By Joe Bukuras
Boston, Mass., Jun 21, 2023 / 12:45 pm
On Saturday, June 24, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., several pro-life organizations will be leading a “National Celebrate Life Day” rally to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Roe v. Wade was the 1973 landmark court decision that legalized abortion nationwide but was overturned on June 24, 2022, by the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision.
A June report by the pro-abortion organization Society of Family Planning said that more than 25,000 expected abortions didn’t come to fruition from July 2022 through March 2023 because of the new legal protections for the unborn.
The rally is set to take place from 10:30 a.m. to noon. There will be a ticketed gala at 7 p.m. at the nearby Renaissance Hotel, about a 15-minute drive from the Lincoln Memorial.
Those planning to attend the event should prepare for the possibility of rain. Weather reports are calling for a high of 86 degrees with scattered thunderstorms.
The event is scheduled to take place rain or shine but could move to inside the Renaissance Hotel if the weather makes it necessary, according to Kristi Hamrick, vice president of media and policy for Students for Life Action.
Hamrick did not have an estimate of the number of attendees expected at the rally when CNA asked on Wednesday, but Tina Whittington, Students for Life of America’s executive vice president, told CNA in early June that thousands are expected to attend.
Former vice president and current presidential candidate Mike Pence will be speaking at the rally along with Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, who was instrumental in overturning Roe, and Dr. Alveda King, the niece of civil rights activist and icon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Event speakers include Students for Life of America president Kristan Hawkins; Lila Rose, president of Live Action; Shawn Carney, president and CEO of 40 Days for Life; and Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, among many others. The full list of speakers can be found here.
Speaking with CNA in early June, Whittington said that the rally will be “laying out a vision of where to go next in the pro-life movement: achieving national protection for preborn Americans under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution.”
“We are fighting for protections for life in law at the state and federal level,” Whittington said, adding that “as long as Planned Parenthood is funded through our federal government and pro-abortionists fight for life-ending bills in Congress, there’s a fight to be had in Washington.”
Carney of 40 Days for Life told CNA in early June that the rally is a significant event for Catholics because Roe v. Wade was overturned on the feast of the Sacred Heart.
“This event is the epitome of how Catholics in America can make history if we trust God, go to work at the grassroots, and unapologetically share the Church’s beautiful teachings on the dignity of the human person,” Carney said.
More information about the rally and the gala can be found here.
