Thousands of anti-abortion advocates gather on Pa. Capitol steps for annual March for Life rally

• Jaxon White/WITF
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  I report on how decisions made in Pennsylvania’s state Capitol ripple across communities throughout the commonwealth. My coverage centers on the General Assembly, the Governor’s Office and the broader landscape of Pennsylvania politics.
  
  I’m especially interested in the development and regulation of artificial intelligence, how public officials manage taxpayer dollars and policy ideas aimed at addressing everyday — and sometimes overlooked — challenges.
  
  I grew up just north of Pittsburgh in Beaver County, Pa., and graduated from Bucknell University in 2023. My first reporting gig was at LNP | LancasterOnline as a politics reporter, before I started at WITF in the summer of 2025.

 Jaxon White / WITF

The 2025 annual March for Life rally was held on Sept. 22, 2025, outside of the state Capitol building.

Thousands of anti-abortion advocates gathered at the foot of the Capitol building Monday for the annual Pennsylvania March for Life Rally, urging lawmakers to further restrict — or outright ban — abortion access in the commonwealth.

Hosted by the conservative Pennsylvania Family Institute, the event opened with “Pre-Rally Praise & Worship” at 10 a.m. A slate of speakers then took the stage at 11 a.m., before the march around the Capitol Complex began at noon.

Speakers included several Republican lawmakers, including House GOP Leader Jesse Topper of Bedford County, Sen. Judy Ward of Blair County and Rep. Kathy Rapp of Warren County.

Abortion is legal in Pennsylvania up to 24 weeks of pregnancy. And the law provides exceptions to that limit for pregnant women who obtain certification from two physicians saying the abortion is necessary to prevent death or substantial harm.

Any change to Pennsylvania’s law is unlikely any time soon.

House Democrats have said they would not advance any legislation to restrict abortion access in Pennsylvania. Even if a proposal cleared the General Assembly, Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro has repeatedly said he would use his veto power to defend access to abortion.

After the fall of Roe v. Wade in 2022, removing federal protections for abortion access, Pennsylvania Republicans advanced an unsuccessful amendment to the state Constitution stating “no constitutional right to taxpayer-funded abortion or other right relating to abortion.”

The amendment process would avoid Shapiro’s veto power, but faces the steep barrier of needing to be passed by the House and Senate in back-to-back, two-year legislative sessions before it can be presented to Pennsylvania voters in a referendum.

A Franklin & Marshall College poll last year found that 38% of Pennsylvanians said abortion should be legal under “any circumstances,” while 53% said it should be legal under “certain circumstances.” Only 9% said abortion should be “illegal in all circumstances.” One percent said they did not know.

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