Euthanasia prevention, other life issues promoted at 2026 March for Life

Jan 23, 2026 / 18:14 pm (CNA).

A broad range of life issues from abortion to euthanasia and more were represented at the March for Life 2026 in Washington, D.C., on Friday.

Alex Schadenberg, executive director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, expressed concern about a number of states across the country poised to legalize assisted suicide. “There are many states that the death lobby will be pushing for assisted suicide in 2026,” he said.

“In 2026 we are very concerned about Virginia, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Connecticut, and other states,” he said, adding: “2026 will require a unified effort to stop the expansion of killing by assisted suicide poisoning.”

Ashley Kollme, a mother of five children from Bethesda, Maryland, shared the story of her pregnancy with her youngest daughter, Sophia, who is 2 years old.

“Sophia was diagnosed with a complex congenital heart condition when I was 23 weeks pregnant,” Kollme said. “The first option that was presented to us was termination, and that was never an option that we would consider, and we chose life.” Sophia has had two open heart surgeries and lots of other procedures, her mother said, adding: “And she is the light of our lives.”

Kollme’s two sons, Otto and Max, stood by with signs featuring pictures of their little sister.

Gesturing to the posters, which featured a professional photo of Sophia, Kollme said the little girl is “one of the poster children for Johns Hopkins Hospital.”

Ultimately, Kollme said, “I think that we see a lot of ableism and abortion against people with disabilities, and I’ve become passionate about that because every child deserves a life.”

“Deserving life shouldn’t be conditional upon one’s health,” she said.

Mara Oswalt, a March for Life participant from Atlanta, held a sign saying “Unborn children die in ICE detention” and emphasized the need to recognize the dignity of all human life. “I’ve heard several instances of women having miscarriages because they are not eating well, they’re not being treated well in ICE detention,” Oswalt said.

Oswalt serves as creative director of Rehumanize International, an organization dedicated to fostering a culture of peace and life in accordance with the “consistent life ethic,” which calls for opposition to threats against human life including abortion, capital punishment, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, unjust war, and torture.

“Those stories in particular really break my heart,” she said. “I know those women wanted their children. They wanted them to be cared for. And so I didn’t want them to be forgotten in this moment.”

Source: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/269299/all-walks-of-life-featured-at-march-for-life-2026