The 51st Annual March for Life: ‘Every Person has Inestimable Dignity and Value’

As I walked through the snowy streets of Washington D.C. this morning, each step brought me closer to where thousands gathered for the 51st annual March for Life. And the closer I got, the louder the songs, cheers, and laughter became. This march wasn’t just a gathering, but a beacon of light shining in a desperate and dark world.

From east to west, America was well represented. Despite the constant flurries, pro-lifers came passionately to the nation’s capital to proclaim that this fight is not over until the “laws reflect the basic truth that all life has value,” insisted Jeanne Mancini, president for the March for Life Education and Defense Fund.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) was one of the first to take the stand and speak. “[This] event is a beautiful picture of America,” he said looking out over the crowd. He explained how our Founding Fathers knew from the beginning that our rights come from God, not the government. As such, “Every person has inestimable dignity and value,” he declared. The Declaration of Independence, as Johnson emphasized, is a document that proclaims all men are created equal. “Not born equal,” he insisted. “Created equal.”

Johnson shared how he was an unplanned pregnancy, and it was just before Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973 that his parents chose life. His story echoed the same truth that many others shared. Two women spoke about their unplanned pregnancies and credited the passionate men and women of local pregnancy centers for choosing life too. As Representative Chris Smith (R-N.J.) said, “Pregnancy centers are an oasis of love.” He expressed that respect, love, and care is what persuades a woman to choose life, and that is at the heart of the pro-life movement.

The message couldn’t be any clearer: Pro-life work matters. As the speakers pointed out, our work is just beginning. There are people out there who need hope. And it’s the pro-life movement that offers it to them. Many in attendance testified to the way this hope has grown over the years — especially since Roe v. Wade was overturned.

Zach Sprouse, a former intern at Family Research Council, attended his third March for Life this year. According to Sprouse, the march has changed significantly since the overturning of Roe. Before, the march was “very determined [and] Roe-focused,” he shared with The Washington Stand. But the following year, after the Dobbs victory, the event was “a celebration and worship with” an emphasis that there’s still much to do.

This year, that same message was reiterated. Ben Watson, former NFL star, explained that even though “Roe is done … the fight for life is not over.” He continued, “[W]e still live in a culture that knows not how to fight for life. … [A]bortion is still legal and thriving in too much of America.” So, as we continue to fight for the sanctity of life to be recognized, Watson urged Americans to walk in justice, kindness, and humility, as Micah 6:8 instructs us to.

Summer Tennison, a former FRC intern, shared with TWS, “[T]oday the gospel was shared. The gospel was shared through multiple speakers. And that didn’t happen last year.” She explained that it seemed “the spirits of the air didn’t want that to happen, but it did” anyway. “And there were so many people there listening,” she added.

As Tennison pointed out, it’s important to keep the pro-life movement connected to Jesus Christ, because our inherent value comes from our Creator. Her own journey coming to Christ, as well as the reason for her pro-life passion, is rooted in the fact that she believes God formed her and knew her in the womb — even “before the beginning of the earth,” she stated. She added that God makes us the way we are for a reason, “and … every human is made in a perfect way that throwing their life away is throwing away Jesus’s perfect design of his humanity that he allowed to have a life.”

As FRC President Tony Perkins said, “All human life is created in the image of God and worthy of protection — born and unborn.” Friday’s march was a reminder that there is still work to be done, but that the battle is worth our every effort, and that there are countless mothers, fathers, and children who are saved because of the people who refuse to give up. The people who offer another option. The people who offer hope.