For the past couple weeks, news broadcasts have covered countless strikes and rallies for various controversial subjects. One that slipped mostly under the radar, however, was the 44th March for Life that took place in Washington, D.C. at the end of January. The main message of the March was Pro-Life, and the event has been going on for decades. The marchers have been fighting against the Roe V. Wade Supreme Court decision from 1973 that legalized abortion in the United States. It is a big task to take on, and the movement is taking small steps at a time. This year, the group as a whole was bringing awareness to something titled the “20-20 Bill”. If passed, this Bill would make abortions illegal after 20 weeks. With this new goal in mind, some very interesting things took place during the March that made it stand apart from previous years.

Before it kicked off, President Donald Trump called out the mainstream media for not covering the event by tweeting that the marchers “have my full support”. Additionally, for the first time in March for Life history, a Vice President visited the occasion. Mike Pence gave a moving speech, proclaiming, “All across the nation, life is winning again!” The special White House attention was a first in March for Life history and reinvigorated those participating.

Although there were some leaps forward for the cause, other things failed to change. Contrary to Trump’s address to the mainstream media, the March for Life didn’t get the amount of hoped for attention. The Media Research Center used the Women’s March as a comparison to show the gap in news coverage. According to a study done by the organization, the Women’s March had 129 times more coverage on major television networks than the March for Life. Despite the lack of coverage, those who were able to attend stated that it was a March to remember. Mary N. , a Hunterdon Central student and first-timer for the event, stated that it was an unforgettable experience. “It was pretty eye-opening,” she explained. “It was amazing how many people cared about it — and not just people from churches. People from different races and cultures were all there.”

With a turnout in the hundreds of thousands, the 2017 March for Life brought attention to the controversial battle of Pro-Life v. Pro-Choice occurring across America. With numbers growing every year for the cause, participants have high hopes for future years.