Snow is pounding the Washington, D.C. area Tuesday, but the annual March for Life is scheduled to go on Wednesday regardless.
And while Wednesday’s forecast does not include snow, the temperature for the outdoor event is forecast to be windy and well below freezing.
Still, March for Life President Jeanne Monahan says the people who have come to Washington this week for the pro-life event are “enthusiastic” to march.
“We’re totally enthusiastic and excited for our March for Life tomorrow. We always expect to see hundreds of thousands of people,” Monahan said in an interview with The Daily Caller, though she noted March for Life does not have an official estimate of the expected crowd.
Monahan said that already today she has seen “many young faces” in the city getting ready to promote the cause.
“Lots of enthusiastic young people, who are making major sacrifices in this weather because of this issue that is so important to them,” she said.
This year will be the 41st March for Life to demonstrate against the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision, which essentially legalized abortion in the United States. The March’s theme for 2014 is adoption.
The 40th anniversary attracted an estimated hundreds of thousands of marchers. Like last year, this year the marchers will first rally on the National Mall before marching to the Supreme Court.
Though Monahan is optimistic about this year’s crowd participation she noted that participation will likely be down due to the weather and the fact that the event is falling in the middle of the week.
“Perhaps what we lack in size we will have in punch because people are so enthusiastic,” she said. “These are really the tried and true pro-lifers.”
Monahan added that organizers expect to keep the demonstration moving at a more brisk pace because it will be so cold.
“The temperatures are going to be so low that, at this stage in the game, we need to keep the rally pretty short because it will be pretty dangerous to keep people out there for awhile,” she said.
Confirmed rally speakers include Majority Leader Eric Cantor, Illinois Democratic Rep. Dan Lipinski, New Jersey Republican Rep. Chris Smith, Missouri Republican Rep. Vicky Hartzler, Washington State Democratic Per. Roger Freeman as well as pro-life advocates like Focus on the Family founder James Dobson and Latinas Por la Vida Giovanna Romero.
Despite many Republican lawmakers planning to brave the cold for their cause, NARAL Pro-Choice America president Ilyse Hogue told TheDC that those Republicans who continue to double down on their anti-choice abortion strategy are largely going against the will of the people.
“Polls show a majority of Americans support the rights enshrined in Roe v. Wade and voters want leaders who are moving us forward, not backwards,” Hogue emailed. “While most Americans are looking for an honest conversation about how we help women and families get ahead while juggling families and work, the GOP leadership is stubbornly focused on intruding on what most people believe is private matters. If that’s the GOP 2014 strategy, bring it on.”
The National Right to Life estimates that since Roe there have been 56 million abortions in the U.S.
