March for Life 2024: Around 1,000 Liberty students participate

Most events get canceled when a snowstorm blows in, but not the March for Life. The chilling winds and icy streets didn’t stop thousands of protesters, including around 1,000 Liberty students, from marching across Washington, D.C., in the fight against abortion Jan. 19.  

This year, Liberty brought 19 buses to the capital compared to the 10 that they brought last year when they led the march. Around 1,000 students registered for the event, according to Margarett Donica, who helped organize the trip with the Standing for Freedom Center. 

“The Scriptures teach us in Isaiah 1:17 to seek justice and correct oppression. Nowhere is that needed more than for unborn babies,” Donica said. “The March for Life is a great opportunity for students to actively live out their convictions and stand for the unborn as a Champion for Christ.” 

The theme for the 51st annual March for Life was “With Every Woman, For Every Child.” According to Jeanne Mancini, the president of the March for Life, it is essential for pro-life advocates to support women both throughout their pregnancies and afterwards.  

“The goal of the pro-life movement is to help moms and babies flourish and for no woman to ever feel like she doesn’t have the support she needs to be able to choose life,” Mancini said in a tweet the day of the march. 

The event kicked off with a pre-rally concert from musicians like Danny Gokey, an American Idol finalist. Attendees then heard from several guest speakers, including Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Mike Johnson, Pregnancy Resource Center Director Jean Marie Davis and Former NFL tight end Benjamin Watson. Many of the guest speakers emphasized their commitment to not just ending abortion but to taking care of mothers in need.  

“We have to build a culture that encourages and assists more and more people to make that same decision (to choose life),” Johnson, an online adjunct professor for the Helms School of Government, said during his speech. “This is a critical time to help all moms who are facing unplanned pregnancies, to work with foster children and help families who are adopting, to volunteer and assist our vital pregnancy resource centers and our maternity homes and to reach out a renewed hand of compassion and to speak the truth in love.” 

After the rally, the march began. Despite hours in frigid temperatures and standing in inches of slush, students kept their chins up — and their signs up — as they marched across the city.  

Chants rang throughout the crowd. A lone musician played what sounded like a war horn. Several groups sang “Ave Maria” and prayed as they walked.  

For sophomore Rebeca Levin, a nursing major, attending the march was a way to voice her opinion on abortion. 

“I’m very pro-life,” Levin said. “And I think that everyone should be able to voice their opinions.” 

Due to the weather, hardly any anti-protesters disturbed the crowd. In one instance, only a single person stood in the sea of pro-life marchers holding up a pro-choice sign.  

The wind and snow might have kept pro-choice protesters away, but it didn’t stop the crowds of marchers from standing up for their beliefs. 

Molly Hume, a freshman double-majoring in American Sign Language and writing, shared why it was important for her to march. 

“I marched because people (who) are in the womb and don’t have voices still need to be spoken for,” Hume said. 

Bear is the editor-in-chief for the Liberty Champion. Follow her on X