In-person March for Life canceled amid Capitol Hill security concerns

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For the first time in nearly 50 years, anti-abortion activists will not march on the Supreme Court this January.

The March for Life, the largest annual anti-abortion protest, announced Friday afternoon that because of the twin concerns of COVID-19 and increased security on Capitol Hill, it will not hold the event in Washington, D.C., this year. Instead, it will hold an online rally in late January.

"We are profoundly grateful for the countless women, men, and families who sacrifice to come out in such great numbers each year as a witness for life — and we look forward to being together in person next year," the group said in a statement.

The event, which has taken place every year since the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, typically consists of a rally on the National Mall and a march up Constitution Avenue to the Supreme Court. It gained a national profile in 2020 when President Trump became the first president to address the event, which regularly draws hundreds of thousands of people, in person.

After the coronavirus pandemic shut down much of the country in 2020, the group planned to hold the march anyway, with new social distancing protocols. The event would continue "unafraid and ever encouraged in our mission to defend the unborn," March for Life President Jeanne Mancini said in July.

But the fences, barriers, and increased police presence on Capitol Hill made that plan impossible in 2021. Citing "the heightened pressures that law enforcement officers and others are currently facing in and around the Capitol," the group encouraged people to stay away from Washington this year.

Tags: News, Abortion, Supreme Court, March For Life, President Trump, Coronavirus, Capitol Hill

Original Author: Nicholas Rowan

Original Location: In-person March for Life canceled amid Capitol Hill security concerns