March for Life supporter appeals to Biden to take part in the mostly virtual event
Pro-life supporters march in 2020. Photo via March for Life.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Since 1974, members of the Catholic church have been among the thousands of anti-abortion activists from around the country who have marched from outside the White House to the U.S. Capitol to protest the landmark Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade that ruled abortion is a constitutional right.
While Donald Trump became the first president ever to take part in the event last year, President Joe Biden is not expected to take part in a smaller and mostly virtual rally on Jan. 29 even though he is an active Catholic. The Catholic Church has led pro-life advocacy for many decades, supported by evangelicals in the wake of Roe v. Wade.
Standing before a crowd of protesters last year, Trump said, “We are here for a (straightforward) reason: to defend the right of every child, born and unborn, to fulfill their God-given potential.”
While no Democrat has ever spoken to the marchers, Mary Eberstadt, a senior fellow at the Faith and Reason Institute, appealed to Biden in an open letter to make history.
"We must end this uncivil war,” she said. “We can do this if we open our souls instead of hardening our hearts… Kindly open your soul to affirming that pro-life Americans are no less American than their pro-choice counterparts. Just a few words about our shared convictions could go a long way toward redeeming your promise to ‘fight as hard for those who did not support me as for those who did.’"
After decades of thousands of marchers coming to Washington, D.C. for the annual March for Life, the Jan. 29 event will be officially virtual this year (with the hashtag #march4life), but a small group of pro-lifers are expected to speak and march in the city.
The theme for this year’s March for Life is “Together Strong: Life Unites” and highlights the critical role each person plays in building a culture of life.
“We are thrilled to welcome this remarkable group of speakers to the world’s largest annual human rights demonstration,” said Jeanne Mancini, president of March for Life, who will emcee the event. “These speakers will showcase that the strength of the pro-life movement is in its diversity. In a world marked by division, unrest, and fear, the pro-life movement brings together people from all walks of life, each with their unique mission to promote the inherent dignity of the human person.”
Mancini has discouraged people from coming to D.C. out of concerns of gatherings spreading COVID-19 and security risks raised in the wake of Jan. 6 rally by Pro-Trump protesters that resulted in an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and the deaths of five people.
“Because we are amid a pandemic which may be peaking, and given the heightened pressures that law enforcement officers and others are currently facing in and around the Capitol, this year’s March for Life will look different,” she said in a statement.
NFL veteran Tim Tebow is the main speaker at the virtual rally on Jan. 29. Marchers will be addressed in person by retired NFL player Benjamin Watson and his wife Kirsten Watson, who are authors, speakers, podcasters, movie producers and parents of seven.
Jim Daly, president of Focus on the Family, and J.D. Greear, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, will also speak at the 2021 Rally. The other speakers include: Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kan. Cissie Graham Lynch, daughter of Franklin Graham and granddaughter of the late Rev. Billy Graham, will lead the opening and closing prayers.
Archbishop Naumann, chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities, said in a Jan. 19 statement:
"As long-time participants in the annual March for Life, my brother bishops and I commend the march organizers for their concern for the lives and safety of all participants. The countless, peaceful, pro-life marchers who would normally gather each year should not be put at risk. Peaceful prayer and witness must and will continue this year — just in a different format.”
He asked Catholics to join in a nationwide novena from Jan. 21-29, a series of prayers, holy hours, Masses and rosaries intended for "the protection of human life," the archbishop said.
The National Prayer Vigil for Life, which is usually held on the evening before the march at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, will take place virtually on Jan. 28.
Senior contributor Hamil Harris is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Maryland College Park and has been a lecturer at Morgan State University. Harris is minister at the Glenarden Church of Christ and a police chaplain. A longtime reporter at The Washington Post, Harris was on the team of Post reporters that published the series “Being a Black Man.” He also was the reporter on the video project that accompanied the series that won two Emmy Awards, the Casey Medal and the Peabody Award. In addition to writing for ReligionUnplugged, Harris contributes to outlets such as The Washington Post, USA Today, The Christian Chronicle and the Washington Informer.