(Headline USA) More than a year after a generational victory for their movement, proponents of preborn infants’ right to life are rallying in the nation’s capital on Friday with an eye on presidential elections that could be heavily influenced by abortion politics.
Thousands of rallygoers are expected on the National Mall for an hour of speeches and a march past the U.S. Capitol and the Supreme Court. But snow and frigid temperatures have been gripping the Washington metropolitan area, which could affect turnout for the march.
Friday’s March for Life is the second such event since the June 2022 Supreme Court ruling that ended the federal protection for abortion rights enshrined in Roe v. Wade.
Last year’s march was understandably triumphant, with organizers relishing a state-by-state fight in legislatures around the country.
That fight rages on, with mixed results. The ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization reverted abortion lawmaking back to the states, and 14 states are now enforcing bans on abortion throughout pregnancy. Two more have such bans on hold because of court rulings. And another two have heartbeat laws that take effect when cardiac activity can be detected, about six weeks into pregnancy.
But abortion restrictions have also lost at the ballot box in Ohio, Kansas and Kentucky. And total bans have produced high-profile causes for abortion lovers to rally around.
With little else to run on, movement organizers now expect abortion to be a major Democratic rallying cry in President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign.
“The pro-abortion forces, that’s one of the major things they’re going to run on,” said Susan Swift, president of Pro-Life Legal and a veteran anti-abortion activist. “That’s one of the only things that seems to animate their base.”
Biden campaign officials openly state that they plan to make Biden synonymous with the fight to preserve abortion.
Vice President Kamala Harris has led the charge on the issue for the White House. She will hold the first event in Wisconsin on Monday, which would have been the 51st anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the lawsuit that led to the landmark 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision establishing a constitutional right to abortion.
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press
