The Daily Signal - BONUS INTERVIEW | March for Life President Emphasizes States' Role in Pro-Life Movement

Episode Date: January 27, 2023

One week ago, on Jan. 20, thousands of pro-lifers marched in the nation's capital for the annual March for Life.  The march was the first since Roe v. Wade was overturned last June because of the decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case.  "Well, when Roe v. Wade came down in 1973, what that decision did was legalize abortion in all 50 states, and so the march, of course, began as a response to that," Jeanne Mancini, president of March for Life, says of why the national march is still important despite the life issue being a state issue. "But you fast forward 50 years and the overturn of Roe with the Dobbs decision in June doesn't make abortion illegal throughout all the country, and certainly it doesn't make it unthinkable," Mancini says.  Mancini joins "The Daily Signal Podcast" to further discuss the pro-life movement, her message for the marchers in the states, and what she thinks is next for the pro-life movement.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey everyone, Samantha Sherriss here, and we are bringing you a bonus episode of The Daily Signal podcast. It's Friday, January 27th, and one week ago on January 20th, thousands of pro-lifers marched in the nation's capital for the annual March for Life. This was the first March since Roe v. Wade was overturned last June. Joining today's bonus episode is Jeannie Mancini. She is the president of March for Life. She breaks down last week's March and its importance. her message to those attending state marches and her thoughts on what's next for the pro-life movement.

We'll get to my conversation with Jeannie right after this. Did you know that under Biden our military is dangerously weak, so weak that we're not ready of China, Russia, or Iran attacks? We explain why and how to fix it in our 2023 index of U.S. military strength, a comprehensive deep dive on the readiness of our nation to face threats and complete its mission in today's world. Learn more at heritage.org slash military. Joining today's podcast is Jeannie Mancini.

She is the president of March for Life. Jeannie, thanks so much for joining us. Delighted to join you. Thanks for having me. Of course. Now, it's been a little over a week since the National March for Life, which was the first one since Roe v. Wade was overturned last June. From your perspective, why is the National March still important now that the life issue

is mostly in the states? Well, when Roe v. Wade came down in 1973, what that decision did was legalize abortion in all 50 states. And so the march, of course, began as a response to that. But you fast forward 50 years and the overturn of Roe with the Dobbs decision in June doesn't make abortion illegal throughout all the country. And certainly it doesn't make it unthinkable. So whereas we did begin because of Roe, we need to continue marching because abortion is alive and well in our country. As we know, there will be well over 700,000 abortions, even in a post-row year ahead.

And so there's no lack of work to be done. And we certainly can't say that we've accomplished our goal yet of making abortion unthinkable. And just speaking of states, there are a few state marches coming up. the Virginia March for Life is Wednesday, February 1st. What is your message to those who will be marching and attending, you know, these marches? And what should they keep in mind? Well, one thing that's critical to know is that while states have much more freedom in enacting pro-life laws, the federal role is still critically important as well. I mean, just yesterday we were on the hill all afternoon to talk about different possible good life protective legislation

at the federal level. So we're really still fighting that battle in both the states and the federal role. But at the state, they have so much more freedom than they did even, you know, seven or eight months ago. So with the Dobbs decision coming down, states can pass like a 15-week-paying capable bill, or even in the case of like Oklahoma or Texas, more of a life protective law, like a heartbeat law. but each state has its own unique makeup and challenges and possibilities. So in Virginia, there's been a lot of conversations just even over the last few days on the House floor. And so we're very much going to be advocating for that assembly to be doing what they can to enact life protective laws. Absolutely.

And I also wanted to get your thoughts on something that we heard from Vice President Kamala Harris recently. Now, she was speaking in Florida on the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, and it seems that Harris purposefully avoided mentioning the right to life in an abortion speech, as she referenced the Declaration of Independence. We have that audio here, and we'll play it now. America is a promise. It is a promise of freedom and liberty. not for some but for all promise we made in the Declaration of Independence that we are each endowed with the right to liberty and the pursuit of happiness. So, Jeannie, what are your thoughts on this?

Well, listen, social justice and human rights begin in the womb. And as for, you know, the vice president just kind of selectively choosing what part of the Declaration of Independence she wants to, you know, read to everybody, that's fine. That's fine. But we know that the first and most important right in order for any other right to be able to be protected in a human being is the right to life. And so we do hope that all people are given that right and that ultimately they can flourish as human individuals. So one way of saying this is social justice begins in the womb. I love that. But Kamala's talking points are, you know, she's picking and choosing what she wants to say to her crowd.

But the reality is that her marketing plan isn't going to work because it's not reflective of reality. And we know that the large majority of Americans are pro-life, that they would limit abortion, much more than it's limited in this culture, and that they certainly don't stand with this administration on their extremist views on the unborn child and their mother. And just to talk a little bit about, you know, at the federal level, what we're seeing with Congress were just about a month in, almost a month in, to the new Congress. And what are you hoping to see policy-wise for the pro-life movement? Well, we did see in the very first week two bills that were voted on. And I was delighted to see that because that to me was a statement that this House, at least, will be leaning in to this issue.

This week we've been meeting on the Senate side as well. I'd love to see things like a heartbeat bill introduced on the Senate side, although I'm not sure I'd see that being taken for a vote this year necessarily. But I'd love to see all of our pro-life senators join the Senate pro-life caucus. many of them are not even members of it because it enables us to be able to do a lot more work, you know, to be able to even get a consensus on what we can get done at this stage in the game. So we were certainly, we signed on to Senator Graham's 15-week-Paint Capable Bill on the Senate side. But by and large what I'd like to see is, and especially with the March for Life just behind us and kind of riding high on the joy of that occasion that any of these,

elected officials who have in any way, shape, or form felt somewhat beaten down in the post-dobs, you know, weeks and days where the other side has been relentless in their talking points and their fearmongering. I just want our elected officials to know that, listen, the pro-life America is behind you. You are on the winning side of this issue. This is a positive thing, and you should lean into it. Jeannie, before we go, what are your thoughts on what's next? for the pro-life movement, and how can pro-lifers continue this momentum that we've seen, you know, coming after the Supreme Court decision last June and even more recently the National March on January 20th? So at the March for Life, our focus is growing our state March initiative.

And that's not to the detriment of the National March, as we just thought. I mean, the National March will always be, I think, the most important March and the biggest and the largest and it's critically important for all the reasons I mentioned earlier. But the states have so much more freedom to enact good laws or fight bad laws in the cases of, you know, Michigan or California or New York or what have you. But we plan to expand our state march initiative as rapidly as is humanly possible. So in 2022, we were in five states. Our plan for this year, 2023, is to be in 10 states. And our five to seven year outlook is to be in all 50 states.

And so for us, that is probably the single most important thing. Broadly, I would say for the movement, we absolutely need to continue to focus on strengthening the safety net for when women and families are facing unexpected pregnancies. So, you know, doing what we can to support maternity homes in particular. pregnancy care centers, et cetera, which this is by and large the untold story of the pro-life movement. We have been doing this like since forever, I mean really, but certainly since Roe came down in the early 1970s. But I think we need to to even, you know, strengthen that even more

and do whatever we can to support women and families facing unexpected pregnancies. Well, Jeannie, thank you so much for joining us today. It's been great to talk to you and catch up on the latest news regarding March for Life and the pro-life movement. We'd love to have you back on in the future to talk more about the state marches and what's next. Thank you so much, Jeannie Mancini. Thanks for having me. And that'll do it for today's bonus episode. Thanks for listening to my conversation with Jeannie Mancini.

The Virginia March for Life is on Wednesday, February 1st, and we here at The Daily Signal will be covering it. So make sure you subscribe to the Daily Signal wherever you can. get your podcast and help us reach even more listeners by leaving a five-star rating and review. We can read and appreciate all of your feedback. We'll be back with you this afternoon for top news. And until then, have a great day and we'll see you soon. The Daily Signal podcast is brought to you by more than half a million members of the Heritage Foundation. Executive producers are Rob Louis and Kate Trinko. Producers are Virginia Allen and Samantha Asheras. Sound design by Lauren Evans, Mark Geinney, and John Pop.

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