5 Things You Should Know About the March for Life

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Friday, January 27, 2017

1. A Year After the Decision

Nellie Gray is the founder of the annual March for Life. Gray died in August 2012 at age 88. | (Photo: March for Life Education and Defense Fund)

The first-ever March for Life was held in the District of Columbia on January 22, 1974, which was exactly one year after the Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade.

The main organizer was Nellie Gray, a pro-life activist who had a law degree from Georgetown University and initially did not plan to repeat the march annually.

"Interestingly, there was no plan to repeat the first March, but when deciding what to do with the leftover funds, someone suggested hosting a March the next year. Before long, the March for Life was incorporated with Nellie Gray as president and became an annual tradition," noted the National Review.

March for Life estimates that approximately 20,000 attendees came to the first march, with the number of attendees more than doubling for the 1975 observance.