On Jan. 21, 2022, thousands boarded buses, cars, trains and planes to reconvene in Wash., DC. for the 49th annual March for Life. A steady stream of pro-lifers, bundled up against the freezing weather in scarves and coats, processed up Constitution Avenue chanting, praying or simply carrying signs with slogans, such as “A Person’s a Person No Matter How Small.”
Participants in the March for Life join each year in opposition to the Supreme Court ruling on the Roe v. Wade case of Jan. 22, 1973. The Supreme Court decided that a woman could legally abort her baby according to the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment, which states: “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws,” the Constitution explains.
This ruling resulted in the national legalization of abortion, an event which has been hotly contested to this day. One of the goals of participants in the March for Life is for the Supreme Court to overturn this decision to nationally legalize abortion via Roe v. Wade and grant the individual states the ability to make their own decisions regarding abortion’s legality.
Points frequently addressed by both sides of the abortion issue include whether a baby in the womb is legally considered to be a person with rights, whether the mother has the right to have an abortion, and how to best assist mothers with unplanned pregnancies. Advocates of abortion support Planned Parenthood Clinics as a way for mothers to end their pregnancies, while the pro-life movement supports Crisis Pregnancy Centers which offer counseling and assistance to mothers with difficult pregnancies.
The March for Life carried special significance this year as those on both sides of the abortion issue anxiously await a summer 2022 decision from the Supreme Court concerning the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health case which will either overturn or uphold the Roe v. Wade decision, potentially putting abortion’s legality back into the hands of the states.
Sources: NPR, NBC News, Constitution.congress.gov