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PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.marchforlife.org/ |
Date | Every year since January 22, 1974 (anniversary of Roe v. Wade). |
Location | Washington, D.C. |
Website |
The March for Life is an annual pro-life rally protesting abortion, held in Washington, D.C., on or around the anniversary of the United States Supreme Court's decision legalizing abortion in the case Roe v. Wade. The march is organized by the March for Life Education and Defense Fund. The overall goal of the march is to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision. The 38th annual March for Life occurred on Monday, January 24, 2011—instead of the usual January 22—because Congress is not in session on weekends. The 2013 march was moved to January 25, 2013, to accommodate the Presidential Inauguration. The March for Life typically previously drew around 250,000 attendees each year, with attendance increasing over the past few years.
The march has previously drawn around 250,000 people annually since 2003, though estimates put both the 2011 and 2012 attendances at 400,000 each. The 2013 March for Life drew an estimated 650,000 people.
History
The first March for Life, which was founded by Nellie Gray, was held on January 22, 1974, on the West Steps of the Capitol, with an estimated 20,000 supporters in attendance.
During the 33rd annual March for Life in 2006, the nomination of Judge Samuel A. Alito to the Supreme Court caused a major positive shift, because of the expectation that Alito would "win Senate approval and join a majority in overturning Roe."
Around the time of the 35th annual March for Life in 2008, a Guttmacher Institute report was released, which revealed that the number of abortions performed in the United States dropped to 1.2 million in 2005. This was the lowest level of abortions since 1976. Although this seemed like a victory, many march participants stressed that the figures were not a large enough decline. Many marchers said they would not stop protesting until abortions were illegal.
During the 2009 March for Life, the threat of passage by the 111th United States Congress of the Freedom of Choice Act—a bill that would "codify Roe v. Wade" by declaring a fundamental right to abortion and lifting many restrictions on abortion—served as a key rallying point, because pro-lifers worried that the legislation would eliminate certain abortion restrictions like parental notification for minors and repeal the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act.
From year to year, phrases on signs at the march have included “We Choose Life”, “End Abortion Now”, “Your Mom Chose Life”, “Give Life, Don’t Take It”, "Stop Abortion Now",“Defend Life”, “Women Deserve Better Than Abortion”, “Michigan Loves Our Pro-Life President”, “Respect Life, Diocese of Pittsburgh”, “Abortion Kills”, “Stop Unborn Child Abuse”, and “Equal Rights for Unborn Women”. Others compared abortions to “Hitler's Holocaust”. Many sing and chant phrases such as “Pro-choice, that's a lie, babies never choose to die!”
Itinerary
The March for Life proceedings begin around noon. They typically consist of a rally at the National Mall near Fourth Street. It is followed by a march which travels down Constitution Avenue NW, turns right at First Street and then ends on the steps of the Supreme Court of the United States, where another rally is held. Many protesters start the day by delivering roses and lobbying members of Congress.
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March for Life crowd shot of the beginning of the march in Washington, D.C. taken January 22, 2009. This year's weather was 42 degrees and clear, bringing crowds in the tens of thousands, according to the Associated Press and upward of 420,000 (estimated by American Life League’s crowd counters).[citation needed] |
Attendance
From 2003 to 2009, the March for Life brought in around 250,000 attendees each year. However, the events of the past few years have drawn in more people, with 2011's event bringing in up to 400,000 protestors. The 2013 March for Life drew an estimated 650,000 people.
Approximately 5,000 participated in the 14th annual march in 1987, despite a snowstorm. Many teenagers and college students attend the march each year, typically traveling with church/youth groups. Washington Post columnist Robert McCartney estimated that about half of the marchers are under age 30.
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Orthodox clergy and laity at the March for Life in 2012. |
Notable speakers
Notable speakers at the rally in front of the Capitol before the march have included PresidentGeorge W. Bush, Alveda King (niece of Martin Luther King Jr.), and the parents of Terri Schiavo. There are typically several members of Congress who speak at the march.
George W. Bush was out of town during six consecutive marches (2000–2006) during his tenure. However, he spoke via telephone line amplified by loudspeakers. In 2004, he thanked participants for their “devotion to such a noble cause” from Roswell, New Mexico. During his telephone addresses, he tended to speak broadly of opposing abortion as opposed to offering any specific efforts being made to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision.
Ronald Reagan was also known to deliver telephone addresses to the march crowds. At the 14th annual march in 1987, he vowed to help “end this national tragedy". Jesse Helms, then Senator of North Carolina, also spoke at the 14th annual rally. He called abortion an “American holocaust".
At the 30th annual march in 2003, speakers included Representative Chris Smith, Republican of New Jersey, and Randall Terry, the founder of Operation Rescue. In his speech, Terry targeted the youth in the audience, calling them to “fight for all you're worth."
At the 31st annual march in 2004, 15 lawmakers, all Republican, spoke. Many of them stressed the importance of backing and voting for only candidates whose platform supported antiabortion in the November elections. Among the lawmakers who spoke were Representatives Todd Tiahrtof Kansas, and Patrick J. Toomey of Pennsylvania. Tiahrt, who also spoke at the 30th annual march, urged marchers to “help pro-lifers in your state”; Toomey supported these remarks, saying to vote for pro-life candidates in order to reclaim the Senate and, in turn, the courts.
At the 33rd annual march in 2006, Representative Steve Chabot, an Ohio Republican and prominent pro-life advocate in the United States House of Representatives, spoke to the masses on overturning Roe v. Wade. He stated that what he called the killing of millions of babies should be "sufficient justification for overruling that awful case". Nellie Gray, the founder of March for Life, spoke of "feminist abortionists", foretelling that the United States would hold them accountable for their actions in trials equivalent to the Nuremberg Trials.
At the 36th annual march in 2009, approximately 20 Congressmen spoke. They talked about the "challenges pro-life advocates face under the Obama administration". Specific speakers at the 36th annual included Representative F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., Wisconsin Republican and former chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and Gray.
President Barack Obama was asked by Nellie Gray to speak at the 36th annual march, but he did not attend. Instead, he released a statement supporting abortion rights. He said that abortion represents a broad principle: "government should not intrude on our most private family matters".
Notable speakers at the 38th annual march in 2011 included House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, and several other members of Congress.
Speakers at the 40th March for Life in 2013 included Speaker of the United States House of Representatives John Boehner (via a pre-recorded video address), former United States Senator and candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination Rick Santorum, as well as other members of Congress.
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Youth rally and mass at the Verizon Center. January 23, 2006. |
Media attention
March for Life has received relatively little media attention over the years. The typical coverage consists of a “story with a tiny little comment from one individual marcher”, Gray has said. The 36th annual march in 2009, which brought in very little media coverage, was just two days after President Barack Obama's inauguration, which brought in swarms of media representatives. The 40th annual march in 2013, which brought in 650,000 people, after 54,559,615 abortions since Roe v. Wade saw that The New York Times ignored the march for the fifth consecutive year in its print edition, whereas The Associated Press institutionalizes its bias for the protesters by keeping in its style manual that journalists should “use anti-abortion instead of pro-life and abortion rights instead of pro-abortion or pro-choice,” according to The Associated Press (AP) Stylebook’s 44th edition.
To counter the relative lack of media coverage, one of the March for Life's supporters, the Family Research Council, organized a “Blogs for Life” conference in Washington, D.C. The main goal of the conference was to “bring pro-life bloggers together to talk over strategies” for securing more effective media coverage and advancing anti-abortion issues. Such strategies include securing media coverage through legislative means or by tapping into new media outlets.
Associated events
Various pro-life organizations hold events before and after the March. Such events include a Luau for Life at Georgetown University and a candlelight vigil at the Supreme Court. In addition, the March for Life Education and Defense Fund hosts a dinner each year.
Eastern Orthodox events
The Orthodox presence at the March for Life is a long one with representation from many jurisdictions every year. The evening before the March, there is often at least one Vespers service at a local D.C. church. During the March there is a Panakhida for the Unborn performed along the way. Seminarians from Christ the Saviour Seminary, Holy Cross Seminary, St. Tikhon's Orthodox Seminary, and St. Vladimir's Orthodox Seminary are invariably in attendance along with their families, hierarchs, clergy, and monastics from all over the country. Metropolitan Jonah of Washington (Orthodox Church in America) has been a speaker at the pre-March invocations in recent years. The Carpatho-Russian Diocese and Greek Archdiocese also have a strong connection to the March for Life and have been at the forefront of the pro-life movement. Metropolitan Nicholas of Amissos (American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese) was a constant presence during his episcopate dating back to 1987.
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Signs opposing Freedom of Choice Act (2009) |
Roman Catholic events
Preceding the March for Life, there are several Masses; two of which are celebrated at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception as well as the Verizon Center in Chinatown. The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington hosts a Youth Rally and Mass every year at the Verizon Center, attended by approximately 20,000 young people, where a message from the Pope is relayed.
In 2009, the apostolic nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Pietro Sambri, read Pope Benedict XVI's message, which told attendants that he was “deeply grateful” for the youths'"outstanding annual witness for the gospel of life". In 2008, the Pope's message thanked attendants for “promoting respect for the dignity and inalienable rights of every human being.” In 2011, an event parallel to the Verizon Center event was held at the D.C. Armory; a total of over 27,000 young people attended the events.
In response to a growing number of pilgrims traveling to the area for the March for Life, in 2009 the Roman Catholic Diocese of Arlington began to host the “Life is VERY Good” Evening of Prayer, the night before the March. In 2013, a Morning Mass and Rally (preceding the March for Life) was added and held at the Patriot Center on the campus of George Mason University, including Arlington Bishop Paul Loverde and more than 100 bishops and priests from across the nation. Life is VERY Good, which began with 350 participants in 2009, gathered in excess of 12,000 between its two events, held before and after the March, in 2013.
Students for Life conference
Students for Life of America, the largest association of pro-life groups or clubs on college campuses, holds an annual conference for pro-life youth on the week of the march, generally the Saturday after the 22nd of January. Attendance at the conference has exploded in recent years according to Kristan Hawkins, president of SFLA, who announced at the 2010 conference that attendance has gone from about 400 in 2007 to over 1,200 in 2010; in 2011, there were 1,800 attendees.
Virtual March for Life
In 2010, Americans United for Life launched an online virtual March. Pro-lifers unable to attend the event in person could create avatars of themselves and take part in a virtual demonstration on a Google Maps version of the Washington Mall. The online event attracted approximately 75,000 participants.
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Personhood Now! banner in front of the United States Supreme Court during the 2010 March for Life. |
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DFLA banner at the 2006 March for Life, courtesy of Democrats for Life of America. |
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Pro-life Rabbis (2008) |
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Students from the University of Notre Dame at the March for Life in Washington, D.C.. January 2013 |
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A young girl holds up a pro-life sign at the March for Life in Washinton, D.C. (2013) |