Virginia’s Capitol was flooded with marchers Wednesday, April 22, as the eighth annual Virginia March for Life was held in Richmond.
About 50 Liberty University students left campus around 7:30 a.m. to depart for the rally.
When the students arrived on Capitol grounds, the rally had just begun. Students heard from several anti-abortion speakers, including President of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund Jennie Bradley Lichter, President of the Family Foundation of Virginia Victoria Cobb and Chancellor of Liberty University Jonathan Falwell.
Falwell led the entire rally in devotion and prayer. In his speech, he referenced Ephesians 2:10 and explained that every human life is valuable.
“God does not wait until we are born to see the value in each of us,” Falwell said. “God’s Word is clear. Life is important. Life is precious.”
In his prayer, Falwell blessed those in authority and asked for the boldness to stand up for life in every aspect of daily life.
“God, I pray for every person gathered on this hillside this morning. God, I pray that you would use us. Lord, not to just march in the street, Lord, but to be living witnesses of what life is all about,” Falwell said.
After the rally concluded around 11 a.m., the students gathered behind Grove Christian School, whose students carried the Virginia March for Life banner. The march began at the Virginia Washington Monument and went from East Broad Street to East Main Street, concluding near the Bell Tower.
Falwell shared in an interview after the rally that the issue of abortion is not a political issue but rather a moral one.
“This is not a political thing at all; it is just simply a Christian walk, a following-Christ edict that all of us must stand up for,” Falwell said. “We, as followers of Christ, must do all we can to stand up for life.”
About 50 Liberty students came to the march to stand up for the unborn. One of those was freshman Anaiah Campbell, who stated that life is a foundational right for all.
“(I am marching) for the 33% of my generation that has been aborted and is no longer with us,” Campbell said. “I think life is the most fundamental human right.”
Campbell also mentioned that science supports life beginning at conception.
“Science recognizes life at conception, so it is just straight murder for us to continue to allow abortion in our country,” Campbell said.
The Family Foundation of Virginia partnered with the March for Life, helping provide volunteers and equipment for the event. President of the Family Foundation Victoria Cobb spoke at the rally and shared that in the state of Virginia there have been a large number of abortions.
“In 2024, there were approximately 38,000 abortions in our commonwealth,” Cobb said. “For every three children born in Virginia, one life has been aborted. That is not a statistic, that’s a crisis.”
The keynote speaker was Mayra Rodriguez, who was a former Planned Parenthood director. The Family Foundation posted an interview with Rodriguez on its Instagram page, where she shared how God redeemed her story.
“After 17 years promoting abortion and working for that industry, to come here with the Virginia people and walk for life and tell people that there is more to life than abortion,” Rodriguez said.
The trip to Richmond was provided by the Standing for Freedom Center at Liberty University. According to its website, the 2026 March for Life was important because of the proposed legislation that will appear on the ballot in November’s election.
“Virginia’s 2026 March is especially important this year, as voters will be considering a ballot measure that would remove nearly all abortion restrictions and enshrine a fundamental constitutional right to abortion,” Research Assistant and Analyst James Black states in the article.
The House and Senate Joint Resolution One (HJ/SJ 1) referendum amends the Virginia Constitution to articulate that reproductive freedom — abortion — will become a fundamental right.
The resolution reads, “Provides that every individual has the fundamental right to reproductive freedom and that such right shall not be, directly or indirectly, denied, burdened, or infringed upon unless justified by a compelling state interest, as defined in the amendment, and achieved by the least restrictive means.”
The proposed amendment will be on the ballot Nov. 3, 2026.
At the conclusion of the rally, the marchers sang “God Bless America” as they lined up, echoing the words they sang, “Stand beside her and guide her, through the night with a light from above.”
Liberty students left Richmond around noon. The Freedom Center provided students with a Chick-fil-A lunch and transported students back to campus by 2:30 p.m.
For more information about planned marches in other states, visit marchforlife.org.
Gathje is the assistant feature editor for The Liberty Champion.