WASHINGTON — Connor Whelan slept through his alarm to catch the early morning bus to the 53rd Annual March for Life on Jan. 23.  

Instead of calling it quits, the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish organist chose to answer his call from God to attend and bought a last-minute Amtrak ticket from New York to Washington, D.C.  

“It’s important to me. I go every year, and it means a lot to me as a Catholic and pro-lifer,” he said. “It doesn’t matter how much the ticket cost.” 

Tens of thousands of pro-life advocates from across the country followed a similar path to Whelan to march through the nation’s capital — passing landmarks such as the National Mall, the U.S. Capitol, and the Supreme Court. 

RELATED: Ahead of March for Life, Pro-Life Movement Faces Key Political Challenges

Among the speakers at the rally preceding the march was Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic, who told attendees if families are to be convinced to choose life, the country must also pursue policies that make family life possible. 

“You may remember in my remarks last year … one of the things I most wanted in the United States of America was more families and more babies,” Vance said. “So, let the record show you have a vice president who practices what he preaches.” 

On Jan. 20, Vance and his wife, Usha, announced that they are expecting their fourth child. 

Vance pointed to recent pro-life policy wins, including restrictions on federal funding for abortion providers and the reinstatement of the Mexico City Policy, which bars U.S. taxpayer dollars from supporting abortion abroad. 

Linda Harrison, campaign director for 40 Days for Life in Brooklyn, said she came to the March for Life because “there’s still a lot of work to be done,” pointing to New York as a place she believes needs renewed attention. 

“New York City is the abortion capital of the nation, and we want to change that trajectory,” she said. “For Christians, true believers with common sense, we need to still go out there and say there are consequences of an abortion.” 

Donica Allen, a parishioner of Holy Cross Catholic Church in Flatbush, joined the Diocese of Brooklyn to go to this year’s March for Life after having attended over 20 years ago. 

She said she regularly prays in front of abortion clinics with 40 Days for Life, hoping to inspire a change of heart for expectant mothers planning to have an abortion. 

“Now you don’t even have to go into a facility — it can happen at home — and that really concerns me. It feels like adding fuel to the fire,” Allen said, alluding to mifepristone, also known as the abortion pill.  

“All we do is pray … And if a woman goes through with it, we’re still there afterward, to help her heal and learn to forgive herself,” she added.  

Another political challenge the New York pro-life movement faces is assisted suicide, after Gov. Kathy Hochul pledged to sign the Medical Aid in Dying Act into law. 

“[Assisted suicide] is a slippery slope. It dehumanizes the person and takes the human being out of the context of being made in the image and likeness of God,” said Father Michael Panicali, parochial vicar for St. Helen Church in Howard Beach. 

“If society accepts that someone can end their own life or abort a child in the womb, then anything is on the table,” he added. “We lose our understanding of what it means to be human and that we belong to God.”  

Even amid difficult conversations about life and dignity, Bishop Robert Brennan said he hopes the March leaves people — especially young people —  a sense of hope and confidence. 

“God does impossible things, and sometimes it’s easy to get discouraged,” he said. “On the other hand, with our witness and perseverance with God’s help, I believe we will change the culture of society.”