| Advertisement |
Jan. 21 (UPI) -- As abortion opponents demonstrated Friday at the annual March for Life rally, some said they hoped "something very big" is on the immediate horizon for their movement. Participants in the 49th annual March For Life rally said they hoped the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe vs. Wade, the decision that legalized abortion and sparked the beginning of the annual march.
Advertisement
"We are hoping and praying that this year, 2022, will bring a historic change for life," said Jeanne Mancini, the president of the March for Life Defense and Education Fund, told The New York Times.
Kristan Hawkins, president of the Students For Life of America, told the Washington Post, "There is a very big feeling in the pro-life movement and with the young people we work with that something very big is on the horizon.
"Roe being reversed really is only the beginning, and that's what we've been preparing for," Hawkins said, "having this army for this ground game of this fight that will go state by state."
The Supreme Court is expected to rule in coming months on whether a Mississippi law banning most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy is constitutional. The court indicated in December that it would uphold the law.
Earlier this month, Florida moved to enact a similar law.
The Mississippi case also asks the court to abolish Roe vs. Wade, under which states cannot bar abortion prior to viability at 24 weeks.
At least 14 states have approved laws protecting the right to abortion, which will likely remain in place regardless of the Mississippi case.
According to a Pew Research poll done in May, 59% of Americans think abortion should be legal. Just 39% in that poll said abortion should be illegal.
A controversial abortion law banning the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy was passed in Texas in September. Another law banning abortion-induced medication went into effect in December.
The law has since been challenged by abortion providers, who were denied their request to move the case to district courts on Thursday.
This year's March For Life theme is "Equality Begins in the Womb."
