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Truth Marches On

By Sen. John Thune

January 20, 2023

Click here to watch a special video in honor of the March for Life. 

For 50 years, members of the pro-life movement, including many South Dakotans, have traveled from every corner of our country to participate in the March for Life. Those who march have given a voice to the voiceless to defend the most basic human right: life itself. They’ve spoken up, they’ve kept the faith, and this year, they can celebrate that a day we had long hoped for is here: Roe v. Wade has been overturned.

The organizers of the first March for Life in 1974 didn’t expect it would take 50 years to overturn Roe, but they didn’t stop believing that that day would come. Nothing stopped them – not snow, rain, long bus rides, or the bitter cold of winter – and this past year their faith was rewarded. And they continue to march to bear public witness to the fundamental truth that unborn babies are human beings. While the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturned Roe and opened the door to meaningful legal protections for unborn Americans, there is a lot of work to be done to get to the day when unborn children are fully protected. And so the March for Life – and the work of the pro-life movement – is more important today than ever.   

The March for Life’s public witness to the humanity of the unborn is critically important. But it’s just one small part of the pro-life movement. Every day across our country, there are a multitude of organizations that do the quiet and essential work of supporting expecting and new mothers and their babies. Sadly, some of these organizations have also been targets for attack and vandalism since the Dobbs decision leaked in May. Their strength and resilience in the wake of these attacks is a testament to the values and good character of those who provide these critical support services. 

The pro-life movement continues to be strong because it is driven by the truth that unborn babies are human beings and human beings deserve to be protected. Those on the pro-abortion left would like to obscure this fact, but science, technology, and common sense tell us it’s the truth. Nobody who has witnessed their baby kick or suck their thumb on an ultrasound can deny that we are talking about a human life.

The Dobbs decision is an opportunity to change course from the abortion regime Roe imposed on the country, which put up barriers to protecting the unborn. Tragically, during the nearly 50 years Roe v. Wade was in place, 63 million innocent human lives were lost forever to abortion in the United States. Now, states are able to put protections in place for unborn children through the democratic process, which many have already begun to do. And I am proud that South Dakota was one of the first to do so.

There is a sign you often see at the March for Life that reads, “I am the pro-life generation.” I am proud of those who have worked so hard to secure the right to life for the unborn and are helping to make this statement a fact rather than merely a hope. Life prevailed in Dobbs because the truth was on our side, but it could not have happened without the patient dedication of pro-life Americans like those who participate in the March for Life. I am glad to see the truth is marching on as we enter the post-Dobbs era.