Tens of thousands anti-abortion rights supporters gathered yesterday on the National Mall and marched to the Supreme Court for the annual March for Life to commemorate the 38th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the US. Pro-abortion rights supporters, including activists from the Feminist Majority Foundation, the National Organization for Women (NOW), and the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC), also attended the event to peacefully show their support for sexual health and reproductive rights.
The March for Life was once again dominated by parochial school children, who were bussed into Washington DC from across the country. The Knights of Columbus, a fraternal organization of the Catholic Church, helped to organize the march. Prior to the march, thousands of youth and Roman Catholic priests and bishops gathered at the Verizon Center and the D.C. Armory for the Youth Rally and Mass for Life celebrated by Cardinal Donald Wuerl and hosted by the Archdiocese of Washington DC.
Approximately a dozen anti-abortion rights lawmakers also addressed the March for Life. Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ), the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus Co-Chair who recently introduced the No Tax-Payer Funding for Abortion bill (HR 3) spoke first and “vowed to press forward” on the bill. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) also delivered a speech in which he promised to institute a “permanent government-wide prohibition on taxpayer funding of abortion.” Representative Cantor described the new Republicans in Congress as the “biggest and the most pro-life freshman class in memory.”
