EWTN News, CBJ and other sources—Georgetown University Right to Life carries the banner and leads the 53rd National March for Life in Washington, D.C. on Friday, Jan. 23, including SO MANY YOUNG ADULTS AND COLLEGE STUDENTS!
Every January, tens of thousands of people march on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., for “the largest annual human rights demonstration in the world,” according to the March for Life website. The event’s 2026 theme is “Life Is a Gift,” which invites “all people to rediscover the beauty, goodness, and joy of life itself.”
The theme emphasizes “what lies at the heart of the pro-life movement — an unshakeable conviction that life is very good and worthy of protection, no matter the
circumstances,” according to the event’s website. “‘Life Is a Gift’ invites everyone to embrace life as something to be cherished and celebrated from the very beginning.”
Father Rhett Williams, chaplain of the University of South Carolina, has been to every march since 2011
He tells EWTN News that he brings students with him every year so that they “can see the universal Church in action about finding something that is good and giving our lives for it.”
“So for those who are most in need – from the unborn to the elderly to whoever it is – I want our students to see that,” he says. “That we see what is good, what the Lord gave himself for, and we give ourselves as well.”
Speakers included U.S. Vice President Vance, President Trump (via video), House Speaker Mike Johnson, Rep. Chris Smith and Sen. John Thune (via video)
Vice President JD Vance and Republican lawmakers defended President Donald Trump’s abortion-related policies at the 2026 March for Life on Jan. 23.
“You have an ally in the White House,” Vance said in his speech.
Vance was the first political speaker at the march, and he was followed by House Speaker Mike Johnson and Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, the longtime leader of the House pro-life caucus.
Trump and Senate Majority Leader John Thune addressed the marchers in prerecorded video messages.
Sarah Hurm shares powerful pro-life testimony
Sarah Hurm shares her testimony about how the experience of starting a chemical abortion and reversing it changed her perspective and led her to pro-life advocacy.
“I am here today as living proof that life is a gift. I know this [from] protecting and caring for each of my four children,” she tells those gathered.
She recalls her experience going to get an abortion and being told that her baby had a strong heartbeat and that she was “lucky” that the Heartbeat Bill wasn’t enacted in her state. She left the clinic with a brown bag of pills to take in order to kill her unborn child.
After taking abortion pill, she found abortion pill reversal ministry. “I realized … I could fight for my child’s life. And so I did.”
“I met a doctor and a team who gave me care, guidance, love, and most of all, hope. Exactly what I was needing, which was far different than the abortion clinic, which had treated me like a transaction. I was able to reverse the chemical abortion I’d began. My son was born completely healthy on Jan. 11, 2019, and he continues to thrive,” she says.
She tells the crowd that “abortion pill reversal can work. My life, and the life of my son, is living proof.”
“Today, my son is one of the greatest joys of my life. Here’s what I want you to know. Saving a life can be as simple as answering a phone call, driving a friend to an ultrasound, or helping pick out a car seat. Or you can show up in any little moment. Small sacrifices can become enormous victories that support moms like me and children like mine. You have that power. Be that person that connects a woman to hope.”
Hurm also points out the importance of men in the pro-life movement: “Your voice carries weight, and we need you.”
“Join me in making a commitment of being living proof that life is a gift,” she concludes.
Pope Leo XVI’s message
Jennie Bradley Lichter takes to the stage to read Pope Leo XIV’s message to those attending the March for Life.
Addressing the 2026 March for Life on Jan. 22, Pope Leo sent participants “warm greetings” and urged them to bring about a society that “safeguards the sanctity of human life.”
Stressing that the protection of the right to life “constitutes the indispensable foundation of every other human right,” Leo said that society “is healthy and truly progresses only when it safeguards the sanctity of human life and works actively to promote it.”
“In this regard,” Leo continued, “I would encourage you, especially the young people, to continue striving to ensure that life is respected in all of its stages through appropriate efforts at every level of society, including dialogue with civil and political leaders.”
The pope prayed that Jesus would “accompany you … as you courageously and peacefully march on behalf of unborn children.” Such advocacy, the pope said, is “fulfilling the Lord’s command to serve him in the least of our brothers and sisters.”
The pope extended an apostolic blessing to the march, saying he entrusted the advocates “to the intercession of Mary Immaculate,” the patron saint of the U.S.
The first pope from the United States of America, Pope Leo XIV — then Robert Prevost — was reportedly a marcher during at least one of the event’s earliest years.
Speaker Mike Johnson speaks at the March for Life
“The thing that we remember at this time is the foundational truth of America … we celebrate the self-evident truth that all people, every single person, is made by God,” he says.
The speaker recalls that he was “the product of an unplanned teen pregnancy.”
“I am eternally grateful that [my parents] allowed me the chance at life.”
He tells the crowd that “it’s you, my friends, who will help usher in America’s new golden age.”
Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey takes the stage next and reminds the crowd that “we must today recommit to protecting the most vulnerable.”
He also highlights the important work being done by pregnancy resource centers across the country.
“More than 2,700 pregnancy resource centers throughout the U.S. are helping women choose life. And each and every one of those centers is an oasis of love, empathy, and compassion,” he says.
Sen. John Thune, majority leader of the U.S. Senate, sends a message to the March for Life and tells those gathered that they “are here today to witness the great truth that every human being, no matter how small or vulnerable, is infinitely valuable, created in the image of God.”
“Abortion is an evil that is too often brushed to the side. But you all are ensuring that we don’t brush it aside,” he says.
Elizabeth Pillsbury Oliver, president of Georgetown University Right to Life (GRTL) and a Catholic convert, offers a pro-life student’s perspective about how her faith gives her courage to defend life.
“It takes great courage to champion the truth about abortion, especially when that truth isn’t popular. The truth is, we are all called to carry this banner,” she tells the crowd.
She recalls that she always tells new GRTL members that “the most important thing we do isn’t hosting events with famous speakers on a big stage. It’s sitting behind a fold-up table [on campus]. That takes courage.”
“When tabling our supporters never know whether they’ll receive a supportive thumbs up or a middle finger … But I’ve also seen that small table become, all in one busy afternoon, a resource center for pregnant students [and] an intellectual battleground … I’ve learned that the best way to start isn’t with an argument. It’s with a question. ‘Why are you pro-choice?’ Really listening is an act of kindness. It’s through kindness itself that people begin to see what the pro-life movement truly is,” she says.
VP JD Vance speaks at the March for Life
“We want all of our American families to do it with the confidence that their nation will stand with them just as they have stood with the United States of America.”
The vice president tells the attendees that “we’re marching for life because we want to our fellow Americans … to know that life is worthy of protection. That is why we march today.”
Vance reminds the crowd that they have “an ally in the White House.”
“Where the previous admin mandated taxpayer funding for abortion … this administration ended it,” he says.
He states that the Trump administration is “proud to announce a historic expansion of the Mexico City policy.”
“We’re going to start blocking every international GO that performs or promotes abortion abroad from receiving a dollar of U.S. money,” he says and adds that this administration has expanded the policy by three times.
Vance highlights that “we have to be clear, we cannot be neutral. Our country cannot be indifferent about whether its next generation lives or dies.”
Ahead of March for Life, Trump vows to ‘always be a voice for the voiceless’
U.S. President Donald Trump this week said he would “always be a voice for the voiceless” and vowed to “never tire in fighting to protect the intrinsic dignity of every child, born and unborn,” delivering bold promises just ahead of the March for Life 2026.
The president’s message, published on Jan. 22, came on National Sanctity of Human Life Day, an observance first declared by President Ronald Reagan in 1984 and pronounced by every Republican president since then.
The president said the U.S. in marking the date “uphold[s] the eternal truth that every human being is created in the holy image and likeness of God, blessed with infinite worth and boundless potential.”
Urging Americans to take part in “honoring the dignity of every human life,” including unborn life, the president also called on Americans to offer support for women with unplanned pregnancies and to support both foster care and adoption “so every child can have a loving home.”
The president further urged Americans “to listen to the sound of silence caused by a generation lost to us and then to raise their voices for all affected by abortion, both seen and unseen.”
…He pointed to his reinstatement of the Mexico City Policy in January 2025 as well as his pardoning of nearly two dozen pro-life activists that same month after they had been targeted by the U.S. Department of Justice for protesting at abortion clinics.
‘The antidote to abortion is love,’ Cardinal O’Malley says ahead of March for Life
Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley said life is a “precious gift from a loving God” ahead of the 2026 annual March for Life.
O’Malley, archbishop emeritus of Boston, celebrated Mass on Jan. 23 before the March for Life, concluding the annual National Prayer Vigil for Life at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.
“I know that many of you are tired and have made many sacrifices to be here,” O’Malley said. “I assure you, you could not be doing anything more important than being here today. And your presence is not by accident. The Lord in his providence has brought all of us here today.”
“Abortion is the greatest moral crisis faced by our country and by our world. It’s a matter of life and death in a very grand scale,” O’Malley said. “It’s been a joy and a privilege for me to be at every March for Life here in Washington for the past 53 years.”
“It’s such a joy to be with you here today in this March for Life. This is a pilgrimage for life, and it begins with prayer, here in Mary’s shrine. I thank God for all of you,” he said.
O’Malley spoke about the 2026 March for Life theme: “Life Is a Gift.”
“What a powerful theme,” O’Malley said. “Sadly, life is not always seen as a gift. For some, it seems a burden or a curse.” 
The cardinal detailed a recent poll that found “for the very first time in the history of our nation, the majority of Americans say they do not want to have children.” O’Malley called it “an alarming statistic.”
“Life is a gift, a gift given by a loving God,” he said. “Life is beautiful, especially when it is received with gratitude and love.”
We must “love as God loves,” O’Malley said. “We must love first, forgive first, give first. That’s why we’re here in this Mass for life.”
“We’re here because life is a gift. God has given us this precious gift. We must be grateful and express our gratitude by proclaiming the gospel of life,” he said.
Future of the pro-life movement
O’Malley, who has been active in the pro-life movement for decades, said the opposition once believed the pro-life advocates would “die off,” but “we’re still here, proclaiming the gospel of life.”
“Our mission is not a political crusade. It’s a response to God’s command to love and to care for each other. And God bless us, the crowd is getting younger and younger. You are beautiful,” he said.
To end abortion, “our task is not to judge others but to bring healing,” O’Malley said. We must be “gentle” like Jesus was with “the Samaritan woman, the poor, the tax collector, the adulterous woman, the good thief,” he said.
… we do not want to get in the way of the message,” O’Malley said.
“Together, we can protect and nurture that gift of life. We must look for opportunities to be apostles of life, building a civilization of love and ethic of care,” he said.
“The antidote to abortion is love. Love manifests in community, compassion, and solidarity. Life is a gift. Every person is a gift. Every person counts. All are important. Our mission is to work so that no child be left behind. Every baby will be welcomed, loved, cared for, nurtured, and protected,” he said.
“Thank God for the gift of life. Thank God for love. Thank God for you,” O’Malley concluded.
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