The 52nd annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. took place on Friday, January 24, 2025. The event featured multiple speakers — from pro-surfer Bethany Hamilton, to Vice President JD Vance, to Live Action’s founder and president Lila Rose. A message from President Donald Trump was also played for the crowd.
Pro-life politicians kicked off the speeches of the day. Senators Katie Britt of Iowa, Jodi Ernst of Idaho, Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, and Pete Ricketts of Nebraska joined Representatives Andy Biggs of Arizona, Julie Fedorchak of North Dakota, Andy Harris of Maryland, Bob Latta of Ohio, John McGuire of Virginia, Bob Onder of Missouri, and Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin. Governor Jeff Landry of Louisiana also stood on stage as Senate Majority Leader John Thune (S.D.), House Speaker Mike Johnson (La.), Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and Rep. Chris Smith (N.J.) spoke.
Remarks from some of the speakers are highlighted below.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune
Senate Majority Leader Thune spoke first, saying “We stand here today, you stand here today to bear witness to the beauty and goodness of every human life, to remind people of the great truth upon which our country was founded — all men and women are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights and that among these are the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” He reminded marchers, “You are not alone. You are part of a great movement united around the truth that every life is precious, that every human being is created in the image and likeness of God, and has … value and worth.
“The fight may be long but we have the truth on our side and I am confident that at the end of the day, truth will win, life will win,” he said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson
Speaker of the House Johnson noted that “As one of his first official acts, President Trump just freed and pardoned nearly two dozen wrongfully imprisoned pro-life activists. And I don’t know if you saw his executive order on gender, but it defines life as beginning at conception rather than birth.”
He also shared a personal story, saying he was born in 1972, the year before Roe v. Wade, and was born from an “unplanned teen pregnancy.”
“I am so eternally grateful that my mom and dad ignored all the people who told them to just ‘take care of that problem’ and they chose to embrace life and to have me the first of their four children.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis
Just months after his state of Florida defeated a pro-abortion state constitutional amendment, Gov. DeSantis took the stage with his wife and three young children by his side. “The sanctity of life does not depend on poll results,” he said. “It doesn’t depend on which way the wind is blowing. It’s an enduring truth and it represents the foundation of our society….”
Rep. Chris Smith
Rep. Smith noted that he met his wife 52 years ago in the pro-life movement and has continued to fight for life ever since. He said this year is a time to “recommit and rededicate ourselves” to the cause, “to recommit with love and compassion — even for our opponents who don’t wish us well — to tangibly assist women, especially through the extraordinary work of pregnancy care centers, in order to protect precious babies and also to protect their lives.”
He spoke of pregnancy centers being “under siege by politicians” and called for the defunding of Planned Parenthood.
“Today, we recommit to exposing abortion methods, which the other side never wants to talk about. To a society that has chosen to be blind to the realities of brutally dismembering helpless babies with sharp curettes, knives, and the kids we know feel pain… and also the poisoning of babies, starving them to death with the abortion pill.”
Live Action President Lila Rose
Following the politicians, Live Action founder and president Lila Rose spoke, reminding pro-lifers that they have “the power to change minds at the dinner table, on campuses, at soccer games. You can change minds. You are the voice for those who have no voice.”
Dr. Catherine Wheeler
Dr. Catherine Wheeler, certified OB/GYN and board member of the American Association of Pro-Life OBGYNs, said, “In medical school, I had an unplanned pregnancy. The first thing I thought was my life and my career are over because isn’t that what they tell us women? But the first person I told said, ‘You’re gonna be an amazing mother. That’s amazing.’ And more women need to hear that.”
Her first rotation back to work after giving birth was in obstetrics, and it suddenly became her passion. But in residency, she was introduced to abortion for babies with health conditions, and was told it wasn’t a doctor’s place to judge. Rather than healing, they were talking about killing, yet she began committing abortions — believing she was helping women.
“Until one day, and I can’t tell you what happened, why, but suddenly the blinders came off and for the first time, I actually saw the baby I was about to kill with horror and for the first time I actually felt the evil presence in the room of what was behind abortion,” she said. “Somehow, I did that abortion. I don’t know how. I never did another abortion in my life.”
Abortion Survivor Josiah Presley
Next, Josiah Presley from the Abortion Survivors Network shared that when his birth mother was two months pregnant with him, she underwent a D&C abortion.
“At the time, they thought everything had gone as planned and they sent her home. But it wasn’t until a few months later that she realized that the abortion had actually failed and I was still very much so alive,” he said.
Born with part of his arm missing, Presley was adopted by a family in the U.S. “Today I march to be a voice for those who are voiceless like I was all those years ago. Today I march because when I was unseen and devalued, my God had a different plan. And today we march to declare what our creator has already declared — that all human life is valuable because it is created in the image of God,” he said.
Surfer Bethany Hamilton
Surfer and shark attack survivor Bethany Hamilton shared how, after losing her arm to a shark attack, “I didn’t know what my future held. I needed hope. Someone came alongside me and gave me hope that I could surf with one arm. They gave me a hint of inspiration that I could do it and that gave me the courage and bravery to do what I hadn’t seen anyone else do — surf with one arm.”
She required that same bravery when she became pregnant for the first time. “I remember the moment when I first had my very first pregnancy test, I had a similar fear. I didn’t think I could do it. I don’t know where that came from. I came from a great family, a Christian household. I was married to a wonderful man and all of a sudden I was rejecting this God-given gift and beauty that was only a blessing. What made me think I wasn’t ready?”
She reminded the crowd that none of us are above the fear and the struggles that women face with an unexpected pregnancy. “They are just being fed lies and the more they hear the lies the more they believe them. … I had all the support in the world. Imagine the woman who doesn’t.”
President Trump
The final two speeches came from President Trump (who spoke via pre-recorded message) and Vice President Vance.
In 2017, Trump became the first president in history to speak at a March for Life. This year, he thanked the marchers for showing “extraordinary love and compassion” for preborn children, and said he would work to care for young families.
“We will work to offer a loving hand to new mothers and young families,” he said, “and we will support adoption and foster care. We will protect women and vulnerable children under my leadership. A reformed Department of Justice will finally investigate the radical left attacks on churches and crisis pregnancy centers and we will bring perpetrators to justice.”
Vice President JD Vance
Vice President Vance then took the stage for the final speech in his first official public appearance as vice president.
“We are proud to march with you and yes, we will be back next year. The excitement, the passion, the unwavering conviction that every single person here on the National Mall clearly feels — it is deeply moving to me and means more to President Trump and I than I could possibly say.”
He continued, “The event theme this year is Life: Why We March. And there are obvious answers to the implicit question it poses. We march to protect the unborn. We march to proclaim and live out the sacred truth that every single child is a miracle and a gift from God. Now, each time Usha and I welcomed our own children into the world, we saw firsthand the indescribable beauty of new life… And watching all three of our kids grow, learn, and become who they are today has been the single greatest blessing of our lives.”
He added, “The task of our movement is to protect innocent life. It’s to defend the unborn and it’s also to be pro-family and pro-life life in the fullest sense of that word possible.”
He stated, “We failed a generation, not only by permitting a culture of abortion on demand, but also by neglecting to help young parents to achieve the ingredients they need to lead a happy and meaningful life. A culture of radical individualism took root. One where the responsibilities and joys of family life were seen as obstacles to overcome, not as personal fulfillment or personal blessings. Our society has failed to recognize the obligation that one generation has to another is a core part of living in a society to begin with.”
He added, “We need a culture that celebrates life at all stages, one that recognizes and truly believes that the benchmark of national success is not our GDP number or our stock market but whether people feel that they can raise thriving and healthy families in our country.”
Vance also spoke about Trump’s endorsement of the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which unfortunately failed in the Senate this week, and spoke of how the government will no longer direct FBI raids on the homes of pro-life activists or put pro-life activists in prison. He spoke of Trump’s pardoning the pro-lifers imprisoned by the Biden-Harris DOJ.
“It stopped on Monday (inauguration day) and we’re not gonna let it come back to this country,” he said. “… This administration stands by you, we stand with you, and most importantly, we stand with the most vulnerable and the basic principle that people exercising their right to protest for the most vulnerable should never have the government go after them ever again.”
Tell President Trump, RFK, Jr., Elon, and Vivek:
Stop killing America’s future. Defund Planned Parenthood NOW!
