March for Life Matters More Than Any Political Speech

The March for Life is the most encouraging event outside of Sunday Mass. Even after the end of Roe v. Wade, young people — and really, people of all ages — flood Washington, D.C. And once again, on the tenth anniversary of a blizzard drama that I got stuck in, fearlessly they face the cold with another impending snowstorm.

I love being in D.C. during the March for Life days, because it’s a reunion for many of us, but more importantly it is a reinvigoration. Defending the defenseless is the human-rights issue of our lives, and to see new faces who get it every year keeps us going, truthfully.

Behind the Scenes at the March

Listen to my interview with March for Life President Jennie Bradley Lichter here.

The Chicago-Born Pope in Rome Makes the March

Politicians — we need them. But for those of us who have been going to the March for Life for decades, praying the night before and the morning of, it was amazing to have the pope send a message this year in encouragement. Pope John Paul II wrote with great love about the mission of the Gospel of Life. Pope Benedict may never get the credit he deserves, but he celebrated some of the great women of the church. Pope Francis, who was often considered the great progressive hope, talked about how we treat life disposably and how our treatment of the family is detrimental to us all. But, goodness, to have a U.S.-born pope who was part of his undergraduate pro-life club at Villanova send a message of support — it’s a little bit of a game changer. I hope the high school and college students appreciate it. I sure do.

His message:

I send warm greetings to those of you participating in the 2026 March for Life. I likewise express heartfelt appreciation, and assure you of my spiritual closeness as you gather for this eloquent public witness to affirm that “the protection of the right to life constitutes the indispensable foundation of every other human right.” . . .

Indeed, “a society is healthy and truly progresses only when it safeguards the sanctity of human life and works actively to promote it.” In this regard, I would encourage you, especially the young people, to continue striving to ensure that life is respected in all of its stages through appropriate efforts at every level of society, including dialogue with civil and political leaders.

May Jesus, who promised to be with us always (Mt 28:20), accompany you today as you courageously and peacefully march on behalf of unborn children. By advocating for them, please know that you are fulfilling the Lord’s command to serve him in the least of our brothers and sisters (Mt 25:31-46).

With these sentiments I entrust all of you, as well as those who support you with their prayers and sacrifices, to the intercession of Mary Immaculate, Patroness of the United States of America, and I gladly impart my Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of abundant heavenly graces.

Poverty as a Reason for Assisted Suicide?

The kids call it “saying the quiet part out loud,” I believe: In the British House of Lords the other day, there was some honesty about what assisted suicide is all about: a disposable society. If it’s easier — and cheaper — to kill, the law is going to make it palatable. And encouraged.

From the exchange:

Lord Falconer: “Choice is the key thing. Your financial position might be an element in what makes you reach a decision.”

Lord Harper: “I am slightly incredulous at this, so I just want to make sure I understand him correctly. He’s talking about . . . someone’s autonomy. If you are in a financial position where you feel that you are unable to live properly because you have no money, and as a result of that you decide that you want to end your life, that isn’t a freely reached decision. That is being done because of your circumstances. Is he really saying that he’s okay with poor people ending their lives with the assistance of others because they’re poor? Because that is what it sounds like.”

Falconer: “I am saying that what this bill does is allow you to make your own decision.”

Harper: “I think people would be horrified that he is suggesting that somebody because of their financial circumstances should be more likely to end their life than somebody who isn’t.”

Falconer: “I’m saying it’s their choice.”

Watch here.

Loving Hospice Is the Answer

Like a number of people I have as colleagues at National Review, Wesley J. Smith is a national treasure, writing about some of the most vulnerable — and complicated threats to human life — for decades now.

Here is his latest for Human Life Review — very much not in the spirit of killing people because they are poor.

Circling back to the March for Life, one of the main features of the event is prayer. People pack not only the major D.C. churches, but hotels and anywhere else you can find a priest or group of young people who get that this is the civil-rights cause of their lives. The main prayer powerhouse for as long as I can remember happens the night before the march, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. This year, Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, Neb., who is an exemplary witness to the human condition, gave the homily. Here’s a little, which I pray young men hear in a particular way:

I remember very vividly in the 1970s going to a high school party soon after abortion was legalized. There was a friend of mine at this party who let it be known that his girlfriend was pregnant, and he was asking us if we could all chip in money so he could “take care of the problem.” I can’t remember too much about the story, but I do remember feeling deep down inside of me — there was something wrong with all of this. I didn’t know what and I didn’t know why. I knew his girlfriend well. We were in middle school together. And I remember feeling very sad for her, and for him. That stuck with me for a long time.

Fast-forward a few years later, and I’m in college at a huge state university. Providentially, I end up stumbling into a “great books” humanities program. And by being exposed to the great works of literature and poetry, art, history, and music — “the greatest that has ever been thought and said” (Matthew Arnold) — I discovered truth, goodness, and beauty for the very first time in my life! Much better than any Grateful Dead concert! And I discovered the Catholic Church and Jesus Christ, who is truth, goodness, and beauty incarnate! I had never been baptized, so halfway through my junior year in college I was baptized, confirmed, and received my first Holy Communion.

And then sometime after that, someone gave me an old beat-up copy of Humanae Vitae by St. Paul VI, his monumental encyclical on human life. When I read that encyclical (which is probably one of the shortest papal documents in history!), the scales fell from my eyes. Now I knew “why” I felt so uneasy and sad back in high school. For the first time I saw that human life was a mysterious gift from God — and how each one of us are made in his own image and likeness. And how human sexuality has a unique sacredness and beauty. And how in the sanctuary of our mother’s womb, the Lord has formed us and made us his servants, as Isaiah spoke today. And that God had a plan for me, and that God has a plan for each one of us.

And as I began looking at the world through a Catholic lens, I saw how everything was beautifully connected, an integrated whole. . . . As I continued to become more and more involved in pro-life ministry, it became crystal clear to me that, in the words of St. Mother Theresa, “abortion is the greatest destroyer of peace in the world.”

Around National Review

• Wesley J. Smith: NIH Bans Funding of Fetal Tissue Research

• Emma Foley: An Unplanned Pregnancy Is Never the End of the Story

• Michael J. New: Pro-Lifers Should Push for These Realistic Policy Goals

• New Knights of Columbus/Marist Poll Shows Strong Support for Many Pro-Life Policy Goals

• Dr. Ingrid Skop: In the Abortion Industry, ‘Access’ Now Matters More Than Care

• Kamden Mulder: Some March for Life Attendees Disillusioned by Administration’s Soft Approach on Abortion

• Charles C. W. Cooke: Gavin Newsom Is Fooling No One

• Ramesh Ponnuru: Yes to Pro-Life Realism, No to Pro-Life Defeatism

• Me: We Don’t Need Politicians to Know That Life Is Worth Living

Pope Leo’s Message to the March for Life

Other Things