By Kate Scanlon, OSV News
WASHINGTON (OSV News) — The 2026 National March for Life theme is “Life is a Gift,” The March for Life Education and Defense Fund announced Sept. 30.
Jennie Bradley Lichter, who became president of the March for Life earlier this year, noted the group chooses a theme each year for the annual pro-life march in Washington as “an opportunity to focus our attention on a key message or a timely element of the prolife mission.”
“We’re now at a critical moment in our country where the march for life and what we stand for is more important than ever,” Lichter told reporters at a launch event, adding, “This year, with this theme, we really want to speak to the heart.”
“It is really a moment for boldness,” she added.
In response to a question about whether they anticipate speakers from the White House or Congress, Lichter joked that “politicians never make commitments this far ahead of time.” But she said the event is “a go-to political stage,” citing a video message from President Donald Trump at the 2025 event and in-person remarks then from Vice President JD Vance, as well as messages from House Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“Just knowing the baseline that all of these folks have been engaged in the past, we’re fully anticipating robust engagement this year, too,” she said.
Lichter also cited the recent murder of Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and Turning Point USA founder, arguing its aftermath shows that “young people are looking for opportunities to come together, to hear the truth spoken boldly and persuasively, to recover the fundamental goodness of family life, and to help to hear people speak into that, to be affirmed in their desire for children as something that’s fundamentally good, and to hear people witnessing to what’s good and true and beautiful.”
“That’s my diagnosis of our moment,” she said. “The March for Life offers all of these.”
After his death, Kirk received praise from his allies in conservative politics for his willingness to debate and his advocacy for their cause. However, in discussions about his legacy, his critics also pointed to his controversial political rhetoric on subjects including race, persons experiencing same-sex attraction or gender dysphoria, and immigrants.
In response to a question about whether Kirk’s death, amid other recent instances of political violence — which also include assassination attempts against Trump, but also the murders of Minnesota House of Representatives Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, and the firebombing of the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion, which is being investigated as the attempted murder of Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro — has changed the event’s security planning, Lichter emphasized the group is committed to working with law enforcement to ensure the security of speakers and attendees.
“Our baseline is security upon security upon security, to make the site secure,” Lichter stressed.
“We will be — as we’ve done with our state marches — taking a close look at our existing security plan and working really closely with our law enforcement partners to ensure that every base is covered,” she said. “But we have every confidence in the world, and the folks that we work with in law enforcement, who know this event very well, they’re committed to it. They’ve worked with us for many years, and I think that will continue.”
Organizers of the March for Life describe it as the nation’s largest annual human rights demonstration.
The 53rd annual National March for Life is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. A pre-rally concert will feature the Christian band Sanctus Real, Lichter said, and the Friends of Club 21 Choir, which is comprised of individuals with Down syndrome, will lead the national anthem at the event.
Georgetown University Right to Life will carry the banner at the start of the March.
Lichter said the group is also launching a “Marchers’ Stories Project” where they will seek video submissions from participants to document the group’s history.
Kate Scanlon is a national reporter for OSV News covering Washington. Follow her on X @kgscanlon.
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