Huge crowds marched in Washington DC last Friday to protest the ongoing Roe-v-Wade abortion regime imposed on all fifty states by the US Supreme Court in 1973.

Meanwhile, that same morning, the Court released a judgement refusing to stop a Texas law that bans most abortions after a foetal heartbeat has been detected, while in the White House, President Joe Biden reaffirmed his commitment to uphold an unrestricted licence to abortion.

On the streets, participants returned in large numbers to the annual March for Life, braving frigid weather one year after the event’s pandemic-related virtual shutdown to demonstrate solidarity for the unborn at the start what could be a decisive year for the pro-life movement.

Billed as the “largest human rights demonstration in the world,” the daylong gathering began tentatively with the ongoing coronavirus crisis, coupled with tightened COVID-19 restrictions in the District of Columbia, keeping some regulars at home. But by the start of a mid-day, pre-march rally, headlined by a passionate speech by “Bible in a Year” podcast star Father Mike Schmitz, the size of the crowd had swelled into the tens of thousands, resembling a typical year’s turnout.

But this year’s march was anything but typical. The possibility that the country’s highest court later this year might strike down the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide — and sparked the first March for Life 49 years ago — lent a festive, anticipatory air to the day’s rituals, culminating in a walk up Constitution Avenue to the steps of the Supreme Court.