Tuesday was a miserable day for the 34th Annual March for Life, a pro-life rally commemorating the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Throughout the march, the sun hid, the wind blew, and thermometers scraped freezing. Nevertheless, when it came to marching on the Capitol, even the Mall’s seagulls walking on thin ice got their feet wet.
Anti-Roe v. Wade marchers protested with chants, harmonized choral arrangements, and—in the case of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property—bagpipes. They came from the country’s coasts and heartlands and wore college sweatshirts from Harvard, Princeton, Ohio State, and University of New Hampshire. Dozens of coach buses lined up on the Mall waited to carry them back to the corner of the country from which they came.
In the march, there was no single norm. Participants ran the gamut from those who probably have yet to learn where babies come from to those whose babies must be adults by now. There were nuns, Franciscan monks, and yuppie-in-training Catholic schoolgirls who walked in Uggs and sipped from Starbucks cups.
Nor was there one, standard protest sign to carry. “Abortion=Genocide in the African-American Community,” read a placard held by a few black marchers. “Brownback for President,” read others. One read, “I’m Adopted. Would you kill me?” And, for those who forgot to pack, there were teenage street vendors hawking “Abortion is Mean” t-shirts—one for $20, two for $30.
Slowly but surely, the massive march made its ponderous way from the Mall, up Constitution Ave., and finally to the Supreme Court. The high school boys of St. Gregory’s Academy in Scranton, Penn., chanted again and again, “The gang’s all here.” And so, right now, is Roe v. Wade.
Notes from a Protest
Tuesday was a miserable day for the 34th Annual March for Life, a pro-life rally commemorating the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Throughout the march, the sun hid, the wind blew, and thermometers scraped freezing. Nevertheless, when it came to marching on the Capitol, even the Mall’s seagulls walking on thin ice got their feet wet.
Anti-Roe v. Wade marchers protested with chants, harmonized choral arrangements, and—in the case of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property—bagpipes. They came from the country’s coasts and heartlands and wore college sweatshirts from Harvard, Princeton, Ohio State, and University of New Hampshire. Dozens of coach buses lined up on the Mall waited to carry them back to the corner of the country from which they came.
In the march, there was no single norm. Participants ran the gamut from those who probably have yet to learn where babies come from to those whose babies must be adults by now. There were nuns, Franciscan monks, and yuppie-in-training Catholic schoolgirls who walked in Uggs and sipped from Starbucks cups.
Nor was there one, standard protest sign to carry. “Abortion=Genocide in the African-American Community,” read a placard held by a few black marchers. “Brownback for President,” read others. One read, “I’m Adopted. Would you kill me?” And, for those who forgot to pack, there were teenage street vendors hawking “Abortion is Mean” t-shirts—one for $20, two for $30.
Slowly but surely, the massive march made its ponderous way from the Mall, up Constitution Ave., and finally to the Supreme Court. The high school boys of St. Gregory’s Academy in Scranton, Penn., chanted again and again, “The gang’s all here.” And so, right now, is Roe v. Wade.
Most Popular in News & Politics
Meet DC’s 2025 Tech Titans
The “MAGA Former Dancer” Named to a Top Job at the Kennedy Center Inherits a Troubled Program
White House Seriously Asks People to Believe Trump’s Letter to Epstein Is Fake, Oliver North and Fawn Hall Got Married, and It’s Time to Plan Your Apple-Picking Excursion
Trump Travels One Block From White House, Declares DC Crime-Free; Barron Trump Moves to Town; and GOP Begins Siege of Home Rule
See a Spotted Lanternfly? Here’s What to Do.
Washingtonian Magazine
September Issue: Style Setters
View IssueSubscribe
Follow Us on Social
Follow Us on Social
Related
These Confusing Bands Aren’t Actually From DC
Fiona Apple Wrote a Song About This Maryland Court-Watching Effort
The Confusing Dispute Over the Future of the Anacostia Playhouse
Protecting Our Drinking Water Keeps Him Up at Night
More from News & Politics
5 Things to Know About “Severance” Star Tramell Tillman
See a Spotted Lanternfly? Here’s What to Do.
Patel Dined at Rao’s After Kirk Shooting, Nonviolent Offenses Led to Most Arrests During Trump’s DC Crackdown, and You Should Try These Gougères
How a DC Area Wetlands Restoration Project Could Help Clean Up the Anacostia River
Pressure Grows on FBI Leadership as Search for Kirk’s Killer Continues, Kennedy Center Fires More Staffers, and Spotted Lanternflies Are Everywhere
What Is Free DC?
Manhunt for Charlie Kirk Shooter Continues, Britain Fires US Ambassador Over Epstein Connections, and Sandwich Guy Will Get a Jury Trial
Can Two Guys Ride a Rickshaw over the Himalayas? It Turns Out They Can.