Starting tomorrow, ERLC and Focus on the Family will be hosting Evangelicals for Life, the first-ever major pro-life conference for evangelicals in conjunction with the March for Life. Here are five facts you should know about the annual demonstration:
1. The March for Life is an annual pro-life event held in Washington, D.C., on or around the anniversary of the United States Supreme Court's decision legalizing abortion in the case Roe v. Wade. The overall goal of the march is to overturn the Roe decision.
2. The first March for Life was held in the nation's capital on Jan. 22, 1974 — exactly one year after the Roe decision was announced.
3. The annual event was started by Nellie Gray. Following the Supreme Court decision in Roe in 1973, Gray retired from her federal career and dedicated the remainder of her life to the protection of the unborn. Before her death in 2012, Gray had attended all 38 rallies.
4. The March for Life is one of only two protest marches and demonstrations that are held annually on the National Mall. The other one is “Rolling Thunder,” a demonstration of bikers for the benefit of American POWs held every year on Memorial Day.
5. The original March in 1974 was attended by 20,000 pro-lifers. By 2003, the March for Life brought in around 250,000 attendees each year. In the past few years, however, an estimated 300,000-400,000 people have attended the D.C march.
