President Obama might have some competition for the year’s “biggest crowd” award. According to D.C. hotels, the inauguration is trailing the March for Life in hotel bookings–leading reporters to speculate that it might actually eclipse the attendance at the swearing-in. Local officials are expecting Monday’s inauguration to draw just 600,000 people-down more than a million from the multitudes who descended on the city in 2009. Both events are expected to attract hundreds of thousands to the National Mall, with the March poised to shatter crowd records for the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
The irony of the situation isn’t lost on pro-lifers, whose movement hasn’t collapsed–but flourished–under the most radically pro-abortion administration in history. Apparently, the last four years of President Obama’s extreme abortion policy did more to change people’s minds than anything could. Under this administration, Americans are finally realizing that this debate is not about making abortion “safe, legal, and rare,” but taking innocent children’s lives at the expense of taxpayers, freedom, and women’s health. And next Friday, on the biggest stage in the nation, pro-lifers have the chance to make their loudest statement yet.
By then, the crowds will just be proving what polling has already shown: that America is more pro-life than ever. According a new survey from the Knights of Columbus, 83% of Americans favor significant restrictions on abortion–a four-point jump from 2012. Only one-in-10 Americans feel as President Obama does–that abortion should be allowed at any time for any reason. Most people–six in 10–still believe abortion is “morally wrong.”
And, to the delight of leading pro-life groups like FRC, these major shifts in public opinion are fueling a powerful revival in state legislation. In 2012, 43 pro-life provisions on everything from clinic safety standards to parents’ rights went into effect, “the second highest number after states enacted 92 pro-life laws in 2011.” Of all 50, my home state of Louisiana topped the list as the most pro-life in 2012, followed by Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Arkansas, Arizona (which moved up from 14th in 2011). Americans United for Life crunched the numbers, taking into account legislative accomplishments (on issues from conception to natural death) and the states’ cumulative records on the issues. The hall of shame included Washington (which, at 50th, was the most anti-life state in America), California, New York, Vermont, and New Jersey. See where your state ranks here.
But even the most hostile states are feeling the impact of the next generation of pro-lifers. More young people than ever are taking up the cause of the unborn–a trend embodied in one of FRC’s own, new March for Life President Jeanne Monahan. At the March’s new face, she’s leading a revolution for a culture of life in America–with an army of passionate young people at her side. You can read more about Jeanne’s journey in a special profile piece by the Washington Post.
In the meantime, if you’re planning a trip to D.C., you can hear from Jeanne as part of FRC’s 8th Annual ProLifeCon. Join us at FRC headquarters (801 G Street, NW) on the morning of the March at 8:00 a.m. to hear about the cutting-edge of the pro-life movement with Congressmen Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) and Diane Black (R-Tenn.), Dr. Russell Moore, Jill Stanek, Roland Martin, Dean Nelson, Jason Jones and more. Click here for more information or to register.
LifeNews Note: Tony Perkins is the president of the Family Research Council.