March for Life president: Event must continue even if Roe v. Wade is overturned
Jeanne Mancini discusses the importance of the 49th annual March for Life after a year of going virtual.
Decades of dedication by millions of pro-life Americans have led us to this moment.
In the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case that the Supreme Court is set to decide this year, the justices will rule on whether the State of Mississippi can enact a law limiting abortions after 15 weeks. A decision upholding the Mississippi law could strike at the heart of Roe v. Wade and allow states greater freedom to protect the unborn. While we don't know how the justices will rule, anyone who attends the March for Life can see that the pro-life movement has grown steadily in the five decades since Roe was imposed, refuting any notion that it is "settled law" in the hearts and minds of Americans.
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A anti-abortion demonstrator protests in front of the Supreme Court building, on the day of hearing arguments in the Mississippi abortion rights case Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health, in Washington, U.S., December 1, 2021. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)
When Roe was first decided, pro-life Americans may have felt defeated, but they quickly rallied. Over the ensuing decades, scientific progress in our understanding of life in the womb has caused the movement to swell in size. That’s one reason the March for Life chose "Equality Begins in the Womb" as the theme for the 49th annual March for Life. The March for Life wants to build a world that values every human life regardless of whether they are yet born.
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In his Roe opinion, Justice Blackmun emphasized viability, but we now know viability is earlier than the Court then understood. Justice Alito acknowledged this during oral arguments for Dobbs, saying, "But viability is dependent on medical technology and medical practice. It has changed. It may continue to change."
There have also been substantial advances in our understanding of fetal development. A 2018 survey showed that 95% of biologists agreed that life begins at conception, reflecting a broad scientific consensus. A baby's heart starts to beat at about five weeks, its basic nervous system is established by six weeks, and she can feel pain by 12 weeks in some cases. These and other technical and medical advances help explain why virtually every European country limits abortion to the first 15 weeks of pregnancy.
Rather than altering their views to reflect scientific progress, supporters of abortion have doubled down on their position. A recent bill endorsed by many pro-abortion groups would allow abortion up until birth, in a chilling but sadly typical rejection of science. Founders of what became the abortion movement in the U.S. endorsed eugenics in the early 20th century, including Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger, who wrote, "The most merciful thing that the large family does to one of its infant members is to kill it."
Thankfully, most Americans haven't bought into the pro-abortion agenda and endorse common-sense limits on abortion. A recent Marist poll found that a supermajority of voters want to limit abortion to – at most - the first trimester, including a majority of respondents who identified as "pro-choice."
Scientific progress and public support for life have created a giant wave of pro-life legislation in states across the country. According to the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute, states passed over 100 restrictions on abortions in 2021, an all-time record. State legislatures fought against abortion everywhere from South Carolina, where a fetal heartbeat bill was passed, to South Dakota, which banned abortions based on a diagnosis of Down syndrome. Abortion advocates are pouring money into challenging these laws, and the Dobbs case could be crucially important in determining whether they are allowed to stand.
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The oral arguments for Dobb gave us hope, even though we likely won't know the final outcome until the summer. A majority of the justices questioned pro-abortion arguments, and multiple justices implied that they'd be open to overturning Roe. Several justices’ questions revealed they were well aware of recent scientific advances and America's political divide on abortion. It seems the Court is close to correcting Roe, a decision of judicial activism that has negatively impacted America for close to 50 years.
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Life is making significant strides both legally and scientifically, as well as in state legislatures across the country. But, regardless of the outcome in Dobbs, we know that the pro-life mission won’t be complete until the beauty and dignity of every human life is valued and protected; because equality begins in the womb.