In 1974, Nellie Gray and a handful of others coordinated a march on the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade ruling which legalized abortion in all 50 states. Her goal? To draw a line in the sand on the horrific human rights abuse that abortion is.
She never expected the March for Life to become the largest annual human rights demonstration worldwide in the years following that initial march! After 50 years of hard work, passion, dedication and collectively millions of pro-life Americans standing up for the most vulnerable among us, the unborn, Roe v. Wade is behind us, bringing us one step closer to a culture of life in America. (RELATED: RONNA MCDANIEL: One-Year Anniversary Of The Dobbs Decision. Republicans Can Win The Pro-Life Debate)
Since that remarkable June morning just one year ago, much has changed in our nation. Half of the states are taking steps to enact and make permanent pro-life laws protecting the unborn while offering resources and support for pregnant mothers.
States including Florida, North Carolina, Nebraska and 22 others have passed laws protecting life at 12-weeks or even earlier, working to save countless babies while helping women and restoring families.
Yet, while we celebrate the enormous gains made, and a strengthened pro-life movement, there remains a significant gap between where we are and where we are going, that is to say, a culture of life.
Currently, half of the country fails to offer meaningful protections for unborn children and women. As a result, thousands of innocent lives created to flourish and thrive will never be given the chance to do so.
Many states legislators and federal leaders have been pushing extreme abortion laws, going even beyond what Roe allowed for, pushing late-term procedures while stripping away supportive safeguards for women.
In November, Michigan approved a ballot initiative enshrining abortion into their constitution. It allows for unpopular (and even more horrific) abortions up until the moment of birth in the state, fully taxpayer funded.
California is working not only to celebrate late term abortion, but also to make care less available for pregnant women by attacking the resource centers available to them in the state.
While these new state constitutional amendments may not come as a surprise, in places like California abortion zealots are also aggressively pursuing and funding such initiatives in more historically pro-life states. Ohio, for example, has a rich history of supporting and protecting life, but has been targeted by an abortion-industry backed amendment on the ballot this November.
The amendment would allow for late term abortions, for any reason, fully taxpayer funded, while offering no protections for the many women who experience pressure to abort. Parental consent laws would be eliminated and the Buckeye state would become a hot spot for late term abortions and fewer health and safety protections for women and girls.
A year after the overturn of Roe v. Wade, we have made such progress and yet there remains much confusion over the false idea that a right to abortion is good for women. But cultural change and working against human rights abuses has never been easy nor a short game.
There was a span of 58 years before the Supreme Court corrected Plessy v Ferguson (1896) with the Brown v Board of Education ruling (1954), making racial discrimination illegal. And when the Supreme Court ruled that interracial marriage was a constitutional right in 1967 in Loving v Virginia, only a meager 4% of Americans agreed with the outcome.
If it takes another 50 years or more for our nation to respect and defend all human life, to build a culture of life, we are here for it. We will march for as long as it takes – in Washington, D.C. and at state capitals nationwide.
We will continue to be a voice for the voiceless, a hand for the hopeless, and a firm foundation for the pro-life movement. We can thankfully leave Roe v. Wade in the dust of our steps, but we are truly just getting started.
Jeanne Mancini is the President of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund.
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