Thousands of anti-abortion activists are coming to Washington Friday for the annual March for Life, seeking to build momentum after a string of victories and maintain pressure on legislators.After decades of fighting to overturn Roe v. Wade, organizers are seeking to focus on the multiple state-by-state battles taking place over abortion rights.

Here’s what to know about the 52nd March for Life:

President Donald Trump has pardoned 23 pro-life individuals convicted by Joe Biden’s Department of Justice for praying inside or demonstrating at abortion clinics.

Donald Trump announced Thursday he would pardon anti-abortion activists convicted of blockading abortion clinic entrances. Trump called it “a great honor to sign this”.

“They should not have been prosecuted,” he said as he signed pardons for “peaceful pro-life protesters”.

Thousands of opponents of abortion rights rallied under falling snow on Friday at the annual March for Life, as speakers urged the impassioned crowd to capitalize on the movement’s major victory in the Supreme Court and keep fighting until abortion is eliminated.

Thousands of opponents of abortion rights gathered on a snow-covered National Mall Friday to participate in the 51st annual March for Life, headlined by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).

The participants gathered for the largest anti-abortion event in the country under the theme “With every woman, for every child.” 

Johnson and House Pro-Life Caucus Chair Chris Smith (R-N.J.) focused their speeches on 

Thousands of pro-life activists braved snow and below-freezing temperatures to protest legalized abortion in the nation’s capital on Friday, walking to the Capitol and Supreme Court. 

Protesters at the 51st National March for Life, which is held every year around the Jan. 22 anniversary of Roe v. Wade, which the Supreme Court overturned in June 2022, called for legal restrictions on the procedure with exceptions for rape, incest and the health of the mother. 

The past year brought with it a long-sought-after victory for the pro-life movement: the overturning of Roe v. Wade . The Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which struck down Roe and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, giving states the power to set their own abortion regulations, has ushered in a new era in the fight for life.

As anti-abortion activists gather in Washington, D.C., on Friday to celebrate the overturning of Roe v. Wade — a singular cause that united abortion opponents for decades — some factions are split on the movement's next steps.

The big picture: While mainstream anti-abortion messaging still revolves around sanctioning doctors or clinics, a small but growing group of self-described abortion abolitionists are taking steps to single out and punish those seeking to end a pregnancy.

The anti-abortion “March for Life” for decades demonstrated to Republicans that they could not reach the Oval Office without the support of the anti-abortion movement.

On Friday, marchers will gather in Washington with a decades-long mission accomplished, after the Supreme Court’s removal of a constitutional right to an abortion by overturning the Roe v. Wade decision last year.

The 2023 theme for the annual March for Life was announced Thursday in preparation for the first march after the historic overturning of Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 case that legalized abortion nationwide.

The theme of the 50th annual march — which will take place on Jan. 20, 2023 — titled “Next Steps: Marching in a Post-Roe America,” seeks to orient the national pro-life movement as it moves to dismantle abortion across all 50 states.