Tens of thousands of pro-life advocates descended on the nation’s capital for the 53rd March for Life and similar events Jan. 22-24, 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.”
For Catholics from the Diocese of Camden attending the march, the motivations were as strong as ever.
“This march felt particularly powerful as a Gen Z person, knowing that a third of my generation is missing due to abortion,” said Trisha Ladzenski, a freshman at Rowan University, Glassboro. “It was incredible to see Gen Z standing up for life in order to stop the next generation from experiencing the same level of loss that we’ve suffered.”
Ladzenski was one of 15 students from the university’s Catholic Campus Ministry to attend the March for Life on Jan. 23 along with the campus minister, Kari Janisse, and Father Thomas Piro, chaplain and parochial vicar of Glassboro’s Saint Bridget University Parish. Buses sponsored by the Knights of Columbus also brought diocesan clergy and parishioners to Washington for the event.
Donovan Kenny is president of the Catholic Campus Ministry and chairman of its pro-life ministry.
“It was amazing to see thousands of people from all around the country come together to stand up for life,” the senior said. “I left the march filled with hope that one day we can live in a country where all life is treated equally.”
Such was among the messages of Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley, who preached the homily for the National Prayer Vigil for Life’s closing Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
“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. “The antidote to abortion is love, love manifest in community, compassion and solidarity.”
Cardinal O’Malley, with the exception of the COVID limitations in 2021, has been to every March for Life since the first one in 1974. He urged march participants to “look for opportunities to be apostles of life building a civilization of love and ethic of care.”
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.”
Lichter 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 healthcare 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.”
The March for Life rally dais featured exclusively Republican political leaders, who touted their legislative accomplishments.
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.
Catholic Star Herald staff reporting contributed to this article.
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