March for Life 2025
The third week of January was truly a big week in our nation’s capital. Donald J. Trump was sworn in as our 47th President, and he and his administration went right to work. Lawmakers cooperated by passing legislation to protect abortion survivors, innocent pro-life protestors were finally set free, and tens of thousands locked arms to march for life.
Vice Pres. Vance Speaks at March for Life
As sponsors of March for Life, we received an email on Thursday stating that Vice President J.D. Vance had accepted an invitation to speak at the pre-march rally. Even though we knew a little about his background, we decided to learn more by watching the movie based on his 2016 memoir titled “Hillbilly Elegy.” Watching this Ron Howard film gave us greater admiration for all he overcame as a child and young adult. I also had a new appreciation for his meteoric rise to the role he now holds as second in command of our beloved country.
Sponsor Breakfast
We woke up early on Friday to take a scheduled Uber to the Capitol Hill Club for the first of the day’s three main acts—breakfast with other sponsors, March for Life, and The Rose Dinner Gala.
The breakfast included two-minute speeches from twenty or more members of Congress. Many of these congress members were long-standing representatives who have fought the pro-life fight for decades, including Chris Smith of New Jersey, Steve Scalise of Louisiana, and Jim Jordan of Ohio.
They informed us that the House of Representatives just passed the Born Alive Act, which states that doctors must give life-saving care to any child who survives a botched abortion. You’d think this bill would pass unanimously—why would anyone vote to allow a born-alive child to die? But, apparently, 204 members of Congress voted to do the unthinkable. One Democrat, Henry Cuellar of Texas, did what should be a no-brainer and voted for life. U.S. Representative Chris Smith was clear in his message, emphatically stating that they don’t want to squander this rare opportunity to protect the unborn. Let’s all pray for big victories on this ever-so-important issue.
As the day progressed, we received more good news that the Trump administration had pardoned 23 pro-life activists arrested for protesting and praying in front of an abortion mill. We also heard a word from Jeannie Mancini, President of March for Life.
The March
Later, we arrived at the March for Life V.I.P. tent for sponsors. Vice President Vance made his first public appearance by speaking at the pre-march rally. We got to hobnob with the speakers and other sponsors in the VIP tent, such as Lila Rose of Live Action, Seth Gruber, author of “The 1916 Project”–a must-read history of the abortion industry, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
While the outside temperatures were frigid, the atmosphere was warm with an enthusiastic crowd of young and old, male and female, black and white, Catholic and Protestant. After the rally, we joined tens of thousands of pro-lifers on a march from the Washington Monument to the United States Supreme Court.
The Rose Dinner Gala
After refueling our bodies, we hailed a taxi and rode back to our Airbnb to freshen up and get dressed for the third and final act of the day: The Rose Dinner Gala (a formal black-tie affair). Due to busier than expected traffic, we arrived fashionably late (i.e. five minutes). We checked our coats, registered, and walked to the ballroom entrance. When we arrived, we discovered a room full of one thousand donors and a warm-up speaker going a tad over their allotted time. So, we waited at the entrance with a dozen other well-dressed couples. By 7:15 p.m., the coast was clear, and we could walk to our table–which happened to be front and center–where we were seated at the same table as March for Life’s President-Elect, Jennie Bradley Lichter.
The keynote speaker was Bethany Hamilton—a wife, mother of four, professional surfer, and survivor of a shark attack as a teenager. The program included a tribute to March for Life’s President Jeannie Mancini and a vision-casting message from President-Elect Jennie Bradley Lichter. The dinner conversations were so encouraging, as was the news that President Trump had just signed an Executive Order enforcing the Hyde Amendment, which puts an end to tax-payer funding for abortions!
Pro-Life Wins
I want to applaud my U.S. Congressman, Mark Harris, serving his first term in North Carolina’s 8th District, for introducing the Teleabortion Prevention Act in the U.S. House of Representatives. The pro-life movement wins continued into the week after we returned to our home in the Tar Heel state. Specifically, California dropped all charges against two pro-life journalists who exposed Planned Parenthood for selling fetal body parts.
Conclusion
It was a good week for the Pro-Life movement, but we aren’t done yet. We must stand for life and truth until hearts and minds see the light and abortions are unthinkable. Life—that’s #WhyWeMarch. If you want to read more on this subject, you can read my article for the 2024 March for Life.