Ron DeSantis, Bethany Hamilton among speakers at 2025 March for Life
Pro-life political figures at both the state and federal levels are set to join other noted activists at this year’s March for Life in Washington, D.C., which is being held as the movement continues to grapple with changes to abortion policies in several states.
The 2025 March for Life will be held on Friday. In a statement provided to The Christian Post, the organization of the same name that puts on the annual pro-life march announced the speakers who will address the crowd gathered on the National Mall.
The most notable politicians speaking at the event are Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J. DeSantis signed a six-week abortion ban into law in his state, while Smith has emerged as one of the outspoken supporters of the pro-life movement during his career in the U.S. House of Representatives that has spanned more than four decades.
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Other speakers at this year’s March for Life will include Lila Rose, founder and president of the pro-life advocacy group Live Action, professional surfer Bethany Hamilton, abortion survivor Josiah Presley, obstetrician Dr. Catherine Wheeler, outgoing March for Life President Jeanne Mancini, March for Life President-elect Jennie Bradley Lichter, Beverly Jacobson of the advocacy group Mama Bear Care and Hannah Lape of the Wheaton College Voice for Life.
Two religious leaders will speak at the event as well: the Rev. Daniel Thomas, the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Toledo, Ohio, who also serves as chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and the Rev. Matthew Harrison, the president of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.
“We are overjoyed to welcome these inspiring pro-life leaders at this year’s 52nd March for Life,” said Mancini. “For the past 52 years, the March for Life has powerfully witnessed to the tragedy of abortion, while calling for stronger protections for women and the unborn. This year’s speakers will address the 2025 theme — ’Life: Why We March’ which reminds us of the basic truth that every life has inherent human dignity from the start.”
Bradley Lichter described herself as “thrilled to be joining the March for Life at this pivotal moment,” adding: “I couldn’t be more excited to share the stage this year with dedicated elected officials, pro-life leaders, and other great Americans who will share their testimonies about why they fight for life.”
Lichter continued, “There is nothing else like the March for Life, and this year’s lineup is a reminder of the enduring strength of our movement.”
Ahead of the rally, which kicks off at noon, the band “Unspoken” will perform. Julie Stone of Sopranojam Music will sing the National Anthem.
While this year’s March for Life marks the first since 2020 to take place with a Republican in the White House, it remains uncertain whether President-elect Donald Trump or Vice President-elect J.D. Vance will deliver remarks either in person or virtually. Trump became the first sitting president to address the annual event in person in 2020 and the first sitting president to give a live speech virtually at the march in 2018.
In previous administrations, Republican presidents had delivered pre-recorded remarks.
This year’s March for Life comes more than two-and-a-half years after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide in the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson ruling. To this day, the annual march continues to coincide with the Jan. 22 anniversary of Roe.
After the Supreme Court determined that the U.S. Constitution does not contain a right to abortion, several states began implementing pro-life measures that ban nearly all abortions or restrict them to the earliest stages of pregnancy.
Data compiled by the pro-life organization Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America show that 13 states have near-total bans on abortion, while four have such measures in litigation, four ban abortion after six weeks gestation, two prohibit it after 12 weeks gestation and one state has a 15-week abortion ban that was signed into law.
The remaining 26 states and the District of Columbia have “few or no protections.” The map does not reflect the results of the 2024 election, where voters in two states supported measures overturning pro-life laws.
The 2025 March for Life is the first to be held since pro-abortion ballot measures were defeated for the first time following the Dobbs decision. Efforts to enshrine a right to abortion in state constitutions began following the Dobbs ruling, and prior to 2024, all four of them were successful. Voters approved pro-abortion ballot measures in California, Michigan and Vermont in 2022 and Ohio in 2023.
The 2024 election saw mixed results for the pro-life movement. While voters approved measures establishing a constitutional right to abortion in Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Montana and Nebraska, similar efforts to amend state constitutions failed in Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota. At the same time, voters in Nebraska approved a ballot question banning abortions after the first trimester, marking the first time following the Dobbs decision that a pro-life ballot measure had passed.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
