Recap: 2025 March for Life week

March for Life week in Washington DC was fantastic. Each night before I went to bed I tried to write down everyone I had talked to. Ultimately I counted 143 interactions I had with other leaders and activists in the movement, many of them good friends. Practically a reunion.

It was also totally exhausting. For the five days of the trip I got up early and went to bed late to maximize time with people as much as possible. I sort of lost my voice (big shock).

But it was well worth it. It’s hard to count the number of strengthened connections and new project ideas stretching before us into 2025.

Here’s a detailed overview of the trip:

Tuesday

Storyteller Meet and Greet

Secular Pro-Life is collaborating with Abortion Survivors Network and Leadership Institute to produce the Storytelling Symposium, which is a series through January and February teaching people how to share their stories effectively and take care of their mental health in the process. This is primarily a webinar series, but for MFL week, we were able to host an all-day in-person training session with communications expert Dr. Heidi Petak. Some of the storytellers who registered for this event arrived in DC the evening before, so Leadership Institute hosted a meet and greet for attendees to connect in advance.

Among others, I met Gwyn, a woman who had an unintended pregnancy in college while on an athletic scholarship. She considered abortion but ultimately placed her child for an open adoption, and she wants to share her experience with others. I also met Rose, Michelle, Kim, and Willard, all of whom are abortion survivors. And I met Stephanie, who has for the last few years volunteered on the H3 After Abortion Helpline.

Over pizza and chicken wings, we learned about each other’s backgrounds. Each and every one of them had multiple profound (often heartbreaking) stories to share. They were also generally kind and easy to talk to, and asked me plenty of questions about Secular Pro-Life (which I can talk about endlessly–and did). It was a good way to build connection before working together all day the next day.

Wednesday

Storytelling Symposium

The in-person storytelling session was content-rich, thought provoking, and frankly emotionally exhausting. We learned from Dena Espenscheid about overton windows and mirror language and connecting to others. We learned from Dr. Heidi Petak about how to make a story “stick” – basically keep it simple, include unexpected elements, provide vivid sensory details, use trustworthy sources, integrate your own emotions, and, if you can, choose a guiding metaphor to help structure the story.

In the afternoon the storytellers shared with the group and we provided encouragement and constructive feedback on how to convey their testimonials. Most stories were one of two kinds: (1) people whose parents told them they had tried, but failed, to abort them (abortion survivors) and (2) women who were grieved or traumatized by abortion.

I could try to recreate some of the tales in writing here, but I wouldn’t be able to do them justice. It was a somber, humbling, profound experience, and a stark reminder of why we do the work we do.

Cogency dinner

The Symposium was supposed to be from 9a-5p that day, but storytelling and feedback lasted until 6:30p. So some of us trekked straight from there to a dinner hosted by the new organization Cogency Strategic. Cogency was created and is run by some of the same people who originally commissioned me to create the Building Bridges presentation and then give it as a keynote speech at the Samaritan Summit.

I was honored to be invited to a somewhat private dinner where they were connecting pro-life organizations they think can help each other. They are, after all, strategic. I particularly enjoyed getting to sit next to Dr. Christina Francis (from AAPLOG) and chat about our trips so far, our siblings, and other common background. She’s a total sweetheart, by the way. I also got to speak with folks from Americans United for Life, California Family Council, Nebraska pro-life coalitions, and more. And I got to see my good friend David Bereit (for what would turn out to be the first of several instances on this trip – we are at a lot of the same events).

I had thought the dinner would be from about 7p-9p, but we continued on to closer to 10:30p. I was glad to have more time to catch up with more people. I was also more than ready to pass out by the time I finally got to my hotel and checked in. One ultra productive day down.

Thursday

Law of Life Summit

Thursday I spoke on a panel alongside Jean Marie Davis and Terrisa Bukovinac at the Law of Life Summit, a gathering of attorneys and others in legal professions. I talked about the importance of welcoming in non-traditional pro-lifers and (not shown in the video) I also mentioned SPL’s interest in collaborating to combat arguments for abortion based on religious freedom. You can see most of my remarks here:

[Read more – Why the Religious Freedom Argument for Abortion is Doomed]

A note on the pro-life political prisoners: Rumors had been flying all week about whether and when the Trump administration was going to pardon rescuers, including my friend and fellow pro-life atheist Herb Geraghty. Even during the Law of Life Summit, an attendee announced the rescuers had been pardoned, the room broke into applause, and then it turned out it was still an unconfirmed rumor. But shortly after our panel discussion concluded, video was released of Trump officially signing the pardons. Not going to lie, I teared up. I had been in DC in late 2023 for the end of Herb’s trial. I saw the blatant biases of the judge, as well as the total lack of evidence that Herb had blocked any doorways at any point. He was still convicted on the same charges as pro-lifers who had chained themselves to doors. By the time the pardons were announced, Herb had been in prison for over 18 months. I was enormously relieved to hear of his release. This was a great trip, but news of the pardons was easily the best part.

Vanguard coalition meetup

In mid-2023 I was elected to the Executive Committee of a new pro-life coalition called Vanguard. I was re-elected in summer of 2024 to the same committee. One of the aims of the coalition is to build camaraderie and friendship among organizations and individuals in the pro-life movement, and to that end we try to host social gatherings before Vanguard meetings and at large pro-life events such as the March for Life. So Thursday evening I helped host such a meetup at the Westin. It was originally intended to go from 5p-7p but it actually lasted until about 9p.

I will tell you: I’m built for this kind of networking. I love hearing people’s stories of how they became pro-life, how they activated into the movement, what projects they’re working on, where we may have opportunities to collaborate and support one another, and so on. The tricky thing about networking is you can’t quantify the fruits of the labor right away. These connections flourish over months and years and I often only realize how deeply they help our work in retrospect. But I can tell you, vaguely, that these conversations led to plans about speaking engagements for SPL, fundraising training for smaller, younger organizations, job possibilities for activists looking to plug in to the movement, and many discussions of the philosophies and strategies we each employ in pro-life work.

Here are just some of the people I was glad to have the chance to catch up with:

Friday

Friday was the true long day.

‘Alt’ Pro-Life meetup

I got to the March for Life part of the mall relatively early, and good thing, because for the first time since I’ve attended, you had to go through metal detectors and have your bags searched in order to enter (presumably because the Vice President was scheduled to speak). I entered the area, and had time to give a quick interview to Live Action (where that ended up, I have no idea). I walked around taking pictures of homemade signs for awhile. I appreciate that larger orgs pass out pre-printed signs so more attendees can get engaged, but I like to see what people come up with in the homemade signs. If you could only say what can fit on a poster board, what would you want to say?

[Get plenty of inspiration for future pro-life protest signs from our free e-book: 100 Pro-Life Sign Ideas]

I also ran into some fellow activists along the way.

The March for Life did invite Secular Pro-Life to go backstage and mingle with other pro-life leaders and, when the time would come, stand on the rally stage to demonstrate the diversity of the movement. I appreciate the thought but (1) I didn’t have a sign or any other indicator of who I am or the organization I’m with, so I think my presence on stage would be lost on most rally goers and, more importantly, (2) if I waited to go on stage, I would miss the ‘Alt’ Pro-Life meetup, and many of my friends. So I passed on the main stage and went to the meetup spot.

There I found members and supporters of Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising, Rehumanize International, Feminists Choosing Life New York, Rainbow Pro-Life Alliance, and other friendly faces. We took turns speaking out with the multiple bullhorns they have available. Here was my short sweet speech this year:

[Read more – Pivoting to Unwanted and Coerced Abortion: A Manifesto]

My voice carrying on the bullhorn reached my friend Mike Salemink, the head of Lutherans for Life, and he came over to say hello. While I was chatting with him, two of the ladies who work with Feminists Choosing Life of New York also wanted to talk. Then Nathaniel Stuart, a pro-lifer who works with Chicago’s Southside Life House, walked by with his wife and said hello. He’s a Stanford alum and I’m a Berkeley alum so technically we’re supposed to be mortal enemies but idk, he’s just nice.

By the time I was done chatting with so many friends, the rest of the alt meetup had already taken their bullhorns and chants down Constitution Ave to the Supreme Court to confront rumored pro-choice counter protesters in advance of the full March arriving (which would prove to take over an hour longer).

I started to walk to catch up with the alt’s and who do I run into but Missy Stone with Center for Client Safety. We walked together all the way to the Court talking about the logistics of running nonprofits and what resources have been helping us figure that out. A working walk, if you will.

Supreme Court

I walked up a hill toward the Supreme Court and I could hear people before I could see them. Both the alt pro-lifers and the pro-choice counter protesters had bullhorns, and they were dueling for space and volume. Unfortunately I arrived on scene very shortly after the police broke up the two groups claiming (I suspect incorrectly) that they were required to have permits to protest on the public sidewalk. Pro-life and pro-choice activists alike expressed skepticism but ultimately moved along. A few minutes later the pro-choice contingent marched back ground the small early crowd, chanting slogans along the way, and then continued on away from the Court, not to be seen again (on this day). I tried to get pictures of their homemade signs as well:

I also got this pic of Elise’s glitter and pro-life stickers on her bullhorn with SCOTUS in the background. Love her style. (Read her past articles for SPL here.)

ADF Reception

After saying goodbye to SPL’s sister groups at the Court, I headed to the post-March Alliance Defending Freedom reception. I was invited as the guest of the president of the California Family Council, a colleague and friend I originally met doing pro-life work when I lived in Sacramento. The reception involved good conversations with old and new connections, notably including at least two activists from newer orgs wanting to talk to SPL about social media content creation. (SPL has a great reputation in the movement for social media work, which is in large part thanks to the contributions of our core volunteers giving us an outsized impact. I’m so grateful to our team.)

Incidentally, the reception also had some great potato latke things and cheesecake, so. If we’re grading on food (and who isn’t?)

Rose Gala

The Rose Gala is the very fancy March for Life post-March event/fundraiser. To be frank, it’s not the kind of event SPL would usually have in our budget. So how do we go? A larger organization invites us to be a guest at one of the multiple tables they registered, and I borrow a bridesmaids dress and pretty necklace from a friend from home. Voila:

(By the way, I am not joking at all when I say that Terrisa Bukovinac is my consultant on how to dress nicer than jeans and comfy sweatshirts for work-related events of all types. Before she was a pro-life activist, Terrisa long worked in high-end fashion, and she has plenty of helpful insights for us plebs.)

I had a wonderful time at the cocktail hour. I talked to people from Thomas Moore Society, Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, White Rose Resistance, and Project Rachel–and I saw David Bereit again, ha. I also enjoyed the first half of the dinner itself…

…and then Terrisa got word that Herb would be shortly arriving at PAAU’s activist house (also in DC). Delighted, excited, we thanked our hosts and explained we were leaving early to go meet him. They were also excited for us.

PAAU Karaoke Party

I changed out of the bridesmaid’s dress and back to cargo pants and snow boots, met Terrisa in the lobby, and we headed out.

PAAU has an activist house in DC where some staff live full time and there’s space for other staff and volunteers to stay for days or weeks and help with events. I’ve never been to it before. I was taken with the activist art they had everywhere, as well as the library that apparently Lauren Handy largely curated. PAAU people really lean into this work heart and mind.

The house was filled with activists and supporters eating kettle potato chips and signing up for karaoke. It was a very joyful atmosphere. Terrisa gave me a tour, when I took the above pics. And then we chatted and waited.

And at long last, there he was!

Everyone cheered when Herb walked in. Many hugs. Much rejoicing. I was so glad and relieved to see him.

I visited for awhile, sang one karaoke song (Walking After Midnight), and then really had to leave because I was struggling to stay awake even standing up. Productive but very long day.

Saturday

On the final day of the trip, I did have one morning 1:1 meeting with long-time friend and colleague Josh Brahm, and we shared experiences and resources on forming and activating both board of directors and advisory boards. I also told him that if SPL does create a podcast (tell us what you think of that idea), I would love to have him as a guest. Equal Rights Institute has had me on their podcast so many times, it would be fun to switch who is interviewing who.

National Pro-Life Summit

I then headed to the National Pro-Life Summit and stayed there for the entire day.

In years past SPL would actually table at the Summit, but it’s pretty expensive to do and then we’re limited to talking to whoever decides to come by our table. So for the last few years I’ve switched to buying a general admission ticket (a fraction of the cost of tabling) and then wandering the halls and talking to whomever I come across. This is my third year with this method and it hasn’t disappointed yet. I had extensive conversations with people from Sidewalk Advocates, Justice for All, Voices for the Voiceless, Pro-Life Advocacy Network, Young Pro-Life Democrats, and, once again, David Bereit. And I spoke in passing with far more than that. I got some detailed and inspiring training about nonprofit fundraising (I’m still learning), and brainstormed some interesting collaborative projects.

Even after the all-day Summit, I had one more dinner and saw a few friends one last time before collapsing in bed, ready to fly home in the morning.

Thank You

Thank you so much to our supporters who sponsor these trips. One of the major components of our mission is to coalition-build, and another is to make space for non-traditional pro-lifers. Last week we made a lot of strides toward both ends. We laid the groundwork for stronger alliances and new projects. The work continues.

Your donations prior to March For Life week equalled 70% of our trip expenses ($1,141), including five nights in DC hotels and all ground transportation. The remaining 30% ($479) were for flights to DC and back, admission to the National Pro-Life Summit, and the few meals that weren’t included with events. If you’re able to help with these types of costs, please donate here: