Pro-life advocates traveled from across the country to the National Mall in Washington D.C.  Jan. 19 for the March for Life. The march takes place annually around Jan. 22, when Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court case that legalized abortion, was passed. The rally was praised by many important figures both through speeches and social media.

President Donald Trump made history as the first sitting president to speak to attendees on live on video from the Rose Garden. He addressed the overall importance of the pro-life movement and congratulated the dedicated workers of the cause.

“The March for Life is a movement born out of love…you love every child, born and unborn because you believe that every life is sacred, that every child is a precious gift from God. I want to thank every person here today and all across our country who works…to make sure that parents have the care and support that they need to choose life,” Trump said.

Other politicians also spoke to the marchers, including Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, Pam Tebow, mother of former New York Mets quarterback Tim Tebow, and Democratic representative of Illinois, Dan Lipinski – certainly a rare breed: a pro-life Democrat.

After a year of having the current pro-life administration in the White House, the march was seemingly more successful than last year. This year there were hundreds of thousands in attendance. The signs this year were even better than the last.

Not only was the D.C. march great, but all of the smaller ones across the country were too. Pro-lifers in Kansas rallied in Topeka, alongside local politicians like Kris Kobach, to fight for the unborn.

Ironically, the part that makes this year’s event the most successful was after the fact itself. Trump, following in the footsteps of many other presidents, declared Monday, Jan. 22, 2018 “National Sanctity of Life Day.” In his statement, he says that the purpose of this day is “to affirm the truth that all life is sacred, that every person has inherent dignity and worth, and that no class of people should ever be discarded as ‘non-human.’”

With pro-choicers pushing for the continued legalization of abortion as “reproductive rights” and a “woman’s right”, it’s indescribably crucial that pro-lifers combat this not just once a year, but every day because activism is not a yearly thing. We, as the pro-life generation, must speak up for and protect the unborn at all costs. Condemnation is only the first step in eliminating abortion, forever.