In previous years, signature black and white pre-printed signs at the annual March for Life have read, “We are the pro-life generation.” But this year, they tout, “We are the post-Roe generation.”
Buoyed by the hope that the U.S. Supreme Court may overturn Roe v. Wade this summer as it decides Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, thousands of pro-lifers gathered on the National Mall in below-freezing weather Jan. 21 to commemorate the 49th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
Last year’s march was not open to the public due to the pandemic but was complemented by virtual events. Many Arlington diocesan Catholics instead participated in prayer vigils or other parish gatherings. But this year they returned to the nation’s capital to march through the streets, past the U.S. Capitol and to the Supreme Court.
Isabelle Stevenson, a parishioner of the Basilica of St. Mary in Alexandria, was outside the Supreme Court last month as they heard oral arguments for the Dobbs case Dec. 1. She joined this year’s march, her fourth, with her two children and feeling energized by the strong turnout and the possibility of a pro-life victory. “I am here to support this cause until we reverse Roe v. Wade and throw everything back to the states,” she said. “I am hopeful that we (will) win this one.”
The march was led by students from Christendom College in Front Royal, accompanied by Bishop Michael F. Burbidge. Many students get involved in pro-life activism at Christendom, said junior Maggie Black, who often joins the school’s Shield of Roses group to pray in front of abortion clinics. Last year when they couldn’t come to Washington for the March for Life, they had a march and prayer vigil on campus, she said.
“I’m just so happy to be here,” said Black. “I think the pro-life movement and fighting against abortion is the movement of our time and it’s the great social injustice that we have to correct. It’s something we really need to fight for, especially being a part of my generation. So many of the people that would be my peers today are not with us. We have to keep fighting the good fight for them.”
People of all ages and races from across the country participated in the march, including many Arlington diocesan seminarians, priests and parish groups. Teenagers and young adults made up a huge part of the crowd.
Several young people from Holy Spirit Church in Annandale marched, including eighth grader Peter Steger. “(I’ve been) pretty much every year since I was 8,” he said. “I like seeing all the people I know and rooting for the babies.”
