What I Saw at My First March for Life

The mainstream media’s coverage of the March for Life proves once again that we cannot trust them.

By Lisa Smiley Published on January 28, 2019

So the March for Life happened. But if you only watched the mainstream media, you may not have heard much about it.

They called it an anti-abortion protest, attended by religious fanatics who want to take away women’s rights or something.

Instead of covering the march itself, they instead focused their attention on what should have been non-stories — Ben Shapiro’s baby Hitler quote (which they took out of context), and of course, the Covington boys.

Yes, it was purposeful. Anything to distract them from having to talk about the largest pro-life event in our nation’s capital. And If they have to cover it, it will be the backdrop of stories that paint its keynote speaker as an extremist who talked about baby Hitler, and the hit piece on a group of Catholic high school boys who scandalously surrounded, smirked, and chanted at a Native American man. They even have a video to prove it!

See, the attendees are racist bigots who mock a poor, Native American, Vietnam war veteran! The MAGA hat is the new white hood! Remember, this happened at the anti-abortion rally that wants to strip women of their rights!

This helps their narrative but it is not the truth.

The Mainstream Media Proves Once Again, We Cannot Trust Them

As someone who attended the March for Life for the first time, what I witnessed at the march and what I heard from the mainstream media was dramatically different. You hear all the time from those on the right that the mainstream media are biased. Their reporting is skewed towards a leftist narrative. Some claim, as Andrew Breitbart did, that the media have nothing but contempt for the American people. While claiming to be objective truth tellers, they are in actuality, liars and frauds with malevolent intentions to deceive.

They were right.

What I Actually Saw

The mainstream media did not bother to show real footage of the huge, diverse crowds of Americans peacefully marching in Washington, D.C. Why were we marching? To mourn Roe v. Wade, the infamous Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in all fifty states, resulting in over sixty million unborn babies aborted from our population.

 

I saw the crowd; it was huge. It is estimated that at least 100,000 people were in attendance. One outlet reported as many as 200,000 to 300,000 attendees.

As the Daily Wire columnist, Matt Walsh, pointed out, “Here’s what separates the March For Life from any other march: nobody in attendance is marching for themselves. Nobody is demanding rights or privileges for themselves. Everyone is marching on behalf of those who cannot march.”

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And there are more pro-lifers in America than you think. That’s what struck me as I witnessed the march for the first time. Women and men, young and old, and people from all backgrounds came together in solidarity to fight for the right to life of those who cannot speak for themselves.

We don’t always have the loudest voices — many are quietly working in pregnancy resource centers, organizing baby showers for mothers in unplanned pregnancies through a ministry called Embrace Grace, or praying outside abortion clinics day in and day out, for years.

But the mainstream media won’t report that. Instead, the public is told pro-lifers are backward, religious extremists who hold out-of-date, fringe views on women’s “reproductive rights.”

Not so. America is more pro-life than ever.

Compare the Media’s Coverage of The March for Life and The Women’s March

Yes, the media’s coverage of the March for Life was pitiful. But coverage for the Women’s March the day after? Non-stop media attention while they downplayed its anti-semitic roots. Linda Sarsour, one of its most outspoken organizers, doubled down on her anti-semitic sentiments, promoting the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement of Israel right from the platform. Where was the outrage?

The truth is, in just its third year, the Women’s March is fracturing. This year, it lost prominent sponsors. Even the Democratic Party, NARAL, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and other leftist groups pulled out this year.

But the March for Life? In its 46th year, the March for Life is as strong as it’s ever been. It is here to stay, whether the mainstream media will cover it or not — or make up a story to destroy a group of Catholic high schoolers who attended.

What Are We to Do?

We may not convince the mainstream media of our pro-life position. We may not be able to sway those extremists who fight for abortion on demand up until birth. Those who promote and celebrate it as a social good and want it paid for by the taxpayer. Did I mention they also want to export it to other countries with our foreign aid?

But I don’t believe that is the majority of America. I believe many Americans don’t know what abortion actually is. The hideousness of the act has been disguised by the mainstream media with euphemisms like “a woman’s right to choose,” and “reproductive healthcare.”

It is no such thing. The American people have been told lies! Lies about Roe v. Wade, lies about the scientific facts of embryology, lies about a woman’s body, and lies about the March for Life.

It is up to us to share the truth. It is up to us to change the narrative.

After all, the science is settled: life begins at conception. We now have ultrasound technology that shows us the humanity of the unborn. Our philosophical and moral arguments for life are strong for anyone willing to listen to them. Truth is on our side.

And if all else fails? We must share our personal testimonies that reveal the preciousness of every life — stories of mothers who heroically refused abortion after rape, families that chose life after a devastating in-utero diagnosis, women who survived their abortions, and those who left the abortion industry.

So to end on a personal note, I will share mine: I march for life because my mom believed I was worth the risk of defying the oppressive, Chinese government to give birth to me. She refused abortion, went into hiding for months, and put her own safety on the line to keep me safe in her arms.

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