Opponents of abortion will march in Washington, with obstacles ahead

Last year, anti-abortion activists triumphantly descended on the National Mall for the annual March for Life, eager to enter a new era for their ambitions to end abortion following the landmark reversal of Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling establishing federal abortion rights.

But this year, the first year of presidential elections in post-Roe America, the movement finds itself marching on Washington again, not exactly in triumph, but in an effort to advance their cause after a series of political defeats, less powerful allies and setbacks in the fight against the elections. the court of public opinion.

“We are experiencing the resonance of that enormous historical shift,” said Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life. “We definitely have work to do, but that's why we started.”

The end of Roe has vastly changed the political calculus. Abortion rights have proven to be a mobilizing force for a new coalition of Democrats, independent voters and even some moderate Republicans.

That leaves the anti-abortion movement with protracted state-by-state battles over politics and policy. The thousands of people from churches, schools and activist groups expected at Friday's march represent a movement splintered over strategy and immediate goals.

Four years ago, as the 2020 presidential campaign picked up steam, Donald J. Trump addressed the march, the first sitting president to do so in person, in an effort to energize conservative Christian voters. While he has boasted in recent months of helping to overturn Roe, he has also avoided highlighting the abortion issue in his campaign, in recognition of its political volatility.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a favored candidate of leading abortion opponents, came a distant second behind Trump in the Iowa caucus earlier this week. (Mr. Trump has called Mr. DeSantis' decision to sign a state ban on abortion after six weeks “a terrible mistake.”)

The anti-abortion movement now faces an inverse dynamic: In the presidential campaigns of the past half century, abortion has been a motivating issue, largely for the Republican voters who fought to overturn Roe, not for Democrats—but now it's the Democrats battling a landmark Supreme Court. Court ruling on this issue. Now that Roe has already been overturned, Republicans and opponents of abortion no longer see it as an urgent rallying cry, the kind that motivates people to stand up and march.

On Friday morning, hours before the start of the march, in unusually cold, snowy weather, Nick Baker, 22, handed out signs to students arriving at the National Mall.

Mr. Baker, an assistant editor at the Young Americas Foundation, a conservative youth organization in Reston, Virginia, said: “With the overturning of Roe, things are very different now. We hope to encourage states to take pro-life positions.”

Ask how he would deal with the growing opposition to these positions. He said his group would adopt the “happy warrior ways” of Ronald Reagan.

The Democratic Party is joining forces this week in support of abortion rights to mark the 51st anniversary of the enactment of Roe. Ahead of next Tuesday's primaries, New Hampshire's congressional delegation plans to hold an event in Concord on Saturday with abortion rights supporter Planned Parenthood about the impact of abortion bans passed in a number of states.

President Biden and Vice President Harris plan to hold their own events next week to mark the Roe anniversary in the political battlegrounds of Wisconsin and Northern Virginia.

The reversal of Roe and its aftermath have also confronted the anti-abortion movement with a new political reality in the United States. Even anti-abortion voters are generally concerned about how new state bans have worked in practice. Restrictive laws have prompted thousands of women to seek out-of-state abortions, drawing complaints that the laws endanger the lives of women who had wanted a pregnancy but whose fetuses were diagnosed with fatalities.

“The Republican Party cannot and will not stop losing elections, and their response is to double down on their heinous policies by celebrating an increasingly extremist, shrinking minority with a march,” said Mini Timmaraju, president of Reproductive Freedom for All . “They have so little contact.”

About 70 percent of voters nationwide, a record high, now say abortion should be legal during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. recent Gallup poll. About 60 percent think overturning Roe was a “bad thing,” the poll found.

“There is a contradiction between wanting a reasonable, humane limit and wanting Roe to remain as it was,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said of the poll results.

Her group is in favor of a federal ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Under Roe v. Wade, abortion was unrestricted until the fetus could survive outside the uterus, usually around 23 or 24 weeks of gestation.

The anti-abortion movement still has influential supporters in the highest ranks of conservative power. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican and the nation's most powerful elected anti-abortion official, plans to address this year's march from the stage. He has attended the march in the past, and his unexpected appearance as a speaker last fall was a boost for conservative Christians who share his views.

Many anti-abortion activists and politicians have said the movement must now focus on the needs of pregnant women and their families and send a more compassionate message. The theme of this year's March for Life is 'With every woman, with every child.'

The House of Representatives on Thursday passed two bills that are high priorities for anti-abortion leaders. One would prevent the Department of Health and Human Services from excluding anti-abortion pregnancy centers from federal funding; the other would require pregnant students to be provided with information about resources and alternative options, including adoption.

The bills are intended to shift the public's attention from the Republican abortion ban to less politically charged measures and messages. Both bills passed along party lines and have yet to be considered by the Senate.

Concerned Women for America, an anti-abortion group, says its main legislative goal was to pass legislation to create a federal website with resources for pregnant women.

“This is a clear priority for the new speaker,” said Penny Nance, president of the group. “It suits his heart.”

Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life, urged Republican candidates fight against medication abortion, instead of focusing on pregnancy restrictions.

If the annual march over the years has revealed anything, it's that the anti-abortion movement is persistent and built on longevity. Supporters have emerged even after significant losses, such as President Barack Obama's re-election and previous setbacks at the Supreme Court.

The goal of the March for Life is to expand its reach at the state level and translate decades of persistence on the Mall into local marches pushing for state action. Last year, the group organized marches in eight states; this year the number has increased to 16, and organizers hope to expand to all 50 states within about six years.

Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, the current chairman of the Pro-Life Committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, who is expected to speak at the meeting, said the fight now is “not just about changing laws, but about changing laws.” hearts.”