Live updates from the 2024 March for Life

Washington D.C., Jan 19, 2024 / 10:15 am

The 51st annual March for Life kicks off today, Jan. 19, almost two years after the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 case that legalized abortion across the nation.

Follow along here for live updates on the march. All times are in U.S. Eastern Standard Time:

Jan. 19, 4 p.m.

The 51st annual March for Life comes to an end. Despite freezing temperatures and nonstop snow, thousands of marchers showed up to serve as voices for the voiceless.

Jan. 19, 3:30 p.m.

A look at the March for Life in 90 seconds.

Jan. 19, 3 p.m.

A pro-lifer carries a life-size cross as he marches in protection for the unborn.

Jan. 19, 2:30 p.m.

Groups of marchers chant, sing, and pray as they make their way down the route.

This year, the marching route ends between the Capitol and the Supreme Court. This was done in an effort to not only mark the victory the pro-life movement experienced with the overturn of Roe v. Wade but also to give witness to legislators that the fight for the unborn will not end until every life is protected.

Jan. 19, 1:30 p.m.

As ever, marchers show up in droves with signs, displaying a vast number of creative, funny, sweet, heartfelt messages in support of unborn children and the right to life.

Even Frosty is pro-life!

Take a look at the best signs we have seen during the march here.

Jan. 19, 1:15 p.m.

The March for Life begins after speeches from Benjamin Watson, Jean Marie Davis, Rep. Chris Smith, Aisha Taylor, Antonio De Mello, Greg Laurie, and more.

(Story continues below)

College students from Penn State University in State College, Pennsylvania, lead the march.

Jan. 19, 1:05 p.m.

Jim Harbaugh, head coach of the Michigan Wolverines football team, shares a brief message to the crowd before former NFL player Benjamin Watson takes the stage.

Read more about the speeches which took place at the march here.

Jan. 19, 1:00 p.m.

Antonio de Mello, a Brazilian pro-life father of 46 adopted children, all of whom are survivors of failed abortion attempts, speaks to the crowd with the help of translator.

Jan. 19, 12:40 p.m.

Aisha Taylor follows Davis. She shares her story about how she became pregnant unexpectedly with twins. Desperate, she picked up the phone to schedule a procedure at an abortion provider. 

“Thank God, they did not answer the phone. I never made the appointment,” she said.

Jan. 19, 12:35 p.m.

Jean-Marie Davis, executive director of Branches Pregnancy Resource Center in Vermont, addresses a crowd of thousands on the National Mall, many huddled for warmth in the blowing snow and clutching homemade pro-life signs as they prepare to march to the Supreme Court building. 

Davis, a survivor of human trafficking who spent more than 25 years being bought and sold, tells the crowds about how scared and alone she felt when she discovered she was pregnant with her now 8-year-old son, Jonah. A woman named Phyllis at a pregnancy resource center in New Hampshire befriended and assisted Davis and, throughout the course of Davis’ pregnancy and the birth of her son, introduced her to Christ. 

Now, as executive director of the pregnancy center, Davis helps numerous women and fathers in Vermont who are in a similar situation she once was in. 

You can watch her interview with EWTN Pro-Life Weekly here.

Jan. 19, noon

Thousands of pro-lifers from across the United States gather for the March for Life Rally.

A group of nine seventh graders from St. Michael School in Lowell, Massachusetts, say they are looking forward to seeing the large crowds that are gathering for the March for Life.

They are a part of a group of more than 500 pilgrims from the Archdiocese of Boston who traveled to Washington, D.C.

A marcher from Nigeria shares that the United States can "learn" how to "respect life" from her country where abortion is not legalized.

Jan. 19, 11 a.m.

The March for Life pre-rally concert kicks off on the National Mall. Danny Gokey, who was a finalist on the singing competition television show “American Idol,” performs.

Jan. 19, 8:50 a.m.

The first attendees arrive at the 51st annual March for Life despite the snow.

Jan. 19, 6 a.m.

The second annual Life Fest kicks off with musical group Damascus Worship hitting the stage at the D.C. Armory in our nation’s capital. Life Fest is hosted by the Sisters of Life and Knights of Columbus.

Speakers at Life Fest include Sister Pia Jude and Sister Luca Benedict — Sisters of Life who also happen to be twin sisters — Cardinal Sean O’Malley, Sarah Kroger, Monsignor James Shea, and more.

Mass was celebrated by Archbishop William Lori, supreme chaplain of the Knights of Columbus, and concelebrated by Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley and several hundred priests from dioceses and orders across the country.

In his homily, O’Malley said that “dismantling unjust laws is only the beginning. We still have the arduous task of creating a pro-life culture, of changing people’s minds and hearts.”

The relics of the Ulma family are also available for veneration at the event. Polish couple Jozef and Wiktoria and their seven children, including an unborn baby, were killed by Nazis for sheltering Jews. The family was beatified on Sept.10, 2023.

Jan. 18, 5 p.m.

Thousands of pilgrims from across the nation gather at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., for the opening Mass in the National Prayer Vigil for Life. The main celebrant of the Mass is Bishop Michael Burbidge of the nearby Arlington Diocese, head of the USCCB’s Pro-Life Activities Committee.

It was standing room only at the basilica as young people fill both the upper church and lower church as well as the side chapels.

At this year’s March for Life vigil Mass in Washington, D.C., Burbidge calls on those gathered in the packed basilica to “bring light to the darkest corners.”

“Like Jesus, it is not enough to reserve our message for those who will readily receive it and to pursue victories only in those places where we are likely to win. We must persist in those places where our message is rejected. We must bring light to the darkest corners,” he says.