On June 24 of last year, under the threat of violence and uproar, the Supreme Court made history by declaring there is no constitutional right to abortion, robbing the Roe v. Wade decision of its 50th anniversary.
On Saturday, one year since Roe’s demise, dozens gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., to make history again. The first National Celebrate Life Day featured an all-star lineup of pro-life figures and attendees from across generations ringing in a new era of their movement with hope and solidarity.
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A vastly smaller band of protesters tried to crash the event with profanity and pro-abortion chants. Young supporters of Students for Life of America quickly drowned them out by chanting, "We are the pro-life generation, and we will abolish abortion!"
Indeed, those at the memorial's steps saw their fight for the unborn as the leading civil rights struggle of their time. That theme became clear as the rally began with choruses of "We Shall Overcome" and a speech by Alveda King, the niece of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., on upholding "the civil right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
The organizers put the faith-based roots of their movement front and center, blasting Christian songs on speakers before the rally began and ending it with a group prayer. Nearly every speaker described unborn children as God's creation or credited divine intervention for past and future victories. “Let me be clear right now,” King told the crowd. “The battle has already been won by Jesus.”
Since the Dobbs v. Jackson ruling gave control of abortion policy "to the people and their elected representatives," almost half of the states have enacted life-saving restrictions. Many of them apply through all nine months of pregnancy with rare exceptions, while others protect babies with a detectable heartbeat. The laws have already saved an incalculable number of lives.
However, Saturday’s gathering was about more than condemning abortion and celebrating its decline. The Daily Wire’s Michael Knowles uplifted marriage and the family in his speech, calling for a culture that enables “breadwinning” and “homemaking.” Penny Nance, president of Concerned Women for America, urged government officials to follow Texas’s lead in funding alternatives to abortion for mothers. Just as the activists rejoiced in the closing of abortion facilities, many emphasized the expansion of crisis pregnancy centers, which now outnumber abortion clinics 3-1 in the U.S.
Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, who led the case for her state’s abortion ban in Dobbs, declared that we must “fix the broken foster care and adoption system” in addition to saving unborn life. Former Vice President Mike Pence went as far as saying, “To be pro-life, you must be pro-adoption.” Altogether, the leaders and their cheering supporters made it clear that ending the murder of the unborn is the first step, not the last, in building a society that affirms life.
But a crucial step it is, nonetheless, as countless lives are taken every day in states that deem them legally worthless. Live Action founder Lila Rose said the next judicial goal should be nothing less than 14th Amendment protection for the unborn. Abortion is "already" a violation of constitutional rights, Rose argued, comparing it to the dehumanization of black people prior to the amendment.
Advocates have a long way to go in winning public opinion, and the success of pro-abortion campaigning in last year's midterm elections proved to be disheartening. "We are in a very difficult battle for hearts and minds on this issue," 40 Days for Life President Shawn Carney acknowledged. But the campaign for life is "a movement of converts," he noted, emphasizing former abortionists who now testify to the injustice they were once involved in. Live Action's videos explaining abortion procedures also change the minds of viewers frequently by shattering the euphemism of "reproductive health care."
There's no telling how long the conversion of America will take. The battle to end Roe took almost half a century and required the help of attorneys, activists, faith leaders, protesters, donors, voters, and the last president of the United States, who lived up to one of the greatest campaign promises in history through his appointments to the high court. But one thing is certain: The long march for life continues.
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"My fellow Americans, I believe the destiny of our nation is inexorably tied to restoring the sanctity of life," Pence said to an applauding crowd. "Save the babies, and we will save America."
Hudson Crozier is a summer 2023 Washington Examiner fellow.