Staff Reports
The National Mall was once again a sea of red and white on Jan. 23, 2026 as thousands gathered for the March for Life to defend the unborn and press for a cultural renewal. Faithful activists, students, and families marched and prayed through the cold, determined that legal victories must be matched by a rebirth of pro-life conviction across America.
In a short, widely shared clip from the march, a marcher looked straight at the camera and declared that the pro-life movement must try “anything and everything” to change the culture and save lives now that the high court has returned the battle to the states. That blunt honesty is refreshing; after years of legal fights, real change will only come when our side stops relying on judges and starts winning hearts and homes.
That sentiment is not just raw emotion — it’s strategic realism. Thoughtful pro-life leaders and writers have been saying for years that legal wins are necessary but insufficient, and that the long work ahead is cultural: persuading communities, supporting mothers, and rebuilding the social scaffolding that makes family life viable and celebrated.
Make no mistake: the Dobbs decision of June 24, 2022 returned the authority over abortion to the states, which means the front lines are now local — in hospitals, in courts, in schools, and in our neighborhoods where culture is made and sustained. Conservatives should celebrate that shift; it forces the left’s abortion absolutism to confront ordinary Americans and their everyday instincts to protect life and family.
Washington’s leaders recognized that reality on the Mall — Vice President J.D. Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson addressed the crowd, promising that the administration and Congress would back policies that strengthen families and protect conscience. Their presence wasn’t a photo-op; it was a signal that pro-life politics now demands both law and culture, and that conservatives in power must deliver concrete support for pregnant mothers and children.
So what does “anything and everything” look like in practice? It means pouring resources into pregnancy resource centers, expanding adoption and foster care reforms, enacting robust pro-family tax and childcare policies, defending religious charities from coercion, and pushing back against a toxic media and education system that normalizes the destruction of life. These are not pie-in-the-sky proposals — they are the hard, practical work of building a society that values children and rewards sacrifice.
If conservatives take that warning seriously, the next decade can be a turning point. The Left has spent generations shaping culture; now it’s our turn to build institutions that cherish life, encourage marriage, and restore the dignity of parenthood. The marchers on the Mall didn’t demand easy answers; they demanded action, and it’s time for every pro-life American to answer with courage, conviction, and results.
