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The official March for Life will begin with a noon rally on the National Mall between 12th and 14th Streets. (There will be a pre-rally concert from 11 a.m. until noon.) The rally will feature prominent celebrities, religious and political leaders, and leaders of pro-life organizations from across the United States and from other countries as well. As the rally concludes, hundreds of thousands of Americans will pour into Constitution Avenue to begin the march to Capitol Hill and the U.S. Supreme Court. The marchers come from all walks of life and from all corners of the United States, men and women of all ages, families with small children, high school and college students in large numbers.
The March for Life has taken place every year since the first anniversary of Roe v. Wade on January 22, 1974. That year, about 20,000 people rallied on the west steps of the U.S. Capitol, then marched in a "Circle of Life" around the Capitol Building before fanning out to lobby their Members of Congress on behalf of the unborn. From those relatively modest beginnings, the March for Life has grown dramatically: 50,000 in 1976; 65,000 in 1977; 100,000 in 1986. The numbers have continued to climb as new generations of pro-life Americans have become active. An estimated 225,000 marched on the 25th anniversary of Roe v. Wade in 1998. (Approximately 200 of them were with People for Life.) In January 2009, the March for Life was thought to have set a new record of 300,000-plus in response to the election of President Obama, who was militantly pro-abortion. Attendance has continued to increase dramatically. Estimates have ranged all the way to 650,000 in recent years. It is difficult to settle on exact numbers, especially since the numbers have really snowballed. There seemed to be a sense among the marchers, however, that the 2019 March for Life was the largest ever. The duration of the March and the crowd density from curb to curb on Constitution Ave. as people marched practically shoulder to shoulder are more or less objective measures that point to a new record in January 2019. People for Life has sent buses of Erie-area residents to the March for Life every year since the first March in 1974. Although it is consistently under-reported by the national news media, it has been predicted that this annual pro-life event will someday be recognized as one of the great historical phenomena of our time. If the March for Life sounds interesting, please contact People for Life for more informatino, or better yet, to reserve your seat(s). Erie-area marchers: Don't forget your cameras! And don't forget to share your pics with People for Life for our Erie Echo newsletter, our social media accounts, and the website.
Page last updated December 15, 2021 |