Anti-abortion activists attend first March for Life ‘with fresh resolve’ post-Roe

Anti-abortion advocates from across the country gathered in Washington, DC, on Friday for the annual March for Life – the first since the Supreme Court’s conservative majority ended the federal constitutional right to an abortion.

This year’s march marks a turn in the fight against abortion rights, with opponents’ primary goal of overturning Roe v. Wade met and half of all states having banned or restricted access to abortion in most cases. But anti-abortion advocates contend that their work isn’t finished as they aim to advance legislation that restricts abortion at the state and federal levels, including setting a minimum federal standard on the procedure.

“The pro-life movement has just experienced a major victory in the fall of Roe v. Wade, but our work to build a culture of life is far from complete,” Jeanne Mancini, the head of March for Life’s Education and Defense Fund, told CNN via email before the march, the theme of which was “Next Steps: Marching Forward into a Post-Roe America.”

Attendees at Friday’s rally who spoke with CNN expressed excitement but noted that more work needed to be done to stop abortions, help mothers and change the culture around the issue.

“What we’re here to do is say, ‘We’re not done. We have more progress that needs to be made on this issue,’” said William Herb, 24, a Catholic school teacher from New York.

This year, the route will end at the US Capitol “to symbolize that the battle post-Roe has shifted to the legislature,” Mancini told CNN before the march.

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