Read the full transcript of Vice President JD Vance’s address at the 2025 March for Life event on Jan. 24.
Listen to the audio version here:
TRANSCRIPT:
JD VANCE: Let me say thank you, good afternoon marchers. Thank you for having me. It is an honor to be standing with you here today for life. We are proud to march with you, and yes, we will be back next year. The excitement, the passion, the unwavering conviction that every single person here on the National Mall clearly feels, it is deeply moving to me and means more to President Trump and I than I could possibly say.
For over a half century, this march has united tens of thousands of Americans from all walks of life to rally for the cause of life in our nation. It is the single largest gathering in the world to celebrate our movement. The victories we’ve fought so hard for, and yes, the victories yet to come.
I want to personally welcome all of you who have traveled from far and wide to our nation’s capital. Thank you for your dedication. It is an incredible crowd, and it’s great to see you today.
Braving the Cold
You know, on Monday, we were forced to move all of the inauguration events indoors because of the bitter cold, and it was cold. But you guys, it is cold today. Here you are, outside, in an especially frigid January, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a joyful crowd out here, particularly during this time of year.
Why We March
As you all know, the event theme this year is “Life: Why We March.” And there are obvious answers to the implicit question it poses. We march to protect the unborn. We march to proclaim and live out the sacred truth that every single child is a miracle and a gift from God.
Now each time Usha and I welcomed our own children into the world, we saw firsthand the indescribable beauty of new life, and yes, as you can see, sometimes the behavioral challenges that we had on Monday, but they were good.
They were good.
And watching all three of our kids grow, learn, and become who they are today has been the single greatest blessing of our lives. Every parent here knows that feeling, that awe at a newborn child. It is our responsibility to cherish and to protect it.
The Deeper Meaning of Our March
But thinking about the question of why we march, there are also some subtler, but equally more important answers that I want to reflect on today.
Now the task of our movement is to protect innocent life, it’s to defend the unborn, and it’s also to be pro-family and pro-life in the fullest sense of that word possible. Now across my own lifetime, I can’t tell you the number of friends and other acquaintances I’ve had who, facing a pregnancy or the prospect of one, react not with joy, but with concern. They wonder how can they afford it? What will it mean for their education, their career, their relationship, or their family?
And I know how many of you in this crowd have devoted immeasurable time and resources to help answer those questions and to lend a hand to young people facing a moment of desperation. But by and large, our society, our country, has not yet stepped up in the way you have. And our government certainly has failed in that important responsibility.
Societal Challenges
We failed a generation not only by permitting a culture of abortion on demand, but also by neglecting to help young parents achieve the ingredients they need to lead a happy and meaningful life. A culture of radical individualism took root, one where the responsibilities and joys of family life were seen as obstacles to overcome, not as personal fulfillment or personal blessings. Our society has failed to recognize the obligation that one generation has to another is a core part of living in a society to begin with.
A Call for More Babies
So let me say very simply, I want more babies in the United States of America. I want more happy children in our country. And I want beautiful young men and women who are eager to welcome them into the world and eager to raise them. And it is the task of our government to make it easier for young moms and dads to afford to have kids, to bring them into the world, and to welcome them at the blessings that we know they are here at the March for Life.
Now it should be easier, easier to raise a family, easier to find a good job, easier to build a home to raise that family in, easier to save up and purchase a good stroller, a crib for a nursery. We need a culture that celebrates life at all stages, one that recognizes and truly believes that the benchmark of national success is not our GDP number or our stock market, but whether people feel that they can raise thriving and healthy families in our country.
President Trump’s Return
And that brings me back to where we stand today. Earlier this week, President Donald J. Trump stood in the Capitol Rotunda and took the oath of office, becoming not just the 45th, but now the 47th President of the United States. And I know all of you helped.
With the inauguration on Monday, our country faces the return of the most pro-family, most pro-life American President of our lifetimes. Now this is the man who delivered on his promise of ending Roe, giving us a monumental, earth-shattering decision in Dobbs. The man who appointed hundreds of pro-life judges dedicated to defending the constitutional liberties of all Americans. And the man who supported pro-family policies like doubling the child tax credit, which happened during his first administration, and which we’re going to do so much more on in the second administration.
Now he’s back, and we’re going to do it again.
Recent Actions and Future Plans
Now yesterday, President Trump issued a strong endorsement of the Born Alive Abortion Act, ensuring that those babies who survived botched abortions enjoy the equal protection under law, which is the obligation of every citizen to enjoy in this country. With his return to office, no longer will the federal government direct FBI raids on the homes of people like Mark Halk and other Catholic and Christian activists who are fighting for the unborn every single day. And no longer will our government throw pro-life protesters and activists, elderly, grandparents, or anybody else in prison.
It stopped on Monday, and we’re not going to let it come back to this country. Instead, and I know you all saw the news, the 47th president has already issued pardons to those unjustly imprisoned. And I want to be clear that this administration stands by you, we stand with you, and most importantly, we stand with the most vulnerable and the basic principle that people exercising the right to protest on behalf of the most vulnerable should never have the government go after them ever again.
Appreciation for the Pro-Life Movement
Now the crowd assembled here in this incredible National Mall provides an extraordinary example for our nation. You donate to diaper banks, you help find housing for those in need, you help fund the Crisis Pregnancy Centers that give help to young women and young men in a time of crisis. You guys are the beating heart of the pro-life movement, and you’ve saved many lives already, and you’re going to save more again.
You being here this very March is a reminder of the incredible strength and unity of the pro-life movement, and from the bottom of my heart, thank you. Thank you for being here, and thank you for marching here today.
And most importantly, in your works, you remind us that the March for Life is not just a single event that happens on a frigid January day, the March for Life is the work of the pro-life movement every single day from this point forward. Now it is a lifelong call to action, a moment in time, but every single day that you guys do what you do, from supporting young moms and dads, to fighting for the unborn, to working with our legislatures at the state and federal level, you make it possible for us to stand here and say that America is fundamentally a pro-baby, a pro-life, and a pro-family country.
A Word of Advice
Now I hesitate to give you all advice, because I can see there are young and old people who have been in the pro-life movement, some of you for longer than I’ve even been alive, and I’m grateful to you. But if I could offer one piece of advice, it’s a piece of advice born out of my own experience.
There was a point when I would get frustrated with people who didn’t see what we saw. I would get frustrated that people could look at a picture of a baby on an ultrasound and see not a human being, but just a clump of cells. But one of the things that being a father has taught me, and one of the things that being in politics has taught me over the last couple of years, is that it is a blessing to know the truth, and the truth is that unborn life is worthy of protection.
Conclusion
So please, go forth, not with frustration, but with joy. We are joyful to march for life. We are joyful to know that that picture on an ultrasound, that is a picture of a baby with hopes and dreams and potential to come. It is a joy and a blessing to fight for the unborn, to work for the unborn, and to march for life.
God bless you all, and thank you for having me. It’s an honor to be with you.
