2017 March for Life: A New Era in the Fight to End Abortion
“You know, life is winning in America... we will not grow wearied, we will not rest until we restore a culture of life in America for ourselves and our posterity.”
– Vice-President Mike Pence
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Washington D.C. – One week after President Donald J. Trump cut international funding for abortion, hundreds of thousands of pro-life demonstrators took to the streets of the nation’s capital for the annual March for Life.
Since its start in 1974 -- the year after the infamous Roe v. Wade decision -- the March for Life has become the largest public pro-life event in the country, if not the world. Founded by the late Nellie Gray, the first march grew from a little over thirty people into an event that routinely draws hundreds of thousands of participants. However, many Americans still don't hear much about this massive march, which is now lead by Jeanne Mancini, because the mainstream media simply ignores it.
Highlights from Around the March
This year’s march was attended by hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom – much to the contrary of the pro-abortion narrative – were college-aged or younger.
To the excitement of those present, there were a series of speeches headlined by Vice-President Mike Pence. The presence of Mr. Pence represents the first time an acting vice-president has made an appearance at the event in its 44 year history, although presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush had called in live to support previous marches.
Also present among the crowd were numerous members of religious orders, priests, and several high-ranking prelates.
Foreign Delegations
Several delegations and pro-family leaders from other countries joined. Notable among them was Duke Paul von Oldenburg, a convert to Catholicism who promotes moral values in Brussels, Belgium, where he heads the TFP affiliated Federation Pro-Europa Christiana (For a Christian Europe). Following the march, Duke von Oldenburg will give a talk at the TFP's Washington Bureau about the future of Europe in the post US election era.
Also present at the march were representatives of other sister TFP organizations, including Ireland, France, Columbia, the Netherlands, Lithuania, and the Philippines.
Cultural Counter-Revolution
With crimson standards, marching band and statue of Our Lady of Fatima carried by four men in the TFP's ceremonial habit, the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) marched shoulder to shoulder with a multitude who yearn to restore Christian culture in America.
To form its marching band, young TFP Students Action volunteers join forces with students of Saint Louis de Montfort Academy. The ensemble of approximately forty musicians with brass, drums and a score of bagpipers delivers a rousing repertoire of American marches, showcasing God Bless America, and Hail Holy Queen Enthroned Above to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary. As the bagpipes played, marchers sang the religious hymn in unison with great enthusiasm.
When Will America Turn Back to God?
In response to the results of the presidential election in November, the American TFP published a statement titled “To Make America Great Again, Turn Back to God.” This statement was shared in print format with the marchers. It mentions how the "forgotten conservatives who worked so hard for this victory want a return to order that will make America great.”
The TFP flier highlights three elements of true order:
1. It must be a moral order in which leaders fearlessly do everything possible to advance the cause of life, the traditional family and Christian morals. If the nation is to prosper, it needs to return to that moral code based on the Ten Commandments and natural law that made America great.
2. It must be an anti-socialist order based on free enterprise. America must be freed from the burden of onerous regulations, massive one-size-fits-all government programs and high taxes.
3. It must be an order that enthrones God once again. America has always been a nation that trusted in Divine Providence. However, that trust is now waning. But if we are not on God’s side, how can we expect Him to be on our side?
The TFP statement urges the new Republican administration to fight for the most vulnerable—the unborn, defund Planned Parenthood, protect society against euthanasia and assisted suicide, confirm unquestionably pro-life judges for the U.S. Supreme Court and all federal courts, and put an end to the judicial activism of the past decades.
Looking Forward to the Future
After the successful march, pro-life Americans look forward to a new year in the fight for the unborn.
“Just look around you. What do you see?” said James Donlon, 21, a full-time volunteer with TFP Student Action. “Thousands and thousands of young people. If we have recourse to Mary, the mother of Christ, and pray the rosary and fight the good fight, ours will be the generation to end abortion. End it forever.”