March for Life: 5 interesting facts about the annual pro-life gathering

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Wednesday, January 17, 2024

A virtual 2021 March

Pro-life activists participate in the 'March for Life,' an annual event to mark the anniversary of the 1973 Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion in the U.S., outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., January 29, 2021. — Pro-life activists participate in the "March for Life," an annual event to mark the anniversary of the 1973 Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion in the U.S., outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., January 29, 2021. | SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

For decades, the March for Life had brought tens of thousands of pro-life activists and students to the District of Columbia for a massive in-person gathering. This included in January 2020, with people coming together weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic would shut down parts of the nation.

However, as the January 2021 event was drawing near and pandemic-related gathering restrictions were still in place in Washington, D.C., organizers announced that the traditional march would not occur.

“In light of the fact that we are in the midst of a pandemic which may be peaking, and in view of the heightened pressures that law enforcement officers and others are currently facing in and around the Capitol, this year’s March for Life will look different,” the March for Life said in a statement.

The organizers explained that the change in plan was for “the protection of all of those who participate in the annual March, as well as the many law enforcement personnel and others who work tirelessly each year to ensure a safe and peaceful event.”

A smaller group still marched in person on Jan. 29 of that year, while many speakers and musicians, including former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow, participated in a virtual gathering.

“I do believe that every single life matters to God,” Tebow declared, stating that Jesus Christ “had a mission" and "that mission was a rescue mission for us.”

“That mission was to come down to this Earth and go to the cross, and defeat death, and overcome the world. … When Jesus was going to the cross, what was the joy set before Him? It was you. It was me. It was us being made right with His death. It was us having life and life abundantly.”