Anti-abortion activists had much to rejoice about when they convened for their yearly March for Life a year ago.
Anti-abortion activists had cause for celebration a year ago when they came together for their yearly March for Life. It was their first march since the Supreme Court had reversed the country’s abortion rights seven months earlier. The atmosphere of this year’s march, which takes place on Friday, will be substantially different, reflecting the difficult problems that this election year will present. According to Texas Right to Life President John Seago, “lives are being saved—we have undeniable evidence of victory.” “But there’s also an awareness of the major obstacles our movement faces in the public discourse at the moment.”
Attendees at the Washington march will honor the 14 states that have passed laws prohibiting abortions up until the point of pregnancy. Even though data indicates that the total number of abortions performed in the United States increased somewhat in the year following the enforcement of the law, they will nonetheless declare that thousands of kids have been born who may have otherwise been aborted.
Leaders opposed to abortion are also aware of their side’s seven-state losing streak in votes on ballot proposals pertaining to abortion. The findings supported maintaining the legality of abortion access even in conservative states like Ohio, Kansas, and Kentucky. Abortion-rights ballot proposals are anticipated in several additional states for this year’s election, and Democratic candidates in many close contests will probably emphasize their support for access to abortion.
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“We have been in this for over 50 years, and I can’t think of a single year that was easy,” National Right to Life Committee president Carol Tobias stated. But after Dobbs, she continued, “it definitely got harder.” “There is a great deal of work ahead of us.” Tobias was alluding to the June 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization judgment rendered by the Supreme Court, which reversed the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that made abortion legal across the country.
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The primary outcome of the Dobbs case was to give individual states control over abortion policy decisions. Certain states with Democratic governments, like California, New York, and New Jersey, have reinforced laws pertaining to access to abortion. Approximately 20 states with legislatures controlled by Republicans have attempted to implement new restrictions or have outright prohibited abortion. After Dobbs, “I didn’t want anyone to get the false sense that we were at the end of our work,” said Brent Leatherwood, an abortion opponent who heads the Southern Baptist Convention’s public policy wing. “We’ve gone from a focal point at the federal level to 50 different focal points,” he said. “It may be another 50 years before we truly establish a culture of life where preborn lives are saved and mothers are supported.”
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Even the current claims of lives being saved due to the Dobbs decision are subject to question. While abortions have decreased to nearly zero in states with total bans, they have increased elsewhere, notably in states such as Illinois, Florida and New Mexico, which are near those with more restrictions. Anti-abortion leaders are keenly aware that their opponents in the abortion debate depict the wave of state bans as an infringement on women’s rights and a potential danger to their health. Thus, the theme of this year’s March for Life strives to convey support for women facing unexpected pregnancies: “Pro Life: With Every Woman, For Every Child.”
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Jeanne Mancini, president of March for Life, stated in a recent opinion post that “maternity homes and pregnancy care centers are the very backbone of our movement.” She and her supporters have pushed states to provide assistance programs to low-income new mothers, assisting them in obtaining housing, employment, and health insurance. Jean Marie Davis, executive director of Branches Pregnancy Resource Center in Brattleboro, Vermont, is one of the speakers slated for the march. Davis claims that several years ago, when caught up in a sex-trafficking scheme, she fell pregnant and a similar clinic in New Hampshire helped her escape.
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Other scheduled speakers include House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., a co-chair of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus. Mancini said last year’s march drew tens of thousands of people; she’s hoping this year’s march will be bigger. The participants, she said, will be in a “persevering mood.” J.J. Straight, part of an American Civil Liberties Union team working to protect and broaden abortion access, says her side also feels determined, especially in light of the recent ballot-measure results.
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“We’ve seen a tremendous pushback to the anti-abortion agenda,” she said. “There’s a huge coalition of folks, regardless of their party and other demographics, who absolutely draw the line at this kind of interference in their health care.” Dr. Jamila Perritt, an abortion-rights supporter who is president of Physicians for Reproductive Health, worries that abortion opponents in states with bans will criminalize people who seek abortions outside the formal medical system.
“The impact of their campaign has been devastating, and it will get worse,” she said. “I’m worried about many more people being arrested and prosecuted.” One of the biggest unknowns heading toward Election Day on Nov. 5 is how power in Washington will be divided between the two major parties. Abortion-rights supporters fear a Republican sweep of Congress and the White House might trigger a bid to impose a federal abortion ban. Conversely, some abortion opponents, including Chris Smith, fear a Democratic sweep might lead to a law overriding the state abortion bans that are now in effect.
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