People holding the March for Life banner pause as they march previous the Supreme Court, Friday in Washington, D.C.

Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo

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Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo

People holding the March for Life banner pause as they march previous the Supreme Court, Friday in Washington, D.C.

Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo

Thousands of anti-abortion activists met Friday on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., for the 51st annual March for Life — the second such rally for the reason that finish of Roe v. Wade in America.

Marchers younger and outdated from throughout the nation braved dropping temps — round 30 levels Fahrenheit by early afternoon — and, at occasions, heavy snowfall to hold indicators and handmade posters with anti-abortion slogans on a route that introduced them handed the U.S. Capitol constructing and the Supreme Court.

It was there that judges in 2022 overturned Roe v. Wade in a ruling that ended federal safety for abortion entry. While last year’s March for Life event served as more of a victory lap after that call, organizers and marchers got here to D.C. this yr with a renewed give attention to what’s subsequent for his or her trigger. This because the nation is months away from a presidential election during which abortion points will probably weigh closely for voters.

“We are not done. We will keep marching every January at the national level, as well as in our states, until our nation’s laws reflect the basic truth that all human life is created equal and is worthy of protection,” stated March for Life president Jeanne Mancini throughout a rally earlier than marchers paraded via downtown D.C.

“We will march until abortion is unthinkable,” Mancini stated. It’s a phrase that was usually repeated by different audio system and rallygoers.

And which means turning consideration to altering state legal guidelines to additional limit abortion entry, occasion organizers and different audio system indicated.

When Roe was overturned, the choice concerning abortion entry fell to respective states. Since then, more than a dozen states have enacted complete or near-total abortion bans. Others are seeing their restrictive insurance policies challenged in court docket.

Marchers like Kathy Johnston, who traveled to D.C. from Ohio, suppose the Dobbs determination did not go far sufficient.

“But I think that we were all aware that it was just going to move it from a national level to a state level and that the fight wasn’t done,” she stated, including that the problem over abortion entry is now rightly positioned on the state stage.

An anti-abortion activist makes use of a megaphone in the course of the annual March for Life at Capitol Hill on Friday in Washington, D.C.

Mariam Zuhaib/AP

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Mariam Zuhaib/AP

An anti-abortion activist makes use of a megaphone in the course of the annual March for Life at Capitol Hill on Friday in Washington, D.C.

Mariam Zuhaib/AP

In the aftermath of the Supreme Court overturning the constitutional proper to abortion, there’s additionally been a concerted effort amongst abortion rights activists to take the problem on to voters through poll initiatives and different measures to enshrine protections in state regulation.

States like Ohio have put abortion rights on the poll for voters to resolve. In cases the place this has occurred, anti-abortion advocates have misplaced. Last November, Ohio voters approved an amendment to their state structure to ensure the best to abortion and different reproductive rights.

This is why anti-abortion activists are nonetheless gearing up for a “long, long struggle” to cease abortion, stated marcher Leszek Syski, from Maryland, who was attending his fiftieth March for Life rally.

“Ultimately, we don’t want to just make abortion illegal,” he stated. “We want to make an unthinkable.”

Anti-abortion activists attend the annual March for Life in entrance of the Supreme Court on Friday in Washington.

Mariam Zuhaib/AP

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Mariam Zuhaib/AP

Anti-abortion activists attend the annual March for Life in entrance of the Supreme Court on Friday in Washington.

Mariam Zuhaib/AP

Other March for Life contributors, like Julie Womer, from Iowa, nonetheless believes motion from the federal authorities to limit abortion throughout the board is the best future for anti-abortion supporters like herself.

“It would be great if life was protected at a national level, and each state didn’t have to figure it out on their own,” Womer stated. “But I think in the time being, if states are able to protect life in their state, that’s a big step forward as well.”