Tens of thousands of people who oppose abortion descended upon the nation’s capitol in Washington, D.C. for the annual March For Life on Friday.
The event included speeches from women who shared their personal stories of considering abortion, but ultimately deciding not to. Prominent guests like Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh also spoke. The event also focused on providing resources and funding to pregnancy resource centers as a proposed rule from the Biden administration could limit some funding sent to such centers. Attendees, including priests and college students, came from all over the United States and cheered through falling snow and frigid temperatures.
“It’s really just to be show a sign of strength, perseverance, sacrifice for the human rights cause that the pro-life movement is all about this year, (with a) particular focus on the needs of women facing unplanned pregnancies,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, told CBS News.
For many attendees, abortion will be a top issue in upcoming elections and colors how they view presidential candidates. In a Fox News town hall, former president Donald Trump recently bragged about his role in ending Roe v. Wade, as he appointed three of the Supreme Court judges who ruled in the majority of the Dobbs decision that overturned the landmark 1973 ruling.
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“Nobody has done more in that regard. (But) I happen to be for the exceptions like Ronald Reagan, with the life of the mother, rape, incest. I just have to be there, I feel,” Trump said.
However, the former president told Republicans that they have to find a consensus on the issue to “win elections,” a stance that some attendees at the March for Life disagreed with. Ony Otiocha, a 20-year-old college student at North Carolina State University and the president of the campus’ Students for Life group, believes life begins at conception and men should be able to have a voice in abortion policy. She said she believes Trump has been “a little wishy-washy” on some of these issues.
“I’m not like super excited about that,” Otiocha said. Instead, she prefers Florida governor Ron DeSantis, who signed a six-week abortion ban into law in Florida.
Sophia Niarchos, 68, from New Jersey, said the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade was “only a drop in the bucket” because “in most of the states in this Union, people can still have abortions.”
Both former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley and DeSantis have said that if elected as president, they would sign a national abortion ban. Voters who resonate with the anti-abortion movement are looking for further restrictions. Haley recently called on Republicans to stop demonizing abortion.
“The Democrats put fear in women on abortion and Republicans have used judgment,” Haley said last week. “This is too personal of an issue to put fear or judgment. Our goal should be ‘How do we save as many babies as possible and support as many moms as possible?'”
One official with Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America said that Trump was the president with the most reflective record on opposing abortion, but candidates should address the topic with compassion. Dannenfelser said that her organization is looking to support Republican candidates on a federal level that champion restrictions on abortion after the third month of pregnancy.
Zoe Gilsenan, a 20-year-old student from the University of Florida, said that abortion isn’t a party issue, but she is looking for a candidate who doesn’t compromise with exceptions.
“I find that both political parties have a diversity of perspectives on the pro-life issue. As a Catholic, I take issue with some of the stances that Democrats hold as well as Republicans. So, I think it’s more complex than just Republican and Democrat. And I think it’s important to look at the individual beliefs and stances of each candidate,” she said. “I think that Donald Trump has leaned more pro-life than Joe Biden. However, he is not unapologetically pro-life from the moment of conception, and I do take issue with that.”
