New Year, New President Bring New Opportunities as Americans Gather for Annual March for Life

This year, the thousands of Americans flooding Washington, D.C., for the annual March for Life have a lot be excited about. And for good reason: the Biden-Harris administration is out, and the Trump-Vance administration is in.

On Thursday, President Donald Trump pardoned 23 pro-life activists who had been imprisoned due to the Biden administration’s aggressive prosecution under the Freedom of Clinic Access (FACE) Act. Under President Joe Biden, that law was repeatedly and unevenly weaponized against peaceful pro-life activists praying and counseling outside abortion clinics.

At an Oval Office ceremony, Trump said that “they should not have been prosecuted” in the first place and that it was “a great honor” to sign the paperwork granting the pro-life activists their pardons.

In Congress, House Republicans passed the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. However, the bill failed to garner the 60 votes needed to advance in the Senate. This is the sort of bill that should pass unanimously. And yet, the Left’s radical abortion extremism extends not just to abortion itself, but to its would-be victims who by some miracle survived the attempt on their life.

Treating a baby who has survived an abortion the same as any “wanted” baby shouldn’t be remotely controversial. Yet once again, the Born-Alive bill couldn’t secure enough votes to end up on Trump’s desk.

While the radical Left insists that the bill is a solution in search of a problem, the sad reality is that babies can—and do—survive abortions. For the time being, they will continue to be denied legal protection in many states.

There’s still other good news, however.

The Knights of Columbus and the Marist Poll have released their annual findings about Americans’ opinions about abortion. A strong majority of Americans—60%—support limiting abortion to, at most, the first trimester. On late-term abortion, Americans are even more united—72% (including a majority of Democrats—support limiting abortion to the first six months of pregnancy.

When it comes to conscience rights, Americans agree: 62% think that health care professionals should not be required to violate their religious beliefs and participate in abortion.

What about taxpayer funding? Once again, a strong majority (57%) oppose taxpayer funding for abortion in the United States. When it comes to taxpayer funding for abortions oversees, there’s even more consensus: 73% of Americans don’t want their tax dollars to pay for abortions abroad.

The pro-life movement celebrated a great victory when the Supreme Court corrected a grave error and overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022. Since then, there have been wins—and woes—as many states moved to protect women and unborn children, while others pursued abortion extremism.

For the thousands marching for life today, the message is clear: We’re just getting started.

The pro-life movement’s goal was never to see Roe overturned and then stop with a status quo where women and babies are protected in Texas, but not protected in California. Winning hearts and minds takes time, but it also takes the courage of conviction. The pro-life movement is in the fight for the long haul.

As the Trump-Vance administration takes shape, today’s display of hope and support for life should encourage pro-lifers. In the weeks and months to come, the administration has the opportunity to restore and build on the strong pro-life policies Trump’s first administration.

The pro-life movement is ready to get to work so that families can flourish, and the most vulnerable and defenseless members of our human family are protected.

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