My article yesterday gave some brief reflections on the Evangelicals for Life Conference that took place last week in Washington, DC. As is true each year, the conference was held on the days surrounding the annual March for Life. The schedule is cleared during the afternoon on the Friday of the March, and conference participants are encouraged to participate in the March. I enjoyed my first March for Life and hope to be able to participate again in the future. Below are a few brief reflections.
1. I was impressed by the size of the crowd.
This was my first March for Life, so I didn’t really know what to expect regarding the crowd size. But it was a beautiful day and the crowd was huge. You may have heard in the media that thousands participated in the March. While conference organizers have not yet released a crowd estimate, they permit obtained by the March for Life was for 50,000 to 100,000 participants. I feel confident in saying that when the final estimate is released, it will exceed the 100,000 number. Would you describe a crowd like that as “thousands”? Here’s a time-lapse video that was posted on Facebook by Students for Life of America. The video gives you an idea of the size of the crowd. If you look closely at the middle of your screen at the 48 second mark, you can see me. I’m the guy wearing the black coat.
2. I was encouraged by the average age of the crowd.
I don’t have an estimate, but there were a LOT of millennials and even generation Z’ers. One of the most prevalent signs I saw at the March said, “We Are the Pro-life Generation.” I believe that is true and will become increasingly true as technology and science continue to demonstrate that what is developing in the womb is a human baby. Before ultrasounds, people could claim they didn’t know. As technology continues to advance, that excuse is becoming less and less tenable.
3. The March needs more evangelicals.
There were also a lot of Roman Catholics at the March. Perhaps you wonder how I can tell the difference between a Catholic and an evangelical. Well, we weren’t all wearing team jerseys, but there were an awful lot of Catholic groups and schools who had made the pilgrimage to the March. Many of them had signs or t-shirts representing their school or diocese. I am thankful that Catholics have been holding the rope on abortion for 45 years. The pro-life movement in America owes much to the Roman Catholic Church. But it is also time for evangelicals to step up and join our Catholic friends in saying, “Enough is enough!”
This is one of the stated purposes of the Evangelicals for Life Conference. Russell Moore and Jim Daly desire to see more evangelicals participating each year in the March for Life. So the conference aims to bring pro-life evangelicals to Washington, DC for both the conference and the March for Life. I appreciate their efforts and hope many more will make the effort to come to DC for at least the March in years to come.
4. I am thankful for the President’s anti-abortion policies.
Last year Vice President Pence spoke live on the stage at the March for Life. This year President Trump addressed attendees live via simulcast from the Rose Garden. His speech was good and appreciated. But more than his speech at the March, I appreciate the things he has done in his first year in office that will protect the lives of unborn children. The White House has released a full list of the President’s pro-life accomplishments on their website. Perhaps the most important thing he has done to help put an end to abortion in the United States is appoint Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. I am hopeful that the President will continue to support anti-abortion policies during his remaining years in office.
These are just a few of my reflections from the March. If you would like to watch the approximately 1 hour program, including the President’s speech, you can do so at this link. Were any of our readers there also? Perhaps some of you have attended the March in the past and would like to share your observations in the comments.
