US Vice President praises ‘dedication’ of vast crowd at annual March for Life

The Catholic Herald• January 25, 2025

Vice President JD Vance has told members of the March for Life “the sacred truth that every single child is a miracle and a gift from God”.

The administration of President Donald Trump has hit the ground running in support of the pro-life movement, with the president quickly pardoning pro-life activists who had been convicted of violating the federal Free Access to Clinic Entrances Act, or the Face Act.

The March for Life has been held for decades on the anniversary of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision by the Supreme Court that legalised abortion in the United States. In 2022, the Supreme Court overruled Roe in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, returning abortion laws to individual states.

The new Trump administration has a mixed relationship with the Catholic Church, with Pope Francis publicly speaking against its plan to deport millions of unregistered immigrants, and Church leaders criticizing his plans to increase the use of the death penalty.

However, the new president has received praise for his opposition to abortion, and Vance – who converted to Catholicism in 2019 – is considered a leading spokesman on the issue.

“For over a half century, this march has united tens of thousands of Americans from all walks of life to rally for the cause of life in our nation. It is the single largest gathering in the world to celebrate our movement; the victories we’ve fought so hard for and, yes, the victories yet to come,” Vance told participants of the March for Life in Washington, DC, yesterday.

“And I want to personally welcome all of you who have travelled from far and wide to our nation’s capital. Thank you for your dedication; and it is an incredible crowd, and it’s great to see you today,” the vice president said.

Organisers estimated that over 100,000 people attended the event, although the very cold weather may have affected the numbers.

Mr Vance spoke about his own family, where he and his wife Usha have three children.

“Now each time Usha and I welcomed our own children into the world, we saw first-hand the indescribable beauty of new life; and, yes, as you can see, sometimes the behavioural challenges that we had on Monday, but they were good, they were good. And watching all three of our kids grow, learn and become who they are today has been the single greatest blessing of our lives,” the vice president said.

“Now every parent here knows that feeling, that awe at a newborn child. It is our responsibility to cherish and to protect it. But thinking about the question of why we march, there are also some subtler but equally more important answers to that question that I want to reflect on today,” he added.

Mr Vance said the task of the pro-life movement is to protect innocent life and to defend the unborn, adding it’s also to be pro-family and pro-life “in the fullest sense of that word possible.”

“Now, across my own lifetime, I can’t tell you the number of friends and other acquaintances I’ve had who, facing a pregnancy or the prospect of one, react not with joy but with concern. They wonder how can they afford it; what will it mean for their education, their career, their relationship or their family?” Mr Vance told the crowd.

The vice president credited President Trump for numerous decisions that supported the pro-life movement, including making the appoints to the Supreme Court that helped to override Roe, defending the constitutional liberties family, and policies like doubling the child tax credit.

Mr Vance said President Trump issued a strong endorsement of the Born-Alive Abortion Act on Thursday, “ensuring that those babies who survived botched abortions enjoy the equal protection under law, which is the obligation of every citizen to enjoy in this country”.

He said: “With his return to office, no longer will the federal government direct FBI raids on the homes of people like Mark Houck and other Catholic and Christian activists who are fighting for the unborn every single day.

“And no longer will our government throw pro-life protesters and activists, elderly grandparents or anybody else in prison. It stopped on Monday, and we’re not going to let it come back to this country,” the vice president continued.

President Trump himself spoke to the March in a pre-recorded video message.

“We will again stand proudly for families and for life,” the president said.