WASHINGTON, D.C. — Tens of thousands of pro-life advocates descended on the March for Life demonstrating their strong motivation to give witness to the importance of protecting the right to life for the unborn. This year's march stressed the theme "Life is a Gift," but the event also showed visible cracks emerging in the movement's political vision and frustration with the Trump administration.
For Catholics attending the march from all corners of the U.S., the motivations were as strong as ever.
At St. Jude Parish in Waltham, Massachusetts, the bus ride of 30 parishioners of all ages is "a real pilgrimage," parochial vicar Jeremy St. Martin, who leads it, told OSV News. The bus left on Jan. 22, arriving 22 hours later -- praying the Liturgy of the Hours along the way -- at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington at 8 a.m. on Jan. 23, the day of the March for Life.
"We don't stop for breakfast or anything. Everyone knows it's a pilgrimage," he said.
Hallie Millerbernd, a senior nursing student at the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota, told OSV News this is her third March for Life. The multi-bus pilgrimage from there takes 60 nonstop hours, making it a real test of endurance.
She said the sight of "thousands of people of all ages carrying signs with different colored hats, singing songs and chanting" inspired her. "It also showed me that there was hope for change and that there was a large movement against abortion."
Ruby Galatolo, who came to Washington from the Diocese of Orlando, Florida, said she has tried to come every year since her first march in 2010. The experience was a turning point in her life, seeing "so many young people here so happy and hopeful."
Gatalolo said she "never imagined that I would see the day when Roe v. Wade would be overturned," referring to the Supreme Court's 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision that returned the issue of abortion to lawmakers.
"Of course, there is still a long way to go," she said, adding that she continues to hope that ultimately abortion would become a thing of the past.
The Catholic Church was also strongly represented in Jan. 22-23 vigil events held around the 53rd March for Life, with thousands attending the National Prayer Vigil for Life held at the national basilica in Washington, the Life Fest event put on by the Knights of Columbus and Sisters of Life in nearby Oxon Hill, Maryland, and the Life is VERY Good hosted by the Diocese of Arlington at the EagleBank Arena in Fairfax.
In his homily at the National Prayer Vigil for Life's closing Mass Jan. 23, Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley, who, with the exception of the COVID limitations in 2021, has been to every March for Life since the first one in 1974, exhorted participants to "look for opportunities to be apostles of life building a civilization of love and ethic of care."
"We're here today to proclaim life is a gift. It's a precious gift from a loving God," said Cardinal O'Malley, archbishop emeritus of Boston. "Together we can protect and nurture that gift of life ... The antidote to abortion is love, love manifest in community, compassion and solidarity."
Sister of Life Faustina Maria Pia told OSV News that she hoped the young people at Life Fest -- which featured musical performances, Eucharistic adoration, a Eucharistic procession, Mass, confession and testimonies -- would realize the gift of their own life.
"Today is a day that we really want to make a strong impact on our nation, to witness to this beautiful sanctity of human life," she said of the event. "There's no more powerful way than to pray."
At the March for Life rally itself, March for Life president Jennie Bradley Lichter reminded the crowd that what has "saved so many lives and moved countless hearts" on the abortion issue over the years is the marchers' "unfailing hope," their "love for the littlest ones and for moms who need a hand," their joy and "the sheer number of you who are here year after year."
At the beginning of the rally, Lichter introduced the "Friends of Club 21" choir, a group of teens and young adults with Down syndrome, to sing the national anthem. She said the group embodied the theme of the march.
But this year's March event showed that amid the cultural unity, there was political fraying within the pro-life movement itself.
Lichter herself introduced Vice President JD Vance, who spoke in person at the rally, while President Donald Trump gave a video message reminding attendees of his role in helping overturn Roe v. Wade -- "the greatest victory in its history" -- and thanking "every single one of you who's out on this winter day, a beautiful day -- but it's winter, nevertheless -- to stand up for the unborn."
However, while Lichter praised the administration's pro-life policies, it was Vance who brought up "the elephant in the room," which he called "a fear" that "not enough progress has been made."
Various pro-life advocates and groups had begun to raise criticism of the second Trump administration, following a string of pro-life disappointments, such as Trump's recent comments to House Republicans telling them to be "flexible" on the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits public funding of elective abortions, in negotiations on health care subsidies.
Vance touted the administration's past accomplishments, citing actions including expanded conscience protection for health care workers, and "policies that make family life possible," such as "Trump accounts," government-backed savings accounts for newborns under the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act."
He also mentioned the recent announcement from him and his wife, Usha Vance, that they are expecting their fourth child, noting in his remarks last year, "I told you all one of the things I most wanted in the United States of America was more families and more babies."
"So let the record show you have a vice president who practices what he preaches," he said.
Vance's speech was generally well received by the crowd, but some attendees chanted "Ban the abortion pill." Several national pro-life groups have called on the Trump-Vance administration to roll back the Biden administration's actions on mifepristone, a pill commonly but not exclusively used for early abortion, to the regulations in place during the previous Trump-Pence administration. But the administration has not delivered on this, while approving a new generic form of the pill.
Vance, however, argued that the pro-life movement was better off today than it was 10 years ago, when Trump was first elected, and there would be disagreements within the movement about how best to achieve their goals.
But, in the hours following Vance's speech, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, an organization that works to elect pro-life candidates to office, issued a statement rebuking his assertion by pointing out the comparison "reveals a harsh reality."
"The clearest measure of whether the pro-life movement is winning or losing is the number of abortions occurring each year," said Marjorie Dannenfelser, the group's president. "According to the latest statistics, there are at least 1.1 million abortions occurring in America annually post-Roe. This compares to 874,000 abortions in 2016 -- a 30% increase."
"Because of the indispensable role President Trump played in the overturning of Roe, we have the opportunity to save lives and serve women," she said. "But it is because of the inaction of the Trump-Vance administration on abortion drugs that this opportunity isn't being realized -- and abortions are going up, not down."
The March for Life rally dais featured exclusively Republican political leaders, who touted their legislative accomplishments while criticizing Democratic lawmakers on abortion. No identifiable pro-life Democrats were among the rally's featured speakers -- a visible departure from March for Life rallies of previous years.
Among those accomplishments were two pieces of legislation that passed in the House of Representatives Jan. 21 and 22, and will be taken up by the Senate: The Pregnant Students' Rights Act, which would require colleges and universities that participate in federal student aid programs to provide both prospective and current students with information on rights and resources for carrying a baby to term while enrolled, and The Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act. The latter bill would allow states to use low-income support funds for pregnancy centers that support protecting the life of the mother and her unborn child, and that offer services such as pregnancy testing, prenatal and pregnancy education, counseling, diapers, baby clothes and other material resources.
Pro-life Democrats, in partnership with Rehumanize International and the Consistent Life Network, did have their own event at the National Press Club in Washington before the March for Life, unfolding their own legislative vision called the "Legislating for Human Dignity" campaign. Among the policy proposals the group backs was the Supporting Healthy Moms and Babies Act, a bipartisan initiative with draft legislation introduced in both the House and Senate that would make birth free -- eliminating cost-sharing for prenatal care, labor and delivery, and postpartum care.
Shortly before the final prayer and sending off the thousands gathered to march and advocate for life, Lichter said she had a message from an early alumnus of the March for Life who could not be with them due to an overseas work commitment: Pope Leo XIV.
She read the pope's letter to the march's participants, imparting his papal blessing and assuring them "of my spiritual closeness as you gather for this eloquent public witness to affirm that the protection of the right to life constitutes the indispensable foundation of every other human right."
After the final prayer, marchers -- armed with a variety of signs with pro-life slogans -- exited the rally space on the National Mall to walk through Washington's streets to the steps of the Supreme Court building.
— Peter Jesserer Smith, OSV News
Vance tells March for Life they have an 'ally' in the White House amid Hyde, abortion pill concerns
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Vance tells March for Life they have an 'ally' in the White House amid Hyde, abortion pill concerns
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Vice President JD Vance told participants at the 53rd annual March for Life in Washington Jan. 23 that President Donald Trump is their "ally" in the White House, amid concerns from some in the pro-life movement about remaining policy priorities just over a year into Trump's second term in the White House.
During his comments, Vance mentioned the recent announcement from him and his wife, Usha Vance, that they are expecting their fourth child.
"Now, some of you may remember that in my remarks last year, I told you all one of the things I most wanted in the United States of America was more families and more babies," Vance said. "So let the record show you have a vice president who practices what he preaches."
In his comments in person at the rally to marchers, Vance acknowledged "the elephant in the room," which he called "a fear" that "not enough progress has been made, not enough that happened on the political arena, that that we're not going fast enough, that our politics have failed to answer the clarion call to life that this charge represents, and that all of us, I believe, hold in our hearts."
"I want you to know that I hear you, and that I understand there will inevitably be debates within this movement," Vance continued. "We love each other, and we're going to have open conversations about how best we use our political system to advance life, how prudential we must be in the cause of advancing human life. I think these are good, honest and natural debates, and frankly, they're not just good for all of you. They help keep people like me honest, and that's an important thing."
The comments from Vance, and from Trump, who addressed the rally by video message, came as some pro-life leaders criticized Trump's recent comments to House Republicans telling them to be "flexible" on the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits public funding of elective abortions, in negotiations on health care subsidies — to the disappointment of pro-life groups that have long supported that policy.
Pro-life leaders have also objected to a September decision by the Food and Drug Administration, which operates under the Department of Health and Human Services, to approve Evita Solutions' generic version of mifepristone, a pill commonly but not exclusively used for early abortion. The drug's approval came despite previous indications from FDA and HHS officials that mifepristone would undergo a safety review. On its website, Evita Solutions calls mifepristone "an effective, safe way to terminate early pregnancy." It was also the second time a Trump administration approved a generic pill for abortion, which it did in 2019.
But Vance told the crowd, "You have an ally in the White House."
"It is why he is talking to the pro-life cause and why we do it in this administration, and it's why three years ago, we cannot forget he delivered in his Supreme Court justices delivered, the most important Supreme Court decision of my lifetime," Vance said in reference to the Supreme Court's 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision, which overturned the court's previous abortion precedent, including Roe v. Wade.
Vance said, "Our administration has worked very hard to lead that effort and to pick up the pieces, to clean up the wreckages of five decades of bad policy on the question of life," citing actions including expanded conscience protection for healthcare workers, and "policies that make family life possible," such as "Trump accounts," government-backed savings accounts for children under the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act."
During Vance's speech, some attendees chanted, "Ban the abortion pill!" Several national pro-life groups have called on the Trump-Vance administration to roll back the Biden administration's actions on mifepristone to the regulations in place during the previous Trump-Pence administration.
During his 2022 U.S. Senate bid, Vance, a Catholic, said he supported a federal 15-week abortion ban -- a measure potentially affecting nearly 6% of abortions in the U.S. But in the days leading up to his selection as the Republican vice presidential nominee, Vance moderated his position on abortion, aligning with Trump's stated position that abortion policy should be left to the states. Vance also confirmed Trump, as president, would oppose a federal abortion ban if Congress passed such a law.
In a 2024 interview with NBC News, Vance called Trump's approach to abortion "pragmatic" and said he also supported mifepristone "being accessible." Although mifepristone can be used in early miscarriage care protocols, Vance did not qualify his statement.
Nearly 9 out of 10 abortions take place within the first trimester, with more than six of 10 abortions performed through a combination of mifepristone and misoprostol.
But in his pre-recorded comments recorded from the White House, Trump said that with the Dobbs decision the pro-life movement "won the greatest victory in his history."
"I want to thank every single one of you who's out on this winter day, a beautiful day, but it's winter, nevertheless, to stand up for the unborn," Trump said.
After Trump's video, Jennie Bradley Lichter, president of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund, said in remarks at the rally, "Thank you to our president for all of the pro-life victories he's delivered in his first five years in office so far. We are looking forward to many more in the next few years."
During comments at the rally, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said it was a historic moment for the pro-life movement to "have the White House, the Senate, and the House all working together to enact meaningful and historic pro life victories."
"We measure our success on the number of lives we save and the lives we improve and uplift, of common sense, life, confirming policy," Johnson said.
However, multiple studies show that since the Dobbs decision, the abortion rate in the U.S. has increased rather than decreased, despite bans in some states. According to Guttmacher, a research firm that tracks numbers for the abortion industry, abortion reached 1.04 million in 2024, up from 874,000 in 2016, which was the last year of consistent decline before numbers started rising again.
The annual March for Life, which calls itself the "largest annual human rights demonstration in the world," takes place on or around the anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade, which previously legalized abortion nationwide. This year's event marks the fourth march since the high court overturned Roe and related abortion precedent in its 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision.
— Kate Scanlon, OSV News
Vigil for Life summons Catholics to be apostles of 'a civilization of love'
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Vigil for Life summons Catholics to be apostles of 'a civilization of love'
WASHINGTON, D.C. — While continuing to work to change laws to protect the unborn and support pregnant women in need, "we need to redouble our efforts to continue building, in the words of St. John Paul II, 'a culture of life and a civilization of love,'" Bishop James D. Conley of Lincoln, Nebraska, said Jan. 22."We need to continue to pray and work to change hearts," he said in his homily at the opening Mass of the annual National Prayer Vigil for Life Jan. 22-23, preceding the March for Life, which takes place Jan. 23 this year.
Jan. 22 is also observed by Catholics in the U.S. as the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children. The date recalls the U.S. Supreme Court's Jan. 22, 1973, decisions in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, which legalized abortion nationwide as a constitutional right until the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision.
"As it has often been said that in the end, 'The measure of a society is how well it treats its weakest members,'" Bishop Conley said. "Only God can change hearts, but we know that God listens and answers the prayers of his people."
The bishop had a special message for the hundreds of young people -- from grade school to high school to college -- in the congregation of about 6,500, who filled to overflowing the Upper Church of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington.
"My dear young people, you are the pro-life generation," he said. "I have said to young people in my diocese, young people of your generation, that I firmly believe that 50 years from now, when my generation will have gone to God, your grandchildren will ask you, 'Is it true that when you were my age, they put children to death in the womb?'"
"Our goal is not only to make abortion illegal. Our goal is to make abortion unthinkable!" he said.
Bishop Conley, the principal celebrant, thanked Bishop Daniel E. Thomas of Toledo, Ohio, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities, for inviting him to say the Mass. The concelebrants included three cardinals, 21 bishops and 133 priests. Thirty-three deacons and 260 seminarians also attended.
The three cardinals were Cardinal Robert E. McElroy of Washington, Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, and Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley, retired archbishop of Boston, who was the celebrant and homilist of the vigil's closing Mass the following morning.
In his words of welcome, Cardinal McElroy thanked the thousands of pilgrims, "especially the young people," who traveled "far and wide," to come to pray and witness to the dignity of human life from conception to natural death.
Cardinal Pierre read a message from Pope Leo XIV to this year's March for Life participants. The pope expressed his "heartfelt appreciation" to march participants and his deep gratitude for their "eloquent public witness."
Quoting his Jan. 9 address to Holy See-accredited diplomats, the pope assured the marchers "of my spiritual closeness as you gather for this eloquent public witness to affirm that 'the protection of the right to life constitutes the indispensable foundation of every other human right.'"
In his homily, Bishop Conley referenced that papal address to the diplomats, "confirming the importance of abortion as the preeminent priority" and emphasizing that the right to life "the condition for all other human rights."
"The U.S. bishops also teach that abortion is the preeminent issue of our day for several reasons," the bishop said, including the fact that it is "a direct and intentional destruction of human life at its most fundamental level."
"The sheer number of lives lost through abortion, more than a million each year, is catastrophic," he added. "Imagine if there were over a million murders each year through gun violence? Would we tolerate that?"
Bishop Conley said that the bishops also teach there are other very "grave threats to the life and dignity of the human person, including euthanasia, gun violence, terrorism, the death penalty, and human trafficking."
"There is also the redefinition of marriage and gender, threats to religious freedom at home and abroad, lack of justice for the poor, the suffering of migrants and refugees, wars and famines around the world, racism, the need for greater access to healthcare and education, care for our common home, and more" he said, quoting the introductory note of the U.S. bishops' document "Forming Consciences for Catholic Citizenship."
"But our brothers and sisters in the womb are the most vulnerable and voiceless victims," Bishop Conley emphasized. "In most other cases of injustice, those who are threatened can speak out for themselves and have at least some powers to defend themselves, some form of advocacy."
He hailed the fact that the Supreme Court, in its 2022 Dobbs decision, overturned Roe and returned the issue of abortion to the states. He praised voters in his own state of Nebraska for passing a ballot initiative on Nov. 5, 2024, to amend the state constitution to ban elective abortions in the second and third trimesters, extending legal protection to the approximately one in 10 babies that are aborted annually in these later stages of pregnancy.
But he lamented the fact that "there are still over a million abortions each year in our country -- mostly through chemical and non-surgical means."
Bishop Conley said that "no matter what happens politically, we -- as Catholics -- must always be here to lovingly serve women and to help them welcome new life." He said one way the Church does that is through the Walking with Moms in Need initiative, through which participating Catholic parishes around the country provide services, support "and accompaniment to vulnerable pregnant and parenting mothers."
The Church also "does not abandon those who have chosen abortion," he said. "As pastors, we witness firsthand the wounds women and men endure after ending the life of their child," he said and pointed to Project Rachel Ministry and its post-abortion outreach.
Bishop Conley said that he has been coming to "this Vigil Mass and to the March for Life, off and on, ever since my days in the seminary, just up the road at Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland."
"Each year it's like a shot in the arm to be with so many of you," he continued, "particularly you young people, who share a passion and joy for the gift of life and who want to build a 'culture of life and civilization of love,' where babies are protected in their mother's womb, and women are, loved and cared for when they find themselves faced with very difficult and life-changing decisions."
The closing Mass at the basilica early Jan. 23 served as a send-off for those heading across town to the March for Life. In his homily, Cardinal O'Malley, the principal celebrant, called it "a joy and a privilege to gather on this new day to give thanks for life and to March for Life."
"This is a pilgrimage for life and it begins with prayer here in Mary's shrine," said the cardinal, who, with the exception of the COVID limitations in 2021, has been to every March for Life since the first one in 1974.
"We're here today to proclaim life is a gift. It's a precious gift from a loving God," he continued. "Together we can protect and nurture that gift of life; we must look for opportunities to be apostles of life building a civilization of love and ethic of care."
He said that "if we aspire to overcome abortion in our world, we must commit ourselves to helping mothers especially those with a difficult pregnancy and challenging circumstances," with programs such as Walking with Moms in Need initiative and Project Rachel, echoing Bishop Conley in his opening Mass homily.
Jesus Christ came into the world "as a baby so that we might have life and have it abundantly," Cardinal O'Malley said. "Life, abundant is life sustained by grace. The antidote to abortion is love, love manifest in community, compassion and solidarity.
"Life is a gift. Every person is a gift. Every person counts. All are important. Your mission is to work so that no child will be left behind, every baby will be welcomed, loved, cared for, nurtured and protected. Thank God for the gift of life, thank God for love, thank God for you."
— Julie Asher, OSV News
Pope Leo sends 'warm greetings,' apostolic blessing to March for Life participants
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Pope Leo sends 'warm greetings,' apostolic blessing to March for Life participants
VATICAN — On the eve of the 2026 March for Life in Washington, Pope Leo XIV issued a message to participants, expressing his deep gratitude for their "eloquent public witness" and imparting his apostolic blessing.
"I send warm greetings to those of you participating in the 2026 March for Life," said the pope in a message released by the Holy See Jan. 22, observed by Catholics in the U.S. as the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children.
On Jan. 23, tens of thousands are set to rally in the nation's capital for the gathering, which has been held annually since 1974 to protest the broad legalization of abortion under the prior year's Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton Supreme Court decisions.
The march has continued following the Supreme Court's 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which overturned the Roe and Doe rulings and returned the issue of abortion from the federal to the state level.
In his message, the pope expressed his "heartfelt appreciation" to march participants.
Quoting his Jan. 9 address to Holy See-accredited diplomats, the pope assured the marchers "of my spiritual closeness as you gather for this eloquent public witness to affirm that 'the protection of the right to life constitutes the indispensable foundation of every other human right.'
"Indeed, 'a society is healthy and truly progresses only when it safeguards the sanctity of human life and works actively to promote it,'" said Pope Leo, continuing to quote his Jan. 9 address.
He encouraged participants, "especially the young people, to continue striving to ensure that life is respected in all of its stages through appropriate efforts at every level of society, including dialogue with civil and political leaders."
Referring to Christ's promise in Matthew 28:20, Pope Leo said, "May Jesus, who promised to be with us always … accompany you today as you courageously and peacefully march on behalf of unborn children.
"By advocating for them, please know that you are fulfilling the Lord's command to serve him in the least of our brothers and sisters," said the pope, highlighting Jesus' words in Matthew 25:31-46.
"With these sentiments I entrust all of you, as well as those who support you with their prayers and sacrifices, to the intercession of Mary Immaculate, Patroness of the United States of America, and I gladly impart my Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of abundant heavenly graces," said Pope Leo.
— Gina Christian, OSV News
WASHINGTON, D.C. — While continuing to work to change laws to protect the unborn and support pregnant women in need, "we need to redouble our efforts to continue building, in the words of St. John Paul II, 'a culture of life and a civilization of love,'" Bishop James D. Conley of Lincoln, Nebraska, said Jan. 22.