Students travel to attend first post-Biden March for Life

In the immediate wake of the presidential inauguration, thousands of pro-life students from high schools and universities across the country have made their way to the nation’s capital to participate in Friday’s national March for Life.

The rally and march, taking place in the heart of Washington, D.C., marks the 52^nd iteration of the largest annual pro-life event in the country.

Franciscan University, in Steubenville, Ohio, shared it was sending seven busloads of students to D.C. to participate. The university notes it has sent students to every national March for Life since the tradition began in 1974. 

“Reflecting on this year’s March for Life theme, this is a chance for Franciscan students to affirm the mission of Christ and the sanctity of human life,” says Rachel Lasher, the student president of Franciscan University’s Students for Life club.  

“As disciples of Christ, we are called to uphold the beauty of the family by supporting mothers and fathers while also defending human life from conception to natural death. That is why we march.” 

The March for Life also draws crowds of students from D.C.-area institutions such as the Catholic University of America, which serves as an official co-sponsor of the event. According to a press release, at least 300 students from Catholic University planned to join in Friday’s march. 

Newly inaugurated President Donald Trump offered a major morale boost to pro-life Americans ahead of the march, as he signed an executive order Thursday pardoning 23 pro-life protestors.  

The individuals impacted by the pardons were imprisoned for peacefully protesting and praying outside of abortion facilities – an act the Biden administration’s Department of Justice deemed to be in violation of the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.  

In contrast, the new administration is actually a direct participant in March for Life activities, with Vice President J.D. Vance speaking in person and President Trump sharing his support virtually as he travels. 

“President Trump governed as a pro-life president during his first term, which resulted in a long list of accomplishments,” Jeanne Mancini and Jennie Bradley, the president and president-elect of March for Life, write in a joint statement. 

“We look forward to working with him and Vice President Vance as they dismantle the Biden administration’s aggressive and unpopular abortion agenda and once again put wins on the board for vulnerable unborn children and their mothers.”