop Broglio says
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Taking part in the March for Life is "an authentic act of patriotism," Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, head of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services, told 5,000 worshippers Jan. 24 in his homily for the closing Mass of the National Vigil for Life.
"Today you and I render a service to the nation we love in an authentic act of patriotism, because we march to attest to the dignity of the human person and the duty of the state to protect and foster that dignity," Archbishop Broglio said. "It is an innate dignity, because the human person is created in the image and likeness of God."
The issues of faith and politics are brought into sharp relief by the Mass' Gospel passage, in which Jesus instructs Pharisees and Herodians who are out to trap him, "Repay to Caesar what is Caesar's, and repay to God what is God's."
"What is the relationship between faith and the political life? What is the role of the church in civil society? Can we as the body of Christ address the problems of everyday life?" Archbishop Broglio asked. "Why does the bishop of Rome send representatives to some 183 nations throughout the world -- including our own?"
"The questions are valid," he acknowledged. "Every time a bishop or a priest speaks about social justice, we can hear a similar refrain: They are interfering in the political system or attempting to force creedal values in the public sphere."
Still, "let us remember that the believer is charged to be the leaven of the Gospel in our world," Archbishop Broglio said at the Mass, which had the theme "For the Preservation of Peace and Justice."
"At the end of the day when we examine our conscience, we want to be certain that we have given to God what is his. He has placed a law in our hearts and we believe that this natural law must also have its place in our civil society."
Archbishop Broglio said, "Giving to Caesar and to God is not quite as simple as it seems, because our lives are not lived in compartments, but are intermingled in many aspects." He added, "Let us accept, then, as free women and men, the political commitments which are born from the very mission entrusted by God to the human person."
In a lifelong pilgrimage as Christians, he said, "we are responsible for completing that pilgrimage in faithful observance of the commandments. We are also responsible for helping our brothers and sisters complete their pilgrimage in response to the divine will."
Those moments, he noted, may come along the march route should supporters of legal abortion counter the message of March for Life participants.
"Yes, we march to protect the unborn and the aged, but our demonstration of the dignity of the human person extends beyond a single day or a single issue," Archbishop Broglio said. "When you and I treat another with respect -- even if we disagree -- we witness to that person’s dignity."
During the last general intercession of the Mass and Archbishop Broglio's prayer following it, a man began shouting from the back of the basilica, although what he said was having trouble being heard over the amplified voices praying from the sanctuary. The disruption stopped before Archbishop Broglio's prayer had concluded, but the fate of the man doing the shouting could not immediately be determined.
— Mark Pattison, Catholic News Service.
Pope Francis 'has our backs' on pro-life cause
-
Pope Francis 'has our backs' on pro-life cause, says archbishop
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Pope Francis "has our backs" in the pro-life cause, Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, said to applause in his Jan. 23 homily at the opening Mass of the National Vigil for Life.
During an "ad limina" meeting with bishops from Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska the week before, Archbishop Naumann said Pope Francis had told them, "If we do not defend life, no other rights matter."
"The Holy Father said that abortion is first a human rights issue," added Archbishop Naumann in his homily, delivered at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington.
"Pope Francis was aware of the March for Life in the United States and was delighted to know the anticipated large numbers of pilgrims, especially the participation of so many young people," said Archbishop Naumann, who is chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities.
Although the "ad limina" meeting was confidential so that the pope and the bishops could speak freely, Pope Francis "encouraged me -- I dare say, ordered me -- 'Please tell the pilgrims at the March for Life and the entire pro-life community: The pope is with you! He is praying for you!'" the archbishop said.
"God and 14 other bishops are my witnesses that Pope Francis was passionate in support of the church's pro-life efforts. The successor of Peter has our backs."
Archbishop Naumann dwelt mainly in his homily on what he called a "moral 'Twilight Zone,'" based on an episode of the old television science-fiction series in which surgeons worked time and again to repair a young woman's disfigured face through plastic surgery. After the final operation, he recalled, the bandages were removed from the woman's face and she is "stunningly, drop-dead beautiful."
Surprisingly, the surgical team apologizes for their failure. "They remove their own surgical masks revealing their own grotesquely hideous appearance," Archbishop Naumann said. "You begin to realize that in this fictional 'Twilight Zone' world, beautiful is ugly and the hideous is gorgeous."
Such it is with abortion in American society, he asserted. "The killing of one's child is exalted as heroic and brave," he said. "Abortion was described by early feminists Susan B. Anthony and Alice Paul as the ultimate exploitation of women, but in this ethically topsy-turvy twilight zone, it is now hailed as the cornerstone of women’s rights."
He told the worshippers, estimated at 10,000, inside the basilica, "Jesus never promised that discipleship would be easy. He told his first disciples that in order to follow him they must be willing to take up their cross."
Archbishop Naumann added, "In this cultural, moral twilight zone to stand for the sanctity of the lives of unborn children, you may face ridicule and social exclusion. You may be penalized in the academy and workplace."
But he cited "signs of hope," garnering applause when he talked about "our nation’s youth being more pro-life than their parents." Archbishop Naumann said, "There is also reason to hope the United States Supreme Court, which imposed by judicial fiat our current liberal abortion policy, may be poised to return to states a greater ability to protect the lives of unborn children" through the reversal of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that allowed legal abortion virtually on demand.
Archbishop Naumann also heralded the 25th anniversary of St. John Paul II's encyclical "The Gospel of Life," St. John Paul "did not make reference to any 'Twilight Zone' episodes," he noted, but he said in the encyclical, "When conscience, this bright lamp of the soul, calls evil good and good evil, it is already on the path to the most alarming corruption and the darkest moral blindness."
"Freedom separated from truth," Archbishop Naumann warned, "in the end creates a tyrant state that allows and even encourages the disposal of life when it is weakest."
— Mark Pattison, Catholic News Service
Pro-life leaders urged to continue to use their gifts for 'Gospel of Life'
-
Pro-life leaders urged to continue to use their gifts for 'Gospel of Life'
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In closing comments at a Jan. 23 Mass for pro-life leaders, Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, urged the congregation not to let "politicians divide us" and to continue working "however God is calling us to build the kingdom of God."
The archbishop, who is chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities, acknowledged that those who attended the Mass represented fields of academia, health care, social justice and those on the front lines of the pro-life movement and stressed that everyone there in their unique way was "living out the Gospel of Life."
He joked that the congregation of about 100 people who filled the chapel at the Washington Retreat House, near the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, probably thought they were getting a second homily when he urged them to be seated at the end of Mass.
He said he mainly wanted to thank them for the work they do in the pro-life apostolate. He also shared his own experience of his ordination to the priesthood in 1975 when he was asked how he might best use his gifts for the church. At the time, inspired by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and the civil rights movement, he said he wanted to serve in the city.
Nine years later, he finally got the chance to follow this calling when he was assigned to an inner-city parish and also to work with priests serving in pro-life ministry -- ministries that complemented and supported each other, he said.
The archbishop said the annual Mass, sponsored by the USCCB's Committee on Pro-Life Activities prior to the March for Life events, is a "beautiful gathering."
The Mass, at the retreat house run by the Franciscan Sisters of the Atonement, took place as crowds of young people were being dropped off by the busloads at the adjacent St. John Paul II National Shrine and were making their way up the street to the basilica where many were gathering for the vigil Mass the night before March for Life events.
Bishop Joseph L. Coffey, an auxiliary bishop for the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services, gave the homily at the pro-life leadership Mass where he urged the congregation to continue to be steadfast in their ministries, pointing out that by following the examples of the saints they should be willing to die for their beliefs.
"We have to be strong. We will have to make hard decisions," he said, noting that this may cause some to lose friends or close relationships with family members who might say we are "unrealistic or rigid."
"Doctors may lose patience and incomes needed for their families," he said. "But what if any one of us in any profession, including me, is forced by the state to violate our conscience?"
"What are we prepared to face: fines, prison, what about death?" he asked.
The bishop said he believes the Catholic faith has taught us to "be ready to die for our faith."
"Everybody in this ministry knows there is suffering involved," he said, but he added a positive message as well, saying: "There is joy because we know we're doing the right thing as we get ready to march in the March for Life."
— Carol Zimmermann, Catholic News Service
Marchers 'deeply honored' Trump to address pro-life crowd in person
-
Marchers 'deeply honored' Trump to address pro-life crowd in person
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Pro-life supporters are "deeply honored to welcome" President Donald Trump to the 47th annual March for Life Jan. 24 rally in person, said Jeanne Mancini, March for Life president, in a statement late Jan. 22.Trump announced he will speak at the march on the National Mall, becoming the first sitting president in history to do so.
"We are so excited for him to experience in person how passionate our marchers are about life and protecting the unborn," Mancini said.
The news of Trump addressing the pro-life crowd came on the anniversary of the 1973 Supreme Court decisions in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, which legalized abortion on demand across the country. It also was the annual Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children.
"See you on Friday...Big Crowd!" Trump tweeted late Jan. 22. The announcement he would address the march sent a surge of web traffic to the March for Life website, marchforlife.org. The site was down for several hours, march officials said.
Mancini praised Trump and his administration for being "consistent champions for life," from appointing "pro-life judges and federal workers, to cutting taxpayer funding for abortions here and abroad, to calling for an end to late-term abortions."
"We are grateful for all these pro-life accomplishments and look forward to gaining more victories for life in the future," she added.
Last year, Trump addressed the march in a videotaped message from the White House. Vice President Mike Pence was a surprise speaker addressing the crowd in person.
In 2018, Trump's remarks to the March for Life that January were broadcast live from the White House Rose Garden, where he was surrounded by a crowd surrounding that included 20 students from the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota.
He said his administration "will always defend the very first right in the Declaration of Independence, and that is the right to life." Trump praised the pro-lifers for having "such big hearts and tireless devotion to make sure parents have the support they need to choose life."
Over the years, sitting Republican presidents addressed the crowd via an audio or video feed -- Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. Once he was out of office, Reagan even sent a letter of encouragement to the marchers; in a 1991 message, he said the right to life is "not an argument, not a dispute. It is a God-given right.''
President Bill Clinton and President Barack Obama, both Democrats, made news on or near the Roe anniversary in their first year as president by signing an executive order reversing what was known as the "Mexico City policy," which blocked the federal government from providing aid to programs that promote or perform abortion overseas. For both Clinton and Obama, the action came within hours of their inauguration as president, in 1993 and 2009, respectively.
The ban was first instituted by Reagan in 1984. The first President Bush upheld it, and the second President Bush reinstated it when he took office after Clinton. Trump reinstated it when he took office after Obama.
— Julie Asher, Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump credited attendees at the 47th annual March for Life for their commitment to protect the life of unborn and born children.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Pro-life supporters are "deeply honored to welcome" President Donald Trump to the 47th annual March for Life Jan. 24 rally in person, said Jeanne Mancini, March for Life president, in a statement late Jan. 22.