For the last 50-plus years, pro-lifers across the country united on the National Mall in Washington for the annual March for Life. But this year, Virginia pro-lifers marched with increased fervor in their steps, as a looming constitutional amendment threatened unlimited abortion access in the state.
The Virginia State Senate passed a constitutional amendment that would grant virtually unlimited access to abortion Jan. 16. The amendment, passed by the House of Delegates and the Senate twice, now goes before Virginia voters in a referendum this fall, appearing on the ballot. The amendment would require a simple majority from the electorate to become law.
“That was one of the main reasons (why) we decided to come,” said Claudia Moreno, a parishioner of Holy Family Church in Dale City, who attended the march for the first time with her three children. “We want our voices to be heard. We wanted to tell them that life really matters, that life really is a gift.”
“We have to march even stronger,” said Javier Rodriguez, a parishioner of St. Anthony of Padua Church in Falls Church. But it goes beyond the annual event in Washington, he added. “We have to get out there and tell youths, especially in the schools, that we have to fight for life at every level.”
Vice President JD Vance spoke at the rally preceding the march. “Usha and I announced this week that we’re expecting our fourth child, and it will be a baby boy,” he said to rousing cheers from the crowd. “So, we’ll take whatever prayers you can give.”
“I’m grateful for this movement, for the truth that is on our side,” Vance continued. In the aftermath of the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, the pro-life movement has changed course slightly, he said. “Building a culture of life requires persuasion, and that’s what’s so different about this moment compared to the moment that was dominated by the Supreme Court for 50 years. We’re not trying to argue to the Supreme Court anymore,” he said. “We are trying to argue to our fellow citizens that we must build up that culture of life.”
Following the vice president’s address, the march began. Hundreds of diocesan parishioners were greeted by Bishop Michael F. Burbidge along the route.
While Roe v. Wade has been overturned, making a witness for life in the nation’s capital is still vital, especially as several states, including Virginia, have attempted to enshrine abortion into their state constitutions, Bishop Burbidge said. “We’re here in our nation’s capital as citizens from around the United States, saying, ‘This is our country, and we cannot have legalized abortion,’ ” he said.
In light of the amendment on the ballot in Virginia, “now in a sense, we have more work to do,” he said. “We celebrated for a moment, the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which we should have. But it actually doubled our work, because we still have to speak to the nation and now we have to impact laws in the states.”
This story will be updated.
