In photos: Anti-abortion activists join March for Life in snow-covered D.C.
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Anti-abortion activists hold signs at the annual March for Life rally on the National Mall on Jan. 19 in Washington, DC. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Thousands of anti-abortion activists gathered at the snow-covered National Mall in Washington D.C. Friday for the annual March for Life.
The big picture: The rally, which is the second since Roe v. Wade was overturned, comes as Republicans wrestle with anti-abortion initiatives after losing a series of ballot measures.
- The upcoming presidential election could be heavily influenced by abortion politics, with candidates expected to use the issue as a rallying call to turn out voters.
Driving the news: House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) spoke at the rally, encouraging the opponents of abortion rights to "be encouraged" and "press on" in hopes that together they can "make this great difference."
- "We can stand with every woman for every child, and we can truly build a culture that cherishes and protects life," he said.
- Johnson added that he himself was the product of an unplanned pregnancy, and that his parents who were teens at the time, "chose life."
Zoom out: As lawmakers in the House are dueling over funding the government, Republicans under Johnson's leadership are pushing a pair of symbolic bills they said would protect pregnant women's rights, Axios' Victoria Knight reports.
- Democrats, meanwhile, say the bills would further erode abortion access and are a prelude to a nationwide abortion ban.
Go deeper: Roe anniversary reheats abortion wars
