On Friday, thousands of pro-lifers will participate in the March for Life, the first post-Roe March since the U.S, Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade with its Dobbs v. Jackson decision last June. This year's event happens as the battle now goes to each of the individual 50 states, as this year's theme highlights. One of the very first speakers at the pre-March rally included Mississippi's Attorney General Lynn Fitch, who was instrumental in getting Roe overturned.
Although it was the law of the land for nearly 50 years, Roe was finally overturned with the Dobbs case, which examined the constitutionality of pre-viability bans, in this case, Mississippi's 15-week abortion ban. Ultimately, Fitch outright asked the Court to overturn Roe. Others, including former Vice President Mike Pence, filed amicus briefs asking the same.
In her opening remarks, Jeanne Mancini, the president of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund, reminded the enthusiastic crowd that although Roe has indeed been overturned, they will keep marching. Fitch very much echoed that in her own remarks, highlighting what's at stake in "a new Dobbs era."
"This year is different. We have overturned Roe v. Wade. But until we can give women and their children what they need to thrive, and until we can change our laws to reflect our compassion, life remains fragile."
— March for Life (@March_for_Life) January 20, 2023
-@LynnFitchAG#WhyWeMarch #MarchForLife
"We can protect life, but this is not the end of our journey," Fitch said, after celebrating with an applauding crowd the fact that "this year is different, we have overturned Roe with the Mississippi Dobbs case." She went on to remind the crowd that "until we can give women when they are most vulnerable what they need and what their children need to thrive, an until we can make changes in our laws that reflect our compassion for all life, and until we can change hearts and minds in our fellow Americans, until then, life remains fragile, and the embrace of human dignity remains aspirational."
As to what the next focus should be, now that Roe has been overturned, "in this new Dobbs era," Fitch encouraged the crowd to "channel that same determination, and hope, and prayer that has led you to these streets for 50 years." She went on to list a whole host of examples of how pro-lifers can help women, children, and families through "changes," including "changes to support women and children," not only when they are pregnant, but when they have a family, through childcare that is affordable and more accessible. She also called for workplace flexibility, child support so that fathers are responsible for children, education and resources for women, and fixing the adoption and foster care systems.
By listing such examples, Fitch discredited claims that pro-lifers don't do enough for women after they've already had their children, and that they were only interested in ending Roe v. Wade.
Fitch went on to remind the crowd that "this is the journey that we all set upon the day that the Supreme Court told us that Roe v. Wade was behind us."
In speaking again to the marchers about "this new Dobbs era," before thanking the crowd and leaving the stage, Fitch spoke of a "society that truly empowers women and promotes life. To an America, where the dignity is inherent in all life, and is cherished and respected by all."
Polling that was released just ahead of the March for Life from the Knights of Columbus/Marist as well as the 2023 Pro-Life Gen YouGov-Vinea poll, conducted by Students for Life of America (SFLA), shows that Americans largely favor commonsense abortion restrictions.